textura

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Jessica Bailiff
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bvdub
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To Destroy A City

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Jethro Tull

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VA: Catz 'n Dogz Presents: Body Language Vol. 12
Get Physical

Body Language's twelfth edition sees Polish duo and Pets Recordings heads Catz ‘n Dogz following in the footsteps of previous mix-helmers DJ Hell, M.A.N.D.Y., Modeselektor, Dixon, and others. The now Berlin-based Grzegorz Demianczuk (Greg) and Wojciech Taranczuk (Voitek)—originally 3 Channels and now Catz ‘n Dogz—bring a refreshing spin to the mix genre in a heavily atmospheric, seventy-five-minute set that ranges broadly across deep house terrain. The cover's depiction of their heads as sliced layers isn't purely random, as the two chose the concept as a way to emphasize the multi-layered quality of the set and the idea that a wide selection of club genres was pulled together for their first official mix disc. In fact, what required the most time wasn't so much the production itself but obtaining licensing rights for the older tracks. Exclusives by new recruits Eats Everything, Chmara Winter, Trikk, and Squarehead rub shoulders with cuts by Soul Clap, Saturn Never Sleeps, Braiden, Schatrax, Laverne Radix, Tin Man, and more.

Desolate's “Ambrosia” emerges from the wreckage of some unidentified cataclysm and then sends the mix on its way with a relaxed soul-funk groove nicely accented by the chirp of breathy female vocalizing. With twenty more stops to be made, things move quickly thereafter and before we know it we're grooving with Rhythm Plate's sexy house jam “Lean,” Squarehead's bleep-funk workout “You Are,” and Justin Martin's jungle-funkster “Molokini.” Catz ‘n Dogz aren't afraid to get weird and wild as the trippy booty-bass of Gant's “All Night Long” and Trikk's pounding “Driven Movement” make clear, and the mix's old-school house vibe rings out loud and clear in Catz ‘n Dogz's jacking remix of Zack Toms' Parade's “Get Up Everybody” and Till Von Sein's synth-heavy “Out Of Love.” As the mix inches closer to the finish line, the BPM slows markedly during Elon's “Right On, Babe” as a path is cleared for the wiry bass funk of Alien Alien's “Sambaca” and Chmara Winter's dramatic vocal cut “Tucy Chacy” (featuring Kari Amirian). In general, though, the feel is fresh and high-spirited and the beats grooving, funky, and light-footed, and with things evolving rapidly and one track morphing quickly into the next, the mix never grows stale, even if Catz ‘n Dogz tend to emphasize atmosphere more than most.

December 2012