Compilation Review: ‘DJ Marcelle Meets Further Soulmates at Faust Studio Deejay Laboratory’ (Klangbad)

★★★★☆

The eclectic mix nowadays needs something to jolt you out of your headphones – every man and his dog can now put new jack swing next to a cult TV theme next to a long-lost dub 7”. When you’re a Dutch native regularly referred to as the female John Peel, the mash-up sales pitch writes itself. Been there-done that DJ Marcelle van Hoof breaks down her third batch of disarray into the usual four episodes-in-one, a practical move allowing you to pick and choose, with a touch belying the notion she has all manner of play buttons on various machinery set off by egg timer and tripwire. Three turntables operated by an overactive imagination doesn’t ever seem enough, although not getting its tangles done digitally or automatically shows Marcelle’s appreciation of the art.

The labels are pretty much representative, though “The Contemplative Mix” is a 20-minute wrestling match of sounds, and “The Optimistic Mix” is more a dance floor player – with added whale noises. The segments run a haste of ’80s curios, unspecified species, random dubstep meets even more random library cataloguing and field recordings, and modern flyers under the radar in electronica, dub and house. Happy, improbable drunkenness, without Marcelle being one of those ‘zany’ mix and blenders. Where to play this mix? Hmm…well it’ll make your headphone commute more interesting for one.
File under: Coldcut; Holger Mertin; Kid Koala