DJ DSL: #1

By GRAHAM REID

(Herald rating: * * * )

From Kruder and Dorfmeister's label comes this downbeat-to-upbeat (then down again) remix album by Vienna's DJ DSL. Early up he slices and shuffles the likes of the Peace Orchestra and Masters of Illusion into something quietly mesmerising (the seven-minute Happy Bear, which appears to be a remix of his previous remix of Commercial Breakup's Little Bear), then gets 70s soul-funky with Kool Keith and Motion Man (Let Me Talk to You) and on the scratching'n'vibes of Neu, 6 Min, then nattily picks up the party pace from "Would you like a drink?" to "Hey buddy, mind my drink." It's canny and feels calculated, but when he then drops the mood for the remix of Komeit's When It Starts (here as the deliciously distilled Euro-soul This is Time When It Starts) and brings back Kool Keith and Motion Man for the minimal Lovesick, you'll be abandoning the imaginary mirrorball in your lounge and sensibly sitting in a comfortable chair nodding and admiring the man's audio smarts.

Yep, it's an album which telescopes an otherwise long night into 70 minutes of CD. Funky when required, emotion-free at other times, and never less than clever.

Label: G-Stone