Various Artists

Balance 016 – Agoria

EQ Recordings [Australia]

2xCD

Release Date: 03 16 10

The last few Balance comps have sealed the series’ fate. They’re known as faultless mixes that convey the personality of the artist and Balance 016 is no different. Frenchman Agoria is at the helm this time and this intricately woven mix keeps the bar high on the clubby side with quality control on lock.

Starting off lucid and atmospheric, the first five cuts flow into the meat of Disc One, subtitled ‘Aller Retour’, which is an overlapping 4/4 texture of sound. Once Agoria’s own ‘Altre Voci’ flows impeccably into The Field’s live version of ‘Over The Ice’, this comp is officially runnin’. It nearly gets anthemic with a 1-2 punch of Todd Terje’s take on Felix Laband’s ‘Whistling In Tongues’ and jozif’s ‘Back 2 My Roots’ but instead just makes you warm inside. Agoria slowly winds it down to a bubbling finale, percolating just enough to keep the energy.

Disc Two, ‘Rising Sine’, brings the beat back after a brief intro but in a different way. Here, many different concepts are brought in and out of each cut. Some cuts appear two and three times, sometimes at the beginning and end of this Disc. There are no less than 12 exclusives on this comp, appearances are made by Different Gear, Efdemin, Mark Broom, Shit Robot and Kid A and everything sounds fresh. Agoria really splices and dices the cuts here, inviting you in and making you a fan.

The attention to detail on this mix is what makes this a great compilation. It’s current, delivered with panache, yet personal and almost introverted in a way. Kick off Spring with this comp and if you’re headed to Miami don’t miss the album release party with Chris Fortier, Joris Voorn and Will Saul on March 26th at Victor Hotel. 8/10 Eden Alison.

by