Poker Flat Vol. 5 - Bets and Bluffs

This is an excellent compilation from the Poker Flat label, collecting the best of their recent singles, a couple of exclusive remixes and a bonus mix by Martin Landsky.

Album Review by Liam Arnold | 11 Jan 2007
Album title: Bