One go around on Coast to Coast Records just wasn't enough for Alex Cortiz's deep lounge album Mesmerising (2002). Now re-released in 2004 on the nu-jazz licensing monstrosity Kriztal Entertainment, the album has been refreshed with two new tracks for fans to enjoy. If you don't think you have ever heard Alex Cortiz's music, think again. The producer's real name is Aad De Mooy and has released music for over a decade as the monikers Cat Scanner, D-Shake, Hallucination Generation, House of Nachos, Hyper, Nu-Tro-Gen, Paradise 3001, Shake Inc, Super Ragga Gabba, and Time Warp. Moor was the first Dutch artist to have an international house music hit back in 1990 and was a figurehead for the Netherlands' dance music scene throughout the decade.
The dance music production styles that Cortiz (Moor) has assimilated into his work over the years shines though on nearly every composition. His instrumentation on Mesmerizing is tasteful and mature, but his progressions are somewhat simplistic at times and secured tightly to a "mixable" format. This, for the most part, throws the aspect of "songwriting" to the wind and brings the focus of his music back to the groove within. The album does have a metric ton of funky chilled-out groove-oriented beats to compliment any situation surrounding your everyday (or every-night) toils and debauchery. Cortiz sometimes pairs his music with background accents such as the rhythmic sloshing of waves on a beach or the droning of nocturnal insects to ensure that the listener's psyche is transported to the specific place the producer intended - and it works.
Overall, Mesmerizing comes across as the title suggests. It's not groundbreaking by any means, however it is a solid and well-produced album and a must-have for any lounge DJ.
