- The past year has been quite a whirlwind for Laura Jones. After putting her name on the map with "The Love in Me" in the early part of 2011, she has quickly progressed from relatively unknown DJ/producer to a respected member of the house music community, releasing tracks on Visionquest, Crosstown Rebels and her friend Matt Tolfrey's Leftroom imprint. Meanwhile, she also recently secured her self-professed dream booking—a slot at this year's opening party for Circoloco at DC-10, a club where she got her electronic music education during multiple trips to Ibiza in the mid-'00s. Hell, if tabloid stories are to be believed, she's even got the Royal seal of approval. So her debut mix CD for Leftroom's new mix series Leftroom Presents... has arrived at the perfect time, giving Jones a chance to showcase the skills that led to her Circoloco recruitment.
Over the course of 75 minutes Jones carefully threads together a selection of tracks on Leftroom Presents... that carry her penchant for the melancholy, airy side of electronic music. After a rather ethereal start punctuated by Alex Celler's "Conundrum," things really start warming up when Matt Tolfrey and Sam Russo's remix of Jones' own "Intentions" (commissioned exclusively for the mix) gives way to My Favorite Robot's "The Waiting Rain." The brooding atmosphere of the track, coupled with its haunting vocals, provides a peak after which point the pace and energy stays at a reasonable high.
What follows is a selection of music that, although varied, bears plenty of similarities and flows as a single composition. Ultrasone's "Here & So Far" is placed over the top of Kate Simko and Tolfrey's "Lazy B" with deft subtlety, while later, Ryan Crosson's remix of "C'mon People" by Gavin Herlihy merges seamlessly with Polyrhythmic's self-titled track. By the close, Jones strides toward her story's natural conclusion, the tribal percussion of Floppy Sounds' "Ultra Song" giving way to Guy Gerber's soundtrack-esque epic, "The Mirror Game." It's a fitting finale that summarises the mix perfectly; dramatic, lush and crafted with a similarly seasoned air of polish.
Tracklist01. dOP & Masomenos - Hello!
02. Soulade - Fora Da Chuva
03. Homeboy feat. Anoushie - Halfway (Youandewanremix)
04. Alex Celler - Conundrum
05. Laura Jones - Intentions (Matt Tolfrey & Russo Remix)
06. My Favorite Robot - The Waiting Rain
07. Kate Simko & Matt Tolfrey - Lazy B
08. Ultrasone - Here And So Far
09. Gavin Herlihy - C'mon People (Ryan Crosson Remix)
10. Polyrhythmic - Polyrhythmic (House mix)
11. Matt Tolfrey & Maher Daniel - It Ain't Over Yet (Gavin Herlihy Remix)
12. Giorgio Luceri - The Piano Overdub (Scope & Sydney Young Remix)
13. Ultrasone - Floppy Sounds (Studio B mix)
14. Guy Gerber - The Mirror Game (Snakepit Dub)