Search - Darren Emerson & Paul Jackson :: Underwater Episode 3

Almost perfect

J. Singer | Hartford, CT United States | 11/09/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Disc 1: Darren Emerson



WoW! This set starts off with an incredible funk / house / techno vibe that reminded me all at once of the late 90s and the music that dominated the rave scene back when it was still underground... still 'cool'. By the second track, I already found myself singing along to lyrics that were unfamiliar, and by track three, I could hardly contain myself. The beat and the vibe kept rolling along until at last Darren's own mix of Longing (the definitive track from his mix on episode 2) cooled things off a bit. But, alas, he was just teasing, as the tune builds and twists into two insane Greg Churchill tracks., followed by an total acid flashback in the form of Beautiful. The final three tunes are stellar productions, but seem kind of out of place. The previous hour or so of music seemed to have been leading up to a wicked finale, but much like so many old raves, ended instead with a slightly cheesy vocal number. The final track, Lucky, seemed to be perhaps a tribute to such memorable euphoric moments one felt while highly chemicalized, watching the sun come up through the cracks of a warehouse door to the sound of Smart-E's Sesame's Treat... or something along those lines. The set is the kind of thing I would have gladly paid a days wages to hear years ago during a crazy night of glow-stick waving, pacifier sucking, raving.



The best tunes (in chronological order):

GusGus - David

Greg Churchill - Budonkadonk / Body Slander

Rude Rkade - Beautiful

Sharam Jey - 4 Da Lovers



5 out of 5



Disc 2: Paul Jackson



Glancing at the tracklisting, you might not know what to expect from this set. Chicken Lips, Justin Robertson, Agoria, Funk D'Void, all mixed together, sounds like a recipe for success, but what kind of sound? Leave it to Paul to gave you a taste of what you are in for with his first tune, a production of his own, which totally sets the tone for the rest of the set. Hard beats, groovy, yet ferocious basslines, and vocal snippets / samples. It came on a little strong, but by the second track, I was comfortable with his sound, and anxiously awaited the two intense Agoria tracks of which I was familiar. But before that techy / twisted / synthy sound, Paul presents us with one of his best moments, the atmospheric and haunting Spell. After being somewhat entranced, I'm suddenly caught up in some tough, unrelenting beats, and more sample madness. When the Agoria tunes fit in, they don't disappoint, and after the amazing Spell tune, I'm anxious for another Robbin Thieves track. Awesome! By the last tune, Paul has assaulted us "non-stop" with a hard driving beat, and kind of sets us free with Emotional Content. Nearly perfect, if not for one little thing that annoyed me. You see, there is a little vocal snippet, presumably from Paul's The Non-Stop track, that is used overabundantly early on. And later on. In fact, it is used so much throughout the mix, that you might feel the urge to throw your CD out the car window. This sample perfectly ruined just about every tune on this disc. What would have been perhaps the best mix I had heard in ages ended up sounding like an amateur who just bought his first mixer with a primitive little sampler built-in, and doesn't quite know what to do with it.



The best tunes (but ruined with the obnoxious "You don't stop!" sample):

Chicken Lips - Do It Proper

Robbin Thieves - The Spell

Agoria - Snake Hips

Robbin Thieves - Air Rage



3 out of 5 (would have rated about 6 or 7 out of 5 w/o the samples)"