Darren Emerson and Paul Jackson - Underwater Episode 3

Underwater Records has been a driving force in the reinvention of house music as we know it. Former member of Underworld Darren Emerson is behind the wheel of this influential dance music label. He has signed such acts as GusGus, Tim Deluxe, Wally Lopez, Sharam Jay, Paul Woolford and, of course, Paul Jackson. This year Underwater was voted "Label of the Year" by DJ Magazine, which is no surprise to all those progressive house heads out there.

Going into their third year of residency on Tuesday nights at Pacha in Ibiza, Emerson, along with up-and-comer Paul Jackson, releases this new double-disc mix compilation. It is filled to the brim with Underwater-only releases as well as releases by other heavy hitters. Emerson begins this set with the Paul Jackson release "The Way We Do It." This is a dark and driving track and is infused with some spacey synth sounds and eerie "The Way We Do It" vocal. From there, Darren takes the mix into the GusGus track "David," which he has personally remixed himself. This hot release from last year is still in the forefront of many DJ sets at the moment. Another hot item on Underwater right now is the artist Mutiny. He chimes in with the third track on this disc entitled "Dem Girls."

This instrumental track has some twisted organ sounds tied into the percussion for a soothing vibe. The maestro himself steps up with his release "That's the Trouble." This track has an awesome electric bass line along with some seriously funky synth sounds. Newcomer to Underwater Greg Churchill brings forth one of the three tracks he has on this disc. This Tone-Loc sampled progressive track has the infamous drum loop from "Wild Thing" laced with sounds of sirens and of some filtered bass. Churchill's second track on this disc comes in the shape of "Body Slam." This track has some smooth sax riffs and some tropical percussion tied to it.

Further into the disc we find a trio of tracks from Rude Rkade. The first two are the acid and vocal mix of the track "Beautiful." The acid mix is a stripped down version of the vocal mix but shares the same sweet rhythms and deep bass line. After three minutes of the last Rude Rkade track he brings in one of the hottest producers on the market today. Tim Deluxe has been one of the anchors of this label with such hits as "We All Love Sax" and "It Just Wont Do" and is at it again this time along with Ben Onono.

The track "Choose Something Like a Star" has a soft melody along with entrancing vocals from Ben Onono. It has the feel of a trance track dunked Underwater, very groovy. Another star on Underwater, Sharam Jey, gives up his track "4 Da Lovers" near the end of the disc. This tech-house track is a brilliant way to bring a disc to the close. From there Emerson takes the mix out the door with another track by Mutiny entitled "Lucky (My Life)." It features the vocals of Robert Owens who compliments the track's subtle trance elements and take it out with elegance and style. What a beautiful way to end a CD.

Paul Jackson steps up to the decks after that with his mix. He too starts off with one of his own tracks. "Blockbuster" has a haunting synth lead in it as well as a powerful bassline. He moves into the Chicken Lips track "Do it Proper." The remix duties on this track fall into the hands of Justin Robertson. He does it proper by giving the track an electro feel but keeps it all the way progressive. Mr. Jackson is up once again with the track "The Non-Stop."

The looped sample of "don't stop" is laid over top of a driving tech-house bassline. It is an exciting way to take this disc. Next up is the Tim Deluxe-sampling tech track "Just Kick." This song has been hammered by everyone out there including Carl Cox at Global Gathering.

Next up is a pair of tracks from the hot producer Agoria. The tracks "Le Onzieme Marche" and "Snake Hips" are two gems that have been placed on this disc. Phil Kieran takes remixing duties on "Le Onzieme Marche." His tech interpretation is both hard and pounding but never enters that hard-house realm. One noticeable skill on this disc is that Jackson takes a sample from the fifth track "The Non-Stop" and continues to loop throughout the CD. Very crafty indeed. Jackson drops in another one of his tracks "Rock N Roll" before getting to the end of his mix session with the Funk D'Void vs. Chicco Secci track "Emotional Content." This track takes you on a trip beyond your headphones, Underwater and leaves you there to relax and take in what you just heard.

This is an excellent example of what a label's double disc mix CD should be. Kudos to Paul Jackson and especially to Darren Emerson for the years of quality dance music you have given us.