There is some dance music that is meant to enjoyed surrounded by
sweating, pressing bodies on a packed dance floor. Then there is
dance music that is meant to be enjoyed surrounded by sweating,
pressing bodies on your daily subway commute. Everything But The Girl
co-founder Ben Watt's compilation/mix Buzzin' Fly Volume 2 is
certainly the latter. It opens with a spoken word track over
keyboard-driven urban house beats; a girl contemplates whether she
should move to the Williamsburg or Harlem neighborhood of New York.
The next track features "New York Stylee" rasta spoke-sung vocals by
the Jerk House Connection. Right from the start, that urban,
fast-paced vibe is established. Yet it's the kind of music that can
also be very contemplative, setting one's thoughts to the 4 on the
floor beat. After all, the album is subtitled "Replenishing music for
the modern soul."
But that's not to say Buzzin Fly 2 couldn't provide a good soundtrack to your next party; the tracks flow seamlessly and have a cohesive downtown, perfect-weather-night feel, yet there is a lot of variety to keep things interesting. Highlights include the Monte's Midnight Mix of Sofian Rouge's "El Wahrania," which features lovely Arabian instrumentation and vocals, the jazzy "Rosa Nova" by Hanna Hais, and the squelchy "Le Boom" by Justin Martin (see also Savannah's "Night of Music"). DJ T.'s "Time Out" is a futuristic space-age take on electroclash, while "Pop A Cap in Yo Ass" is a little trip to London with spoken word vocals from Estelle. There are also requisite glittery house tracks from Manoo & Francoisa as well as Wookie. The album concludes with some nice vocal house tracks. So get your metro pass ready - Ben Watt's mix will make your adventures in public transport a bit more transcendental.
