Various artists
Defected In The House: Mixed By Gilles Peterson
Defected/ Stomp


The market has become saturated with house music compilations, causing a deterioration in the quality of releases - it has become a quantity over quality mentality. Fortunately, there are still labels that uphold the ethos of classic house music, with Defected at the forefront, and this is epitomised by their 'In The House' series that has seen house music luminaries such as Jay-J, Miguel Migs, Copyright, DJ Gregory, Masters At Work, and Dimitri From Paris headlining. However, in their boldest and most exciting project, Defected has enlisted arguably one the world's most respected music aficionados - Gilles Peterson - and the results are nothing short of spectacular.

Peterson has dug through his vast music collection (kept in its own apartment called "Brownswood") and has compiled a three-CD extravaganza that captures the essence of house music in a way that no other release has. The first CD is a house mix, which builds from the downtempo, soulful joints such as Wahoo's Don't Take It Personal, N'Dambi's Can't Change Me, and Blaze's unforgettable Wishing You Were Here, to the chunkier and more tribal tracks like Alex Attias' Let The Rhythm Get In, Mike Dunn's This Here Is House Muzik, and Mario Basanov's Test. What makes this even more impressive is that this is Peterson's first ever house mix!

However, CD 2 takes it to another level, and highlights Peterson's incomparable musical knowledge. It features a collection of classic jazz, funk, soul, and disco that has influenced the modern sound of house music. Whether it be Earth, Wind And Fire's Let Your Feelings Show, Angela Bofill's classic People Make The World Go Round, A Taste Of Honey's infectious Boogie Oogie Oogie, Rufus' soulful social commentary in Brother's Gonna Work It Out, or Cerrone's Music Of Life, this is one lesson through history everyone must have.

And to top it off, CD 3 is a collection of tracks exclusively commissioned by Peterson for this compilation, and it features some of modern house music's true heavyweights, including Kings Of Tomorrow, Louie Vega, DJ Sneak, Peter Kruder, and Carl Craig.

Gilles Peterson has taken the concept of compilations to another whole new stratosphere, as only he can, and the result speaks for itself. This is one the best house releases from one of the best house music labels.

Leo Varona