Jay-J & Miguel Migs – In The House

West Coast House Music, in the right hands, is pure heaven, whether on the dancefloor, in the car, or at home. Its core appeal is its breezy, jazzy accessibility: it is uplifting, organic sounding, and soulful, and (in the right hands) it never descends into triteness. While some consider it lightweight, when all is said and done, this subgenre of underground dance music will endure and prosper (because it shows proper respect for the forebears of modern dance music), while most other variants will turn out to be mere fads. That said, one cannot overemphasize the qualifier "in the right hands", and what better pairs of hands for this second installment in Defected's "In The House" series than those of Jay-J and Migs. Together with Julius Papp and other select collaborators of Jay-J at his former haunt Moulton Studios, these DJs exemplify what is best about the West Coast sound: proper attention to musical craft, a sophisticated sense of rhythm, and tight production standards. The results are always instantly recognizable: bright, uplifting melodies, intelligent but not overwhelming drum tracks, and seamless integration of live instrumentation and vocals with programmed sounds.

Jay-J helms the decks on Disc 1, the better of the two, and the result is a superlative piece of music, 6 points on a scale of 1 to 5. The track selections are compelling, while the mixing is effortlessly smooth. Unlike Sandy Rivera, who initiated this mix series for Defected in 2003, Jay-J mostly resists the macho temptation to open his mix with a few traditional House numbers only to steer it into increasingly dark territory that borders on Progressive House and "twisted" or "ironic" Disco. The one exception occurs early on, in the second track in fact, where (in a stroke of genius) Jay-J takes the edge off of the brooding Halo dub of Morgan Page's "All I Need" by overlaying the acapella from "Latinesta" (by himself and Chris Lum). The choice of "All I Need" to follow the noirish themes of the opening track "Diamond Life" (although, here, in a soulful remix by Masters At Work) is a brilliantly calculated risk. It's not clear whether Jay-J intended this to be a diversion to keep his listeners guessing, or as a sly wink to the Rivera school of escalating irony, but having dunked us into darker territory, he pulls us right out on track 3 with the simply fabulous "Loving You" by Smurf & Perry feat. Concha Buika. (Who says Europeans can't make tasty Deep House grooves?) From there on, there are few surprises, just good organic House music, although the stuttering, spoken-word male vocal on MindInfluence's "The Best Part" and the percussive, jazzy/dubby sound of Inland Knights' "Talking To You" provide some refreshing variety along the way.

Tough act to follow, but Migs acquits himself admirably on Disc 2 with a grab bag of tasty midtempo grooves that speak his trademark sound — laid back, dubby at times, and predictably smooth. Stand-outs include the tracks by Gene Farris (the sumptuously deep "Black Satin", with its achingly sexy vocals), and Kings Of Tomorrow/Sandy Rivera feat. Haze ("Changes", a noirish Deep Progressive House number that may well be his best record since "Finally").

These mixes have been out for over three years now, but they still sound deliciously fresh and vibrant (and the ladies especially love Disc 1). This "In The House" release may not have attracted the most critical acclaim (Kenny Dope, Dimitri From Paris, and MAW top the charts there), but having now listened to all of them, I would not hesitate to recommend this as the one to track down for the desert island collection.

Jay J's mix on the first CD is pretty poor. It features too much cheesy vocal house. The only stand out track is the Copyright remix of Mindinfluence's 'The Best Part' which is superb. The Miguel Migs mix on CD 2 is much better featuring plenty of deep and funky tracks. His own 'City People' and the Audiowhores remix of 'Find A Friend' are particularly good. Overall it's definately a release of two halves.