Review: GU 030: Nick Warren - Paris (2007, Global Underground)

While undoubtedly an industry legend, Nick Warren doesn't quite fit the mold his superstar peers fill. Since abandoning his signature trance sound nearly 8 years ago, Warren has carved a niche of his own with a sound that prioritizes tunefulness and danceability over novelty.

Warren has never been, nor ever claimed to be, a good mixer. He could care less about trends and is generally unimpressed with technology. Yet at his best, Warren's sound is both mature and timeless, transcending genre and style with a sort of grace and universal appeal unmatched by anyone. At its worst, however, his sound is ineffective and even banal.

With Paris, Warren seems to walk the line between his best and worst tendencies. While the compilation is generally pleasing and entertaining, it fails to improve upon Warren's previous work and is a decidedly average affair.

CD1 is a smooth, downtempo journey filled with warm vibes and cool beats. In a recent interview, Warren described his decision to go downtempo: "My thought process on this one was...I can't do two CDs of dance music again. There are so many compilations out there, and apart from the choosing of the tracks, there's not that much difference between any of them. So I wanted to do something that really promoted cool, downtempo music that's not [by] fucking Moby or something like that."

On first listen, the CD1 feels almost ambient. The music is hazy and warm, with a subtle, uplifting mood throughout. The mix kicks off well enough with the silky, trip-hop inspired "After" by Space Gypsies but Warren quickly loses momentum with the twangy, dull "Strange Parallels" by Tripswitch and the cheery but banal "Zusammenallien" by Audioglider. Thankfully, things begin to pick up again with breezy, acoustic strums of Nove's "Sedatives." A second track by Audioglider, "Whiskers," continues the set's warm, melodic vibe, but from here Warren oddly decides to switch gears. While Joey Fehrenbach's "Being Around You" is certainly brilliant in its own right, its cold, lonely production doesn't quite fit the vibe of the first half of the CD. The remainder of the CD, unfortunately, feels directionless and anti-climatic, with the final few tracks being rather bland and unexceptional. Joey Fehrenbach's "Behold" does provide for a decent closer, but one can't help but feel a bit disappointed with Warren's programming here.

CD2, unfortunately, doesn't fare much better. The first several tracks serve to transition the listener out of downtempo mode, which they do effectively enough. By the time we're four tracks in, the mix is in full club mode. While Essenvee's "Head Down" is a bit derivative with its obnoxious synth blasts, Warren does hit his stride with a string of brilliant, energetic productions over the next several tracks. Pole Folder & CP push the energy through the roof with their trance-inspired "Bokoto 10PM," while the 16 Bit Lolitas provide a pair of devastating, deep house productions in the ultra-deep "Neptune" and the brooding "Nonverbal Language." Warren changes gears for a bit with the dubby "One Thing" by Paradise Rockers before returning to 4/4-dance-floor mode with the massive techno-inspired "Five Five Zero" by Oliver Moldan and Jerome Isma-Ae. It's from this point, however, that Warren starts to indulge his taste for syrupy melodies. Ohmna's "I'm Lost" is fluffy and ineffective, and Eelke Kleijn's "8 Bit Era," while certainly pretty, is filled with several cringe-inducing moments, including a particularly egregious "synth solo." Worst yet is Tannen's "Blackout;" a hokey, uninspired cover of Eric Prydz's "A Bit Patchy" remix. While an entertaining listen overall, CD2 quickly loses its appeal after the first several listens, and generally feels banal and unrefined.

Throughout the years, Nick Warren has stood out as a unique exception to the superstar DJ mold. Inevitable comparisons to his previous compilations will show that he has failed to break any new ground for himself here however. With GU024, he further solidified his standing as a brilliant downtempo DJ while simultaneously drawing in legions of new fans. With GU028, he bucked the trends and took a defiant stance in favor of new artists and the music he loved. And while both CDs of GU030 are filled with several great tracks, as a compilation, Paris is mediocre at best. Poor programming mars any potential for greatness CD1 had, while Nick's affection for derivative, syrupy melodies materializes far too often on CD2.

While fans will undoubtedly still find things to enjoy about this compilation, it's hard to not feel a bit underwhelmed and disappointed by Paris, as has been the case with most Global Underground compilations over the last several years.

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Title: GU 030: Nick Warren - Paris
Artist: Various Artists
Label: Global Underground
Catalog #: GU030CD
Format: 2xCD
Release date: February 19, 2007

5/10 (Reviewed by Jia)
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Tracklist