Ashley Beedle, one third of X-Press 2, the dance hit makers, has put this mix-track onto his website for free download. A CD release is also available.
It's a soulful house mix with a running time of 53 minutes 10 seconds. Sitting at a desk listening carefully, of course, it does sound longer.
Writing about dance music is a fairly odd business. Generated to keep people dancing, the monotony of four bar multiples doesn’t lend itself to close listening and careful analysis. Something is added, something is taken out, there's a shout, a double tempo section, a dub section – whatever is needed to wake up the floor and keep the party going.
For the home-listener, modest additions to the beats, like a marimba, a deep soul voice or a tiny bell are a relief when they come in, but most have long-faded by the time they’ve done their multiples and have been shuffled out by a new twist. With players like Kieran Hebden pushing boundaries out there, I'm not even sure that dance crowds will be finding this infectiously calculated stuff as rewarding as it once was.
There are landmarks like the "Clap Your Hands!!" section with it’s cute dub samba pulse, but in general it’s a pretty ramble through someone else's excellent party. Forty minutes from the start there's a sudden and rather uncomfortable shift of mood as we get the whole of a lightly remixed DOORS tune ("Texas Radio and the Big Beat"). It's a dreary lumpen thing with Morrison at his portentous worst, some lamely comic cowboy riffs and a naff pub band guitar solo. Dance music it isn't. THE ROLLING STONES' "Rain Fall Down" that follows is equally extended and only a little more sprightly. The gap between the two is so stop and start again that my imaginary crowd have shuffled to their second standstill. THE STONES, with light funk backing and a corny string section would then have them sleeping on their feet if they weren't totally gone.
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So ... 40 odd minutes of decent dance mix and ten minutes of shapeless slightly funked over rock plundering.
www.ashleybeedle.co.uk
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