Darren Emerson & Magik Johnson - Underwater V (Underwater)
UK release date: 31 July 2006
track listing
Disc 1
1. Intro
2. Beckster - Howyadoin
3. Ynau - A Tribute to Mark Spoon
4. Onionz - Burnin'
5. The Wiggs - Mars
6. D Ramirez & Dimitry Bobrov - Pleasure Me
7. Oded Peled & Introvert - Hypnolove
8. Joel Mull - For Me
9. DNA Orchestra - Samurai (Paul Jackson Ronin Mix)
10. James Mowbray & D Ramirez - I Choose Anger
11. D Ramirez - La Discotek
12. Chelonis R Jones - Deer In The Headlights (DJ Hell Remix)
13. Ynau - Saviours In On Out Tonight
14. Darko Esser & Benny Rodrigues - Paradox
Disc 2
1. DJ T - Funk On You (Dub)
2. Magik Johnson - I'll Take You There (Main Mix)
3. Diringer - Flake Escape
4. Jazzy Eyewear - Gotta Be Real (Zoo Brazil Remix)
5. Magik Johnson - Jump
6. Ian Pooley - Higgledy Piggledy
7. Magik Johnson - I Give Up (Original)
8. Magik Johnson feat. Sandy Mill - Not What You Know
9. Margot Meets The Melody Maker - Torch (Extrawelt Remix)
10. Trentemoller - Sunstroke
11. Kerri Chandler - Bar A Thym (Tom Middleton Cosmos Mix)
12. Magik Johnson - Malone
13. Mr Gone - Do For Love (Magik Johnson Remix)
Can you believe it's half a decade since Darren
Emerson moved on from Underworld? Well
somehow it is, and if you look at the strides taken by
his label in those five years it's clear the DJ has
been far from idle.
In that time he's enjoyed floor filling singles and
albums from the likes of Tim Deluxe and
Sharam Jey, as well as going down a storm in
Ibiza alongside Erick Morillo and Pete
Tong.
Emerson it is who takes to the wheels of steel for
the opening disc in Underwater's fifth episode, but he
sounds surprisingly sober in the string-based intro
and the cool Howyadoin from Beckster that follows.
This proves to be a bit of a ruse though, as it
doesn't take long before he's pulling more substantial
party tunes out of his box. D Ramirez in
particular looks like a good find, but perhaps even
more so Ynau, whose A Tribute To Mark Spoon is
a bouncy track with a cutting edge bassline.
Emerson looks in the direction of the White Isle a
few times, most notably for Oded Peled's
Hypnolove, where a finely crafted keyboard riff does
the business, before showcasing another new Underwater
talent in Joel Mull.
Magik Johnson (no connection to the
basketball player!) is up next, and his set also takes
a while to bed in. His own productions feature
prominently, whether in the distinctive riff that
dominates Jump or in the punky I Give Up, which is a
standout track but whose vocal admittedly won't be to
all tastes.
The only thing that seems to be lacking in his set
is a bona fide hands in the air moment, and that
becomes all too obvious when the first potential one
arrives through Tom Middleton's remix of the
massive Kerri Chandler anthem Bar A Thym. This
isn't quite as barnstorming as the original, but has a
spring in its step nonetheless.
What's abundantly clear here though is that Darren
Emerson's eye for talent remains, both in producers
and DJs, and it's a measure of Underwater's success so
far to say that this compilation has now become an
integral part of the clubbing calendar. One to play on
the plane to the Med!