Whirl-Y-Waves Vol. 3 - Sounds Imported

Following the same format as its two predecessors, disc one (Hot One!) features a cross section of a typical Whirl-Y-Gig club night, ranging from dancehall dub, through global beats and up into banging trance, whilst disc two (Chill Too!) offers a wealth of early evening ambient dance classics blended with a selection of current chilled grooves that have been regularly used for the end-of-night parachute-dance experience.

Kicking off Hot One! is Zion Trains ‘King of the Sound and Blues’, an instantly recognisable dub classic from their ‘Original Sounds of the Zion’ album. This flows effortlessly into ‘Yellow and Black Taxi Cab’, a Transglobal Underground gem from their ‘Impossible Broadcasting’ album, where global (con)fusion collides head on with Tuup’s raggae style storytelling about Indian style public transport. Nelson Dilation’s spiced up Kamel Nitrate add their exotic flavoured, sitar laden ‘Tandoori Shakeaway’ to the menu, whilst the Turkish influenced breakbeat of Oojami’s ‘Ararim’ intensifies the multicultural whirling dervish cyclone of sound that this CD offers. ‘Day in a Field’ from Earthtribe’s long overdue album ‘One Earth One Tribe’ sets the tribal theme that progresses through Hawkes ‘Party People’, before encountering Eatstatic’s up-tempo hybrid style remix of Banco-de-Gaia’s ‘Lai-Lah’, where samples from many other classic Banco-de-Gaia tracks are thrown mercilessly into the melting pot.

Next up is the hypnotising mantra of Azukx’s ‘Heart Sutra’; it should be pointed out that, along with Transglobal Underground, Azukx are the only artists to feature on all three Whirl-Y-Waves excursions. From hypnotising mantras to the psychological revolution of consciousness in System 7’s ‘Bass Rock’, where progressive psy-trance beats spiral hypnotically and harmoniously with Steve Hillage’s trademark guitar riffs. The exclusive ‘Italic Remix’ (by Weirdo) of Swarf’s ‘Subtext’ steps bravely into uncharted waters, for this is the first real vocal-led trance track to feature regularly on the Whirl-Y-Gig play list. But fear not, for this isn’t the start of the Ministry of Whirly, since the vocals here have a distinct Celtic lilt and only add fuel to this powerful driving trancer. This leads to ‘Requiem’, where The Morrighan take the last composition of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and tastefully rework it into the trance monster that, more often than not, has featured as the trance-finale at Whirl-Y-Gig over recent years. And finally, a bit of peace, love and happiness from the Dub Trees (Youth) helps draw this first leg of this journey to a close.

Over on Chilled Too! the journey continues through a colourful and diverse soundscape of deliciously textured grooves. The haunting, melancholic intro of Mask’s ‘Lambent Spire’ gives way to the gloriously chilled and deeply dramatic ‘Earthgarden’ from Nada, which sets the tone for the rest of this extraordinary journey. ‘The Ballad’ is a deep insight into The Spy From Cairo’s multicultural album ‘An Eye on the World’, which leads through to Kaya Projects dubby percussive groove ‘Olelo’, taken from the fantastic album ‘Walking Through’ on Interchill Records. Gaudi delivers one of the many highlights on this CD, in the form of the abstract titled ‘…and the Earth Said: Oh My God!’ from the album ‘Bass, Sweat & Tears’, again on Interchill Records. Here catchy, feel-good tribal harmonies combine with a simple drum loop and percussion, driving the mood forwards and up, before sweeping into the cheeky Hammond chords and quirky world of OTT’s ‘Cley Hill’, a tune from the album ‘Blumenkraft’ that is a journey in itself. Elephant Talks ‘The Lark and the Preacher’ lively Celtic/folk fusion lends an ear from the Afro Celts, whilst the fathers of ambient electronica, The Orb, deliver what appears to be a tribute to their own early 90’s anthem ‘Little Fluffy Clouds’ with their upbeat yet spacey ‘Appletree in my Backyard’.

Sounds From the Ground’s ‘Burning Bright’ is an infectious slice of percussive ambient breakbeat, whilst ‘Space Baby’ by Gargoyle (OTT in disguise along with Simon ‘Shpongle’ Posford) delves into the realms of slightly twisted ambient-electronica, backed with the soothing vocals of Michele Adamson, whose sound here is reminiscent of Miriam Stockley’s vocals in the early 90’s classic ‘Only You’ by Praise’. ‘Space Baby’ blends smoothly into the penultimate offering of Sounds Imported, which is Protocultures ‘Homeworld’, a two-part track that has been a core part of the parachute dance in the recent months leading up to the release of this CD. The first half of this track teases and coerces the listener with tasty grooves, ethnic chants and subtle hints of what is yet to come, before fading into a spacey mid-track breakdown that then embarks on the ambient psy-trance finale. And finally, and fittingly, Twofish, a group that first frequented Whirl-Y-Gig back in the Shoreditch days, round off this excursion with a mix of acoustic guitar and deep, squelchy beats in their aptly titled ‘Deep Base 9’.

‘Sounds Imported’ is undoubtedly the most complete compilation in the Whirl-Y-Waves series thus far, successfully touching on the many elements that contribute to the Whirl-Y-Gig soundtrack that has inspired the young and the old over so many years. Given such quality it seems unnecessary to add that this 2CD compilation is an essential addition to any dance music collection, although sometimes even the obvious is understated.

Side 2 also has some rare Gems – check out Spy from Cairo and Gaui for example. The twofish track Deep Bass 9 with its deft and subtle keyboard and guitar work, and seriously squelchy bass line ends the whole thing off with a flourish. Well wroth getting hold of.