This recent triple CD set from Anne Savage is full of jet-fueled, banging UK Hard House tracks. It’s seriously fast in tempo, seeming like a close cousin to Happy Hardcore. Starting with CD1, “Future Frantic,” Anne Savage mixes new, up and coming tracks from herself, BK, Ed Real, Blue Amazon and the Vinylgroover. Savage also mixes CD2, “Timeless,” featuring hard-house classics from Lock ‘n’ Load, 666, Mauro Picotto, Cortina, Pragha Khan and Tony de Vit. CD3, “Bootleg DJ Nation,” is mixed by Cally & Juice, and a series of white labels from the likes of Boogie Pimps, Kadoc, Dark Monks, Marco Zaffaranno, Organ Donors and Cally & Juice. Overall, there’s a total 52 tracks of rocket-paced UK hard house. All the CDs are well-mixed, especially the ones from Anne Savage, which are effortlessly smooth and slammin’.
“Frantic Euphoria” is the 4th in a series of mix CDs from Euphoria Albums, and is the most extreme, hardest-sounding one of the bunch. Anne Savage mixes with the style and skill that keeps her position as one of the best hard house DJs on the planet. As the mix plays you can’t help but appreciate how on top of the beat Savage is; she is absolutely nailing it down with every move, bringing the energy with dramatic drops, builds and slick segues.
CD1, “Future Frantic,” wastes no time shifting into overdrive with “On A Roll” by Nick Sentience & James Lawson.. Halfway through the mix, a standout anthem drops with Colin Barratt’s remix of Barely Legal’s “Come on Baby,” featuring pounding diva vocals and huge builds. Vinylgroover & the Redhead are another high point with “Hopscotch,” with some tweaked samples from “Planet Rock” and a retro “video game” sounding synth riff. Blue Amazon’s “No Other Love” drops in an angelic vocal and ambient piano line before tearing back into the hard beats. “Never Never Land” by Anne Savage & Indo scores for its hard, driving and sinister vibe; overall, the CD is full of absolutely wicked, screaming synth work.
CD2, “Timeless”, also mixed by Savage, is a blast down memory lane. Plenty of classic hard house tracks keep the mix truly timeless. The glorious Club Caviar remix of Lock ‘n’ Load’s “Blow Ya Mind” sounds as good as ever. Mauro Picotto’s massive hit “Lizard” is still sounding great with that huge, classic synthwork; somehow bringing back memories of Art of Noise’s “Moments in Love.” Hands down my favorite for vocal Anthem is Cortina’s “Music is Moving”- a perfect example of hot vocals, infectious melodies and massive buildups. This one of the best “oldies” hard house mix-CD you can find CD3, “Bootleg DJ Nation”, is mixed by Cally & Juice and naturally features a lot of hard to find white label, mash up tracks. A Luke Slater remix of Egyptian Empire’s “The Horn Track” opens up with a great sounding middle-eastern melodies. anywhere.
James Brown gets teched up with the Warp Brothers hard hitting remix of Kadoc’s “The Nighttrain.” A big highlight is Steve Murano’s remix of Dark Monk’s “Insane.” I love Murano’s deep basslines and the way he cuts up samples; he’s got big technique for creating great hooks out of chopped and rearranged samples. Hunter borrows the synths from Wink’s “Higher State of Consciousness” with “Follow the MC” and Marco Zaffaranno grabs the vocals from Blur’s “Girls and Boys” with the Essex mix. Jefferson Airplane gets a Cally & Juice remix of the Boogie Pimps’s “Somebody to Love,” and the past hit “Zombie Nation" gets revamped by Tweetwoof. The mix is not as smooth and tight as Savage, but Cally & Juice play an authentic bootleg sounding set, and we can expect to hear more from them.
Frantic Euphoria is a broad selection of UK hard house, exhibiting the untouchable mixing talents of Anne Savage, the future pick hits, the classic tracks and a selection of rare bootlegs. You could hardly go wrong picking this up considering it’s overall quality and quantity. It’s hard hitting dance music with ripping synthwork, pumping bass, timely breakdowns, massive buildups, and… it’s fast as hell! Catch this one if you can.
