Various Artists - Curle 25: So Far (So Good)

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  • Clearly, the people at Curle like things that build. It takes till the fourth track of Curle 25, the label's rule-of-fives anniversary compilation, to get into unmistakable party mode—with the radio edit of Anthony Collins' "Another Lonely Night." (Concision does as much for this music as expansiveness does—something that's always worth remembering.) Strictly Rhythm is in this label's DNA as much as Force Tracks or Max.E—Thomas Brinkmann's lavish "Isch (Soulphiction Remisch)" gets a look-in on here—and it's easy to hear in the way "Another Lonely Night" harks back to mid-'80s pop R&B, or in the easy synth flurry that makes up the melody of Efdemin's "The Pulse (John Beltran's Summer Light Remix)." These tracks are more than happy to meet the listener halfway. I should clarify that the Collins track is number four on Curle 25's first disc. The second disc is harder to quantify—it's a data disc featuring a trio of mixes of label highlights, from Anthony Collins, Fader and Peter Van Hoesen. This is a clever way to present alternate angles on the catalog, and if the mixes risk overkill—really, guys, you aren't that legendary yet—it's not hard to hear why Curle might be feeling bullish about its short history. Besides, the first, unmixed disc really is nicely put together. It begins slowly and a little tremulously with Martyn's Bittersweet Mix of Efdemin's "Acid Bells" (whose pianos really do curl), which melts into Collins' "Reeves," whose layers are so wispy they might float away if not for the steady house pulse. When "Acid Bells" comes back in its original mix later, its pitch-shifted title instruments (or anyway, the sound it's mean to evoke) are a statement of ethos as much as a track, in some way. It follows tobias.'s remix of Tampopo's "Helicopters Got Cameras," whose hypnotically splintered synthesizers have as much claim of sounding like acid bells as anything of Efdemin's. Some notes on the mixes: Collins' is longest (105 minutes) and simmers for quite a while before it starts to bubble. Van Hoesen's is shortest (56 minutes), and is darker in tone but light in execution, as you'd probably figure from him. Fader's (80 minutes) plays with tonal contrasts more than the other two and sounds strongest to me—which is fitting considering how versatile Curle's output has been, even only a short time into its existence.
  • Tracklist
      CD1 01. Efdemin - Acid Bells (Martyn's Bittersweet Mix) 02. Anthony Collins - Reeves 03. Thomas Brinkmann - Isch (Soulphiction Remisch) 04. Anthony Collins - Another Lonely Night (Radio Edit) 05. Denis Karimani - Strange But Cool (2000 And One Remix) 06. Efdemin - The Pulse (John Beltran's Summer Light Remix) 07. Mark August - Warm 08. Efdemin - America 09. Tampopo - Helicopters Got Cameras (tobias. Remix) 10. Efdemin - Acid Bells 11. Soul Center - Switch It (AtomTM Remix) 12. CRC - Vaskitsaherra (E.R.P. AKA Convextion Remix) CD 2 Anthony Collins Mix: 01. Thomas Brinkmann - Rumpf 02. Nico Purman - Vibration 03. Reynold - Space Wall (Lee Van Dowski Remix) 04. Franklin De Costa - Rollergirl 05. Mark August - Warm 06. Michal Ho - Quitior (Mark August Remix) 07. Reynold - Climax 08. Conforce - Joyless Mind 09. CRC - The Nymph 10. Efdemin - America 11. CRC - Vaskitsaherra 12. Wav - Nyquist Plot 13. Nico Purman - Springz 14. Conforce - Truth 15. Pablo Bolivar - Internal Call 16. Nico Purman - Miercoles 17. Dub Kult - Crypt (District One Remix) 18. Conforce - Cruising 19. Anthony Collins - Bruised Inside (Los Updates Remix) 20. Anthony Collins - Reeves 21. Anthony Collins - Bruised Inside (Los Updates Remix) Peter Van Hoesen Mix: 01. Artificial Latvamaki - Ratts Leaving The Sinking Ship... (PVH Overcast Edit) 02. Denis Karimani - Character Melting Pot (PVH Simple Edit) 03. Conforce - Truth 04. Grimes Adhesif - Fearless Fun (Efdemin Remix) 05. Jonas Kopp - Tirados 06. CRC - The Nymph 07. Lars Wickinger - Fade To Grass (Jonas Kopp Remix) (PVH Once Again Edit) 08. CRC - Vaskitsaherra (E.R.P. Remix) 09. Mark August - Warm (Zander VT Remix) 10. Wav - Nyquist Plot (PVH Slight Edit) 11. Efdemin – America Fader Mix: 01. Mark August - Warm (Zander VT Remix) 02. Conforce - Joyless Mind 03. Efdemin - America 04. Tampopo - Helicopters Got Cameras (tobias. Remix) 05. CRC - Vaskitsaherra 06. Jonas Kopp - Mico (Unreleased) 07. Conforce - Cruising 08. Audision - Basic Motion 09. CRC - The Nymph 10. Franklin De Costa - Kronn 11. Stewart Walker - Scratched Notes 12. Grimes Adhesif - Fearless Fun 13. Walt J - Reborn (DJ Qu Remix) (Unreleased) 14. Jonas Kopp - Ruda (Unreleased) 15. Efdemin - Acid Bells (Matt O'Brien Remix)
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