Search - Various Artists :: Cafe Del Mar 4

Number 4 is it....

nicjaytee | London | 06/13/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Okay... I've never been to Ibiza, I'm too old to chill out after a hectic night's clubbing, other than Stan Getz & John Martyn I've never heard of any of the artists on the album and, my friends are getting seriously worried that I'm hitting a mid life crisis. But... if this is what being around 18 when the sun comes up on a distant beach is all about then count me in!A quite stunning compilation of laid back, ambient tracks that could so easily lapse into "mid-90's lift muzak" but under Jose Padilla's deft and perceptive hand ends up being challenging & interesting as well as superbly relaxing. Selecting and combining such marvellous, often totally obscure recordings into a seamless whole deserves a five star recommendation on its own but, what carries this album through, is its sheer quality: just about every track is a winner. Who are the "Voices of Kwahn A.D.", Wasis Dhop", "Indo-Aminata" & "Levitation"?... more importantly, how can they remain so unknown when they can play such magnificent music? Anyone who can scan the current and past music scenes without preconception or prejudice to produce such an effective, wholly cohesive album deserves serious praise indeed. And... to cap it all, his own opening track - "Que Bonita" - perfectly captures what follows: a beautiful celebration of being here and now. Reviewers of Jose Padilla's' "Café del Mar" series have their favourites: is it number 5, number 6, number 3 or number 2 ? They're all good, but for me number 4 is it... one of the very best late-night (or early morning) records ever made!"

The Best in the entire collection

lounge_lassie | SF Bay Area, US | 12/16/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Cafe Del Mar 4 (Volumen Cuatro) is by far my favorite. I have all the volumes to date, from 1 to 11, but was missing Volume 4, which I just picked up. I LOVE this CD!! Don't get me wrong, all the other Cafe Del Mar volumes are fair to good, with maybe 1 or 2 or 3 very good tracks on each of them. Despite these gems, most of the newer volumes (especially from Vol. 9 onward) tend to sound monotous--you know, the same beat, the same rhythm, the same "sound". But in Volume 4, every song has something new, different, and exciting to offer--and I just can't say that that is true with the other volumes. Volume 4 is the best ecclectic fusion of electronica, jazz, midtempo, and lounge of the bunch. Very cosmo!"

One of the best Café del Mar's albums!

Arry Tanusondjaja | Adelaide, Australia | 09/05/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Jose Padilla seems to have found his style when he compiled "Volumen Cuatro" - the album is very groovy but still easy to the ear and playable at the office. The thing that I like about his style of compilation is that he would start Cafe del Mar with slow beat songs and culminate with dancey tunes, before closing the album down with a mellow piece, without any disjoints. For V.4, he closes his album with Stan Getz's "Street Tattoo". A perfect wine to close off an "audio dining" experience. If you want to collect Cafe del Mar and you wouldn't want to collect the whole series, make sure you have V4, V5, and V6. V5 is still my favourite of all Cafe del Mar albums."