Erol Alkan - Another Bugged Out Mix Selection

Trash night founder, celebrated producer, remix artist and, yes, superstar DJ Erol Alkan returns with Another Bugged Out Mix... In the seven years since his first Bugged Out compilation, fashions have inevitably changed while new genres have risen and faded. Can Alkan capture the sounds of clubland as completely as he did the first time around? Well, probably not, but then Another Bugged Out Mix... isn't really aiming for that.

In common with his production for bands such as Late of the Pier and Mystery Jets, as well as the releases from his label, Phantasy, this compilation is a psychedelically-inclined mix which veers strongly towards classic acid house and twisted electronica, in amoungst more conventional funky party sounds. It's a free-wheeling collection held together mainly by Alkan's astute track selection. Of particular note are Amin Peck's popping 'Girls on Me'; the early acid sound of 'It's a Trip (Mike Hitman Wilson's Mix)' by Children of the Night; the dense clatter of 'Two Different Ways' by Factory Floor and Alkan's own exquisite remix of Connan Mockasin's 'Forever Dolphin Love', which closes proceedings.

Of the rest, the somewhat self-descriptively named Body Acid (KiNK's on Acid Remix) by Gingy & Bordello squelches away like it's 1988 (nowt wrong with that); 'Never Mind' by Scuba is laid-back and super-cool, the antithesis of label-mate Jimmy Edgar's clanging yet sexy 'This One's for the Children', which sounds like industrial pioneer Fad Gadget with RuPaul working it over the top. Elsewhere, we get French techno complete with saucy Gallic mumbling on Gesaffalstein's remix of Agoria's 'Speechless', featuring Carl Craig & La Scalars, and disco-orientated sounds vibes from Secondo's 'Discombabulate' and the opening 'To Our Disco Friends' by 'Smith n Hack'.

Mostly, Another Bugged Out Mix... sounds less like some definitive statement than a labour of love on Alkan's part in assembling tunes he loves. It probably won't have the impact of its predecessor, which provided a blueprint for the dance sounds that followed in its wake. Most notably, this collection steers clear of dubstep and the various, ever-splintering subcultures of UK bass music. But so what? There's room for all sorts on the dancefloor, or at least there should be. And the retro-futurist sound of Alkan's Bugged Out Mix is exactly the kind of club-night I'd like the shake my booty at.