As far as I know this is one of very few tunes ever to have a breakdown made from the music that plays from an ice-cream van! And Basement Jaxx are one of the few acts who could pull it off with their credibility still intact...

Derrick Carter's finest hour in my humble (and very biased!) opinion, and he has unleashed some amazing pieces of music upon us in his time! What makes this track extra-special for me is its emotionally-charged vibe. Carter has, especially of late, become renowned for his "boompty" beats, intricately worked percussion and driving basslines. Whilst perfectly suited to do the business on the dancefloor, I fear some of his works may not stand up to repeated home listening in years to come. However, this recording fits a somewhat different profile - it's all about the haunting strings, electronic "whistling" main hook, sparsely beautiful little melodies and an evocative but enigmatic vocal (I think by Derrick himself?) which has an overwhelming feeling of tragedy about it. Then add to this heady melting pot some simply gorgeous organ and piano lines, squelcy little acidic hits and "whiplash" filtered handclap percussion. And true to form DC delivers a killer bassline, this one with what I can only describe as a "bouncy" texture and the slightest hint of acid. Sometimes whilst listening I forget there is a kick drum in there at all, such is the rich sonic tapestry of this record! It would unboubtedly work as a beatless piece to rival many classical recordings. Although it is perhaps a cliche to say such a thing, this is one of the few pieces of music which still never fails to give me "goosebumps" and shivers down my spine no matter how often I listen to it.

Whilst the first two tracks have dated somewhat due to run-of-the-mill vocals and ordinary-sounding production, the "Greedy Bass Hit Dub" is arguably the most underrated track ever released on Cajual. Mark Grant is sometimes passed over when the greats of Chicago house history are mentioned, but here he proves his worth with a minimally raw, jackin' acid cut tailor-made to be played in a dark, smoky room at some ungodly hour in the morning. Crisp percussion and solid beats are present and correct but it's the subtly bubbling and bouncy acid bassline which really drives the track along. The middle section drops out to just beats and bass for a while before building back up to the full syncopation again - guaranteed amazing results if played at the right time! On top of all this the sultry, breathy female vocal snippets of "Ohh... touch me" and other assorted moans and gasps of pleasure only add to the generally dirty and sleazy feel of the track.

For me none of these remixes of "Flash" come even close to the original, but the bonus track, "(You Don't Have To Be) Fake And Phoney)" is worth whatever asking price you have to pay for this doublepack! Insanity is the order of the day on this brain-melting tune, which is essentially nothing more than looped-up beats, percussion and the warped vocal sample which repeats the title for most of the track. The bassline is just a simple throbbing hum, much like "Flash", and is worked and mangled through all kinds of twisted frequencies. Still playing this today and it never fails to get that "What the f*** is this?!!" expression on peoples faces along with much whooping and hollering!

I have a very much "split opinion" on this release. The first CD, whilst containing some top-drawer tunes such as "Watch Them Come" and "Touched By God", doesn't really seem to gel like a Tenaglia mix usually does. The "narrative" style he weaves through a set seems absent.

However, this all changes for the second disc, probably one of the best mixes ever released commercially. Straight away he starts with the vocal sample "the enchantment has ended; but the spell remains" which clearly indicates how Tenaglia has a knack for hypnotising the listener with his dark, mystical tales, almost like some kind of tribal wizard!

He slowly teases us through the repetitive mantras of "Otradnoje", trance-inducing beats of "Magical Digital Drum" and one of Laurent Garnier's finest re-works, Elegia's "Basic". He then starts to pick up the intensity with "Dominica" and "Junk Funk" before exploding into the uplifting electric vocals of MK's "Burning". The final piece of magic is created by dropping down again to the spine-tingling hypnotics of "Ways Of Love" and "Monsoon" before finishing with his masterpiece of re-editing, Devilfish "Live 1999". Here Tenaglia takes only the second half of an epic techno record, pitches the tempo right down and creates more drops to add to the tension between the hissing percussive workouts. His genius is confirmed!

What a crazy concept for a record... The vocalist is on a plane which is about to crash and decides to get up and start dancing! All the other passengers decide to follow suit, resulting in the highly infectious chorus line "They all started to dance, without wearing a seatbelt!" Made all the more interesting by the fact that the vocalist Michael Smith is only a teenager! Pick of the mixes for me is Ewan Pearson's, doing his trademark electro-bleepy-house. I thought this release had huge crossover potential but it didn't really get the recognition it deserved.

A completely feel-good record. There are lots of spine-tingling piano and synth drops throughout, rather than the usual one or two, creating a distinctive "feeling" for the tune (therefore an appropriate title!) A powerful little female vocal snippet also adds extra energy to the track. On the flip side, Soul Purpose (AKA Peace Division) take the track in a different deeper and techier version.

Bobby Peru AKA Paul Woolford shows his love for the old-school but puts a fresh, 21st century slant on it. "For My Bleeps" adds a hip-hop flavour to the rough-ass electronic distortion. "Venom"s jackin' acid, coupled with breakbeats layered over the 4/4 would easily tear apart any warehouse party. Woolford showing once again that when it comes to creating dancefloor dynamite, he has all the knowledge.

In my opinion quite simply the best house mix ever released commercially, and it is now some 9 years old! Usually when a DJ is asked to mix a compilation of a label's back catalogue or "greatest hits" the result is an album of fillers and dodgy remixes. But since the label in question is Cajual and the DJ trusted with the task is Derrick Carter, there was never any danger of that scenario. Carter was obviously given free reign to use any and all tracks from the Cajual/Relief catalogue, resulting in an undiluted, truly representative account of the sound of the label,DJ and their native city of Chicago. Highlights include killer vocals from Terence FM and Big Ed feat Dana, intense looped-up disco as only Sneak knows how, and raw jackin' acid tracks by Mark Grant and DJ78. All expertly mixed on 3 decks as only DC can, creating epic mixes and squeezing mind-blowing sounds from the records with intense EQ and filter work. The only "disappointment" has been tracking down some of the records to find that Carter had edited most of them to create his own tailor-made weapons for the mix! THAT'S what makes it extra-special!

One of those CDs I always find myself going back to. It sounds great either when I'm chillin' or getting ready for a night out, and more than a few times it has lifted me from a "down" mood! Halo & Hipp-E show their true understanding of what real house music means, taking in various vibes and styles along the way and never once losing your attention. On a par with their awesome Radio 1 Essential Mix from 2002.