Genre-defining comps.

hooooooo boy...you're askin for a mouthful from yours truly nitsuh ;)

some of my favorite comps. which seem to sum up a particular genre:

isolationism (out of print kevin martin contribution to the virgin ambit series...ambient #4...criss crosses from ice to amm to aphex twin to labradford...dark ambient, low key dub inflections...the sound of ice floes at 3 am)

history of our world vol. 1 & 2 - breakbeat and jungle ultramix by dj db (absolutely fantabuloso mix of the breakbeat/hardcore/rave continuum from piano screamers through proto jungle to jump-up and ambient stopping just before the rot set in...a pocket history of my favorite music[s] of the 1990s)

modulations and transformations 4 (the best overview of the electronica avant garde thingee i've yet found. some dodgy entries, but three solid discs nonetheless.)

mash the place up (shrillstep, splatterbreaks, whatever you want to call the south london collision of 180 bpm amen breaks and merzbow noize.)

happy 2 b hardcore vol. 1 (yes, i love this music. and fuck you if you don't, you hipster snob. ;])

return of the dj vol. 1 (turntablism, whatever. rollin and scratchin. and scratchin. and scratchin.)

more to come as i think of them.

happy 2 b hardcore vol. 1 (yes, i love this music. and fuck you if you don't, you hipster snob. ;])

Dude, no argument here, as you can see. ;-) Good choices, I would have to say. Profile had a couple of boxes -- 'best of techno,' 'best of house' -- that had about five discs each of late eighties/early nineties fun. At least, I enjoy them!

ned, my lowbrow brother in arms. ;)

also, the first two warp 10 compilations. the first collects many classic house and acid traks. the second is the definitive old skool warp sound back when they were, ya know, a dance label. ;)

"Clicks and Cuts" on Mille Plateau: Genre defining Glitch/Digital aesthetics.

Relics by Derrick May, a mix of the best of early Detroit Techno. good luck finding it.

"Putting The Morr Back Into Morrissey" a good IDM comp on Morr music that came out last fall, has pretty much all the main players in good form.

"The Button Down Mind of Daniel Bell" Dan Bell, a Mix CD that came out on Tresor last year, pretty much a mind blowing "best of" what is happening in minimal techno and house. This is a cannot afford to be missed disc.

"I-F: Mixed In The Hague, vol. 1" Another mind blowing mix-cd from last year. I-F is Inter-Ference the super-underground producer and DJ from the Dutch Electro Scene, who used to run Hotmix records, and current runs Viewlexx records. Ference has been mixing records since 1985. This is a comp of Primitive Electro, Italio-Disco, and early Detroit Techno. If you can get your hands on one CD I have recommended, this is the one to grab!!! This is true dance music education, this is roots, it is not to be missed.

The Politics in Punk 3 cd set does a good job

Cosmic Kurushi Monsters: Tokyo Invasion Vol 1 - bumper introduction to Japanese 90s psych-rock. Tokyo Flashback Vol 1 for those paying slightly more attention, a few years before (i.e. not me)

Artificial Inteligence -- warp -- started IDM ?
Jeff mills live at the liquid room tokyo.. amazing recording of jeff mills live
Kruder and Dorfmiester- dj kicks -- kinda first album to define that sound, before groove armada and countless chill out albums.
Cashier Escape route- city centre offices compilation.. I love this record, similar style to Morr records releases.
True people-- detroit techno album
reactivate 1-8 react records samplers
moving shadow samplers
etc..

electro boogie - dave clark .. K7)

Erm, wot about Artificial Intelligence from Warp, and the inital Reactivate series (At least 1-4) which introduced Euro techno hardocre styles to a wide UK audience? Or for that matter, Technohead vols 1-4 (Gabber) and that late 80s Virgin "Sound of US House" type compil (Dunno the exact title) which popularised Detroit techno, in particular launching Inner City's "Big Fun into the UK top 10? And of course ye olde rock 'n' roll/garage comps like "Nuggets" and "Born Bad Vol xx"...

Another possible recent compil: "Sound of the Pirates" (UK Garage) seems to have caused a few ripples...

Old Fart!!!!

pebbles vol3

Moshi Moshi - Pop International Style. a good indie/twee pop intro.

techno: RetroTechno: EmotionsElectric reggae: Tougher Than Tough: the Story of Jamaican Music drum 'n bass: Drum & Bass Assassins 2-step: Locked On ...the Best of house: Definitive House Mastercuts

"Rodney on the ROQ"

When I was 13 and reading about this comp in Creem magazine, it sounded like this SoCal scene was exotic and cool beyond my wildest imagination. Considering it was 1980, I wasn't too far from right. The cover still makes me feel all excited inside.

