Various - Nightmoves mixed by Sister Bliss (Godlike And Electric)
UK release date: 14 July 2008
track listing
Disc One
1. Matti Schwartz Ft Jonny L - Can't Wait For Love
2. Mi:Grant - Titan
3. Jamie Anderson & Content DJ - Body Jackin'
4. ET - Peplab (Peblab Classic Treat Mix)
5. Bangkok Impact - Premature Ejaculation
6. Dynamix - Shake Yourself Loose (EH & TJ Gonella Dub)
7. Thomas Schwartz - Jupiter Calling
8. Basto! Feat I-Fan - Savior (John Dhalback Remix)
9. DINKA - The Sin (Chris Reece Tribal Sucker Remix)
10. Tim Fuller - The Slightest Touch
11. Jakatta - Shimmering Stars (Joey Negro Galaxarian Dub)
12. Pnau - With You Forever
Disc Two
1. Pryda - Europa
2. The Enemy - This Song (Rollo & Sister Bliss Remix)
3. Underworld - Beautiful Burnout (Mark Knight Mix)
4. Marc Romboy vs Gui Boratto - Eurasia (Marc’s Mix)
5. Splittr - All Alone (Michael Gray Mix)
6. Donnacha Costello - Black Bag Job
7. Probspot - Stalker (Fine Taste Remix)
8. Teenager - Liquid Cement (Roman Rai Mix)
9. Mark Mendes - Beneath You
10. Adam K & Soha - Long Distance
11. 16 Bit Lolitas - The Bus I Wasn't Officially On
12. Samuel L Sessions - Off the Chain
13. Layo & Bushwacka! - Tabloid
14. Faithless - Kind of Peace (Gabriel & Dresden Mix)
With the huge success Faithless continue to enjoy, it's easy to overlook the talents of Sister Bliss. As an artist in her own right she made the excellent Sister Sister single back in 2000, while her mixes for Ministry of Sound and have been met with open arms, resulting in several early-millennia appearances in DJ Magazine's Top 100 DJs poll.
All of which makes it a shame to report that Nightmoves doesn't make more of an impact. It's not that it's a bad mix, or that any of the tracks are particularly duff, just that it fails to maintain the interest. And in a sense there's nothing worse than a DJ mix that's just alright - if it's bad, you can switch it off and go elsewhere, if it's good you can dance on the ceiling, but if it's alright you leave it running in the hope something will elevate it to a higher level, and finish disappointed when nothing is forthcoming.
The time of day is crucial for this collection, admittedly - otherwise why would it be called Nightmoves?! - but even in the small hours it tends to function more as thudding background music, despite an impressive kick drum that boots the music into action early on.
The mixing is good - no surprises there - and makes sense with a well-chosen set list that segues in together perfectly well. It's when you come to choose standout tracks and scratch your head that the problems begin.
There are some obvious stand-outs in Joey Negro's reworking of his own Shimmering Stars, with which the first mix ends, and Mark Knight's remix of the ice-cold Beautiful Burnout, the pick of the last Underworld album. The closing duo of the second mix are also hard to top, Layo & Bushwacka's Tabloid assuming anthemic proportions before the rumbling bass of Gabriel & Dresden's remix of Faithless' own Kind Of Peace finish on a high.
On the minus side is a startling remix of The Enemy's This Song. In the 1990s the legend Rollo & Sister Bliss promised much, and often delivered a complete rethink of the song in question - Livin' Joy's Dreamer springs to mind. But here their first outing for a while sounds tired and uninspired, the voice not carrying for club ears. Splittr's All Alone, with its dark "feel like going home" hook, is similarly difficult to grasp.
There's nothing here to suggest Sister Bliss is anything but a good DJ - and the mixing on Nightmoves can't be faulted. But as a document of current day house music, with a slightly trancey twist, its moments of inspiration are fitful.
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