D'Julz - This Is Bass Culture: 4 Years Of Bass Culture

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  • When D'Julz founded the Bass Culture night at Rex Club back in '97, it was a shelter from the filter-happy French house that was gripping Paris at the time. That it's withstood over a decade and a half of shifting trends speaks for the timelessness of the music he curates. Deep and just a little dubby, D'Julz's sound anticipated the turns house music would make in the second half of the last decade. In 2009, Bass Culture became a record label as well as a club night, and brought producers like Mr. G and Rio Padice into the fold. Usually more reliable than exciting, the label marks its fourth anniversary with a patient but rewarding mix that neatly sums up the Bass Culture sound. A good Bass Culture track is slightly subdued, with a bassline that snags and a clipped vocal hook to slice through its sumptuous atmosphere. D'Julz has carefully steered the label in ever-deeper directions, something that's clear from the mix's opening run, which includes Fred P, DJ Qu and Joel Alter. The emphasis is on softly rounded chords and padded percussion, like the spring-loaded drums in Alter's "Silence Is Golden." D'Julz mixes like a tailor, carefully stitching tracks together so the seams barely show—the middle-run from John Jastszebski's string-soaked "Work" through to the D'Julz edit of Anonym's "Lov Is Easy" is a careful tapestry of warmed textures and bubbling samples. The mix beefs up for its second half, marked by the pendulum bassline in D'Julz and Cassy's unreleased "What U See In Me." The Analogue Cops and Mr. G rough up the final stretch before Oleg Poliakov's "Besides," a track whose central device is simple: each propulsive chord lifts it higher and higher, as if it were catching thermal updrafts with every passing bar. In true Bass Culture stye, it leaves a far bigger footprint than should be possible with its humble gait, a peaceful finish to a mix that feels relaxing without losing its groove.
  • Tracklist
      01. Kasper - Jaia (Fred P. Remix) 02. Joel Alter - Rules Of Love (DJ Qu Remix) 03. Joel Alter - Silence Is Golden 04. Rio Padice - Deeptstation 05. Mr Tophat & Art Alfie - Ressle's Restroom 06. John Jastszebski - Work 07. Franco Cinelli - Home 08. Chris Simmonds - The Way U Want 2 B (Instrumental Mix) 09. Anonym - Lov Is Easy (D'Julz Edit) 10. Cassy & D'Julz - What U See in Me 11. D'Julz - Da Madness (2013 Mix) 12. The Analog Cops & Alex Picone - Out Of Passion 13. Mr G - Got That Swing 14. Mr G - Sunday Blues (Kasper Remix) 15. Oleg Poliakov - Besides
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