Although there are far fewer compilations around these days, those vinyl compilations that do get a full release have been elevated: lavish artwork, extensive histories, and sleeve notes all showing off the hard work put into the art of the compilation. Playlists and mixes have become the standard way for DJs to show off the gems that lie in their sets, so these days, there is no need for a commercially produced mixed CD with only the established series such as Fabric, Late Night Tales and DJ Kicks still releasing mix CDs these days.
Highlights this year include Luke Unabomber's diverse selection on "E Soul Cultura" via Mr. Bongo, a proper compilation showcasing his talents to bring different strands of music together and the funk-inspired Detroit gems finely selected by Mr. Theo Parrish for DJ Kicks. Other fine moments came from Heavenly collecting some of the great works from the late Andrew Weatherall over two volumes which showcased some of his best remixes and productions over a long career. Bob Stanley from St. Etienne's amazingly curated "Fell From The Sun" showcased the 98 beats per minute balearic sound explosion of the early 1990's featuring gems from Primal Scream, Critical Rhythm, One Dove and more.
It may have come out in small numbers in 2021 but got an extensivve repress in 2022, Transmigration's incredible gathering of gems from the years of Susumu Yokota's EBI guise gave us a view into his trippy acid numbers, whilst this year it was his Stevia project that was given the repress treatment , with our favourite being 'Greenpeace' on the reissue albums chart. Young Marco marked the earlier half of the year with another volume of his excellent 90s Trance explorations via "Planet Love Vol.2" showing what Sven Vath, Dance 2 Trance and the rest had up their sleeves back then! A deserving mention goes to Fabric, London's most famous club who relaunched the label to release original music alongside 2 compilations from Nicola Cruz & Leon Vynehall, both called "Fabric Presents". Not forgetting Anthony Naples & Dj Python's soothing dive into space via "Air Textures VIII" and finally Dennis Bovell's dub-tastic retrospective "The Dubmaster: The Essential Anthology" which if you havent forgotten blew a hole in our speakers on record store day.
Check the full list here....
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