Stacey Pullen’s ongoing relationship with Leeds label 2020 Vision made him the perfect choice to help the tech house champions with their 15th anniversary celebrations, and he’s done a fine job of summing up the label’s sound.
After the atmospheric pads of Wulf ‘n’ Bear’s Needsy’s Run set the tone, Inland Knights’ After Me makes the perfect introduction to the dancefloor, inviting us on with its classically-styled, low-slung loungey deep house groove. Aside from these two well worn artist names, it’s mostly artists who have emerged in the last few years.
Frenchman of the moment Julien Chaptal injects some of his galloping percussion and bass into his remix of Simon Baker’s Way Out Of My Head as Pullen starts to step things up a notch, and although Johnny D’s huge remix of 2020Soundsystem’s Sliding Away feels a touch premature this early in the mix, he keeps you hooked and involved throughout.
It’s on to deeper techno next, Mihalis Safras on fine form with his heady, hypnotic shuffling remix of Mark Broom’s Take Me Home, Art Of Tones’ Terres Conquises building up some epic atmospherics before John Tejada’s remix of Random Factor’s Outlaw plunges us headlong into bubbling acid house territory. Art Of Tones’ remix of Random Factor’s Beaten then picks the energy levels up again, with classic squealing techno textures, big synth sounds and captivating builds making for hands-in-the-air old skool tribute, with Pullen drawing is into deeper territories still thereafter – the tense, incessant looping of 2020Soundsystem’s Psycho urging for some release, but it doesn’t come yet, Mark Broom’s Riddim pummelling us into submission.
It’s left to the scintillating Joshua mix of Volga Select’s Les Annees Des Plombs to give us a satisfying climax, Italo-disco synths and melodies shimmering over a thumping beat and rounding off a superb mix that takes in a little bit of everything that 2020Vision has been about over the last 15 years.
Tracklist:
01. Wulf & Bear – Needsy’s Run
02. Inland Knights – After Me
03. Wulf n Bear – Body Music
04. Simon Baker – Out Of My Head (Julien Chaptal Remix)
05. 2020Soundsystem – Sliding Away (Johnny D Remix)
06. Mark Broom – Take Me Home (Mihalis Safras Remix)
07. Art Of Tones – Terres Conquises
08. Random Factor – Outlaw (John Tejada Remix)
09. Random Factor – Beaten (Art Of Tones Remix)
10. Crazy P – Stop, Space, Return (Roberto Rodriguez Remix)
11. Moodymanc – V8
12. 2020Soundsystem – Psycho
13. Mark Broom – Riddim
14. Volga Select – Les Annees Des Plomb (Joshua Mix)