Gavin Keitel: Balance presents Electric 01
EQ

Bringing over seventeen years of experience to this premiere Electric installment (an offshoot of the acclaimed Australian compilation series Balance), Melbourne DJ Gavin Keitel deftly blurs the lines between minimal house, electro, and techno in this almost seventy-minute mix. As satisfying a headphone listen as dance mix, Electric 01 opens with the relaxed minimal vibe of Inaqui Marin's “Six,” Tiefschwarz's electro-soul treatment of Osunlade's “Pride,” and Tiga's bubbly funk remix of Drama Society's “Crying Hero” before Robert Babicz opens the floodgates with the slamming “Mover.” Gleaming synth washes and Kraftwerk melodies in Hugg & Pepp's rubbery “Snabeln” signal a transition into fulminating (Sasse's throbbing “Soul Sounds,” DJ T's percolating burner “Rising,” Dirk Leyers' majestic epic “New Serious One”) and finally minimal zones. Keitel impeccably concludes the set with Broker/Dealer's impossibly funky “Boots & Pants” and Superpitcher's grandiose and now-classic “Happiness.” As solid as it is, Electric 01 is distinguished most of all by the inspired genre-crossing of Keitel's mix selections.

September 2005