Search - Seb Fontaine :: Perfecto Presents

Sublime & annoying all at once - that takes some doing

Anand Subramaniam | Chennai, INDIA | 01/20/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"What do you do when a mix transports you to dizzy heights one minute, and then irritates the heck out of you the next? If that puzzle is too much for you to handle, you may want to leave this mix well alone. However, for those of you who can put up with (or skip) nerve-jangling moments of sonic horror every now and again, this mix is a beauty - 'coz he's back, all right. With a bang. Like only he can.I've long ago decided that nobody knows what Seb Fontaine's thinking except Seb Fontaine himself - the man seems to be comfortable with such drastic changes of direction when programming a mix that it's a little disorienting for a few of us. A classic example - mixes from his Prototype series with the Boxed label, which whipped from funky to deep to progressive to trancey with no time to breathe between tracks. That's part of the appeal of a Seb mix, I guess - track selection like there's no tomorrow, sorta like the feel of a DJ going mad in a club. Ergo, you're going to have to expect the disconnected feel that some tracks induce ("What the %^@* is he trying to do?!"). This mix showcases this ability to enthrall & frustrate in equal parts by interspersing driving rhythms and banging tempo with maniacally repetitive vocals that I simply don't see the point of - sometimes right in the middle of an otherwise brilliant track.Disc 1 starts you off well enough, with Saltpervert's "5 AM Soho" providing the perfect foundation for a groove-oriented, high energy mix. Seb's own remix of Shagrat's "India" carries on well, and when Flatline's "Are You a Freak?" dropped, I was just getting ready to bow to the master. Then, it happened - the title vocal moved from being just right to plain peurile (areyouafreakareyouafreakareyoufreak... enough already!). I love everything else about this track - wouldn't a dub have done so much by cutting a little? We'll never know - this is Seb's party, and you just have to keep up, I guess. By the time I was back in the groove, David Guetta's "Distortion" was driving appropriately hard, and segued superbly into Soul Mekanik and further into The Mook, before ending with the suitably pulsing "It's Love (Trippin)". OK - just an aberration on Track 4, you think. Let's move on to Disc 2.He does it again - right in the beginning. Otherwise fine track absolutely mauled by a pointless, looped vocal. I could cry with disappointment, but things get hauled back up again in a serious hurry - tracks 3, 4, 5 & 6 are vintage Seb. Wild, out of control grooves brought to shuddering halts with outworldly, trippy breakdowns - this is what he does best. By the time MAteo Murphy's "Spectrum" breaks over your speakers, you've moved through enough suitably electro-clash territory to satisfy followers of the year's biggest trend. Overall result - satsfaction.Bottom Line - He's a mad magician. Don't come here if you're looking for consistency. But if you want to experience the buildup of epic sound to that defining moment that only Seb can provide, go get it. It may make you shake your head in bewilderment once or twice, but you'll always be yanked back into the groove eventually.Disc 1 - 3 stars.
Disc 2 - 4 stars.
Reviewer's Tilt - An extra 1/2 star (aww, it's Seb, after all :-D)
Overall - 4 stars. Does him no harm at all."

The Ever-Evolving Seb!!!

JO | NY | 10/19/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This set is sick! Seb gets right into it from the start. Excellent programming. This is a must have for Seb fans! He kills it on this one."

I Wasted $20 on this cd

Anand Subramaniam | 10/13/2003

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I found this cd to be overly repetitve and boring. As a fan of Sasha, Digweed, Van Dyk and crew, I would recommend any album by these DJ's over this Perfecto compilation"