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Darren Emerson & Magik Johnson - Underwater V (Underwater)
UK release date: 31 July 2006
3 stars
Darren Emerson & Magik Johnson - Underwater V

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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)

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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!


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