I've also got to put in a vote for the _Best Of Techno_ compilations, particularly volumes 2 through 4. Absolute classics. Other good compilations include _Speed Limit 140+ BPM_ (vols 1-3 are specifically recommended), _Chris Sheppard Presents The Techno Trip_ (for having a complete version of 80 AUM's "Mindcontroller", the original version of "Dominator" by Human Resource, a fat remix of "Insomniak" by DJ PC and the unsung classic "Sextalk" by Syko), _Cold Krush Kuts_, the "Wipeout XL" soundtrack, and the Metalheads compilations.

Warp's Artificial Inteligence Vol 1. , Macro Dub Infection, Isolationsim

I'm with you on AI and Isolationism, but Macro Dub was more a collection of examples of different genres whose only commonality was some use of dub. I mean, no-one really talks about Laika, Porter Ricks, Omni Trio and Alec Empire as belonging to the same genre.

There's actually a new Speed Limit 140 comp coming out--all 4/4 stuff, but not happy h-core/gabba--just really good Euro-techno. Slipmatt mixes it.

I'm especially fond of Speed Limit 1 (rrrrrush!) and 3 (Sub Base and Movin Shadow at their slippin' into darkness peak). And History 1 is my third-favorite album of the '90s, after Fatboy's On the Floor at the Boutique (another candidate for this category, actually...) and Luna's Penthouse (but it's just so perfect...).

Must also be said that if you can lay fingers on damn near any of Virgin AMBT's mid-'90s output you should--esp. if David Toop compiled it. Sugar & Poison (post-soul ballads), Guitars on Mars and esp. Ocean of Sound (no. 7 on my '90s list, after Nevermind, Maxinquaye and Very--isn't this just fascinating? anyway...).

New "Speed Limit" = extremely happy Dan. I find it amazing that, over 8 volumes, there's only one dud (#6), which is dud in the sense that it's decent rather than fucking amazing. Most consistent comp series EVER.

Darkcore = Moving Shadow & Suburban Base Present The Joint

Bizarre House = Herbert's Let's All Make Mistakes comp.

Minimal Techno = Jeff Mills' Live At The Liquid Room, Tokyo

Note: The Joint = Speed Limit 140+ BPM Vol. 3, for those taking notes.

Have to second Modulations and Transformation 4 on Mille Plateaux. Incredible avant-electronic comp w/ excellent pacing that also offers good starting points for further investigation. Still turning my head around three years later.

I would rate the second Clicks+Cuts compilation over the first; it shows the range of what can be accomplished in glitch. Certainly defines that genre.

The Gummo soundtrack.

for 2-step it's hard 2 beat Matt Jam Lamont's "The Jam Experience"

"Routes From The Jungle" is my compilation of the 90's. It you were to go back to the 90's from the 22nd century and choose just one album as a representation then this would be the one. Alternatively, you could pick "A History Of Hardcore - Moving Shadow and Surbuban Base". Love "Macro Dub Infection", not least for it's mind blowing colourful cover. Also stick on "Locked On Volume 3", "Pure Garage II" & "Pure Garage III". Yes, the two "Sound Of The Pirates" compilations are fantastic.

The sleevenotes from Kodwo Eshun for "Routes From THe Jungle" are also brilliant.

Overviews: Routes From The Jungle was the first comp that came in to my head too. Those Virgin Ambient comps that others have mentioned are also good.

On the "perfect introduction" side, I have had hours of listening pleasure from 'The Breaks' and 'Super Breaks' series of comps of late sixties/early seventies pop, soul and funk. Their raison d'être is to collect together all those obscure tracks that have had their breakbeat, bass or rhythm section sampled by hip hop acts in more recent times. Not exactly genre comps ('Super Breaks' varies wildly - from Perry&Kingsley to The Emotions) but a great way in to some criminally ignored artists of the period.

earache's original (UK) _grindcrusher_ was tops - more fast and brutal teenage-hormone accentuating metal and grindcore than you could shake a stick at. the american release sucked.

_new york hardcore - the way it is_ - ridiculous compilation of straightedge (mostly) hardcore that meant the world to me at the time, although now i only like the song by trip 6. i think that's the name.

_making losers happy_ - xpressway comp with everyone who mattered and mostly still do. terminals, alastair galbraith, dead c, korn, plagal grind, etc.

Hmmmm let's see......here are some classic "prog house" mixes...

Sasha & Digweed - Northern Exposure V.1 (2CD import, NOT the domestic version)...very well-mixed, classic melodic tunes.....no longer a representation of what is played in clubs these days, however. More of a listening album than a dancing album.

For a more current document of where house music is, I think Sander Kleinenberg's Nu Breed mix fits the bill.

I think the Mo Wax comp "Headz" is king of this category. People (like me) who never would have been interested in "trip-hop" were pulled in not just thru tasteful track selection but its diversity. The tracks seemed to be chosen not for tempo or instrumentation, or place of origin, but for attitude and feel, and the results are all over the map. It's thrilling to find the edges of a genre more flexible than you'd previously thought.