Search - John Debo :: Chrome: 01

A quality mix, but with a slightly off finishing track

Christopher Culver | 04/04/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"...On CHROME 01, John Debo spins a set that sounds just like a night at the club, as opposed to the made-for-headphones feel of so many recent compilations. He has decided to mix straight from vinyl, giving the set a natural feel that is missing from today's releases made with Studio Protools.Debo has also worked a miracle, like Dave Seaman on the second disc of his CAPE TOWN retrospective, in releasing a set of well-known tracks without reducing the set to cheesy anthems. By using the little-known Saeed and Palash of Luzon's "The Baguio Track," Debo breathes new life into a fantastic track that has been played-out in its original mix. Brothers Luv Dubs' "1-800 Ming" is in the perfect spot in this set.What takes off a star, however, is Debo's choice of Raff n' Freddy's "Deep Progress (Z2 Remix)" as the final track. This track makes the set end unpleasantly abruptly.But all in all, CHROME 01 is a great mix, and I certainly hope Debo gets the recognition he deserves outside of the northeast scene."

Another fresh talent spinning progressive house

Douglas A. Greenberg | Berkeley, CA USA | 02/21/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The progressive house and trance club scene in the United States seems pallid when compared to that of the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe, but it definitely is alive and thriving. All fans of these wonderful electronic dance music genres know of famous venues like Twilo in New York and perhaps Simon's in Gainesville, but there also now are fine clubs across the nation that have become havens for the progressive sound. In Boston, the center of things trancey and deep is Chrome, "Thursday nights at Axis," featuring its chief resident dj, John Debo. With visiting dj's including the likes of Sasha, John Digweed, Paul Oakenfold, Nick Warren, and Dave Seaman, it's little wonder that the tracks John Debo includes in his debut mix cd are fabulous. The mix begins with a lesser-known remix of a well-worn composition, Luzon's "Baguio Track," and continues in an infectiously hypnotic vein from there. There are a few tunes in the mix that have received an awful lot of play over the past year (e.g., Brother Love Dub's "1-800-MING" and Sylvio Ecomo's "Standing,") but the inclusion of such anthems is certainly forgiveable, given how long it takes to take a mix cd from conception to final release. Those who are avid collectors of just about all new progressive releases may wish to consider whether there is enough overall that is "fresh" here, but particularly for casual fans, this is definitely an attractive package.Of course, the quality of the sequencing and mixing is extremely important to the success of a dj mix, and here, Debo shows that he is one of the best young turntablists around. He's a promising talent who definitely could become one of the great ones in the years to come."

Good, but dated

Tom Bonneau | Los Angeles, CA | 01/25/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"While Chrome is decently mixed (on vinyl, a nice change of pace in the growing ProTools landscape), and the tracks are all good for the most part, the album suffers from an acute case of i've-heard-all-these-songs-before-on-various-other-mix-albums. I mean, the PFN track is on Communicate, which was released I don't know how long ago and was the biggest selling prog comp of the year. Why include a song that has already been so played out on CD? That is just one example, there are many, as any true prog fan can see from just scanning down the tracklisting. In Debo's defense, maybe he compiled this CD a long time ago and just had trouble with licensing or something. Because I find it hard to believe that someone so on the cutting edge of the progressive stateside scene would intentionally use songs that have already appeared on tons of prog comps throughout 2000. That being said, if you don't have any of these songs, it's definitely worth picking up. But if you're like me and own most of these tunes already, save your money for Diggers new GU Los Angeles, which is sure to be wicked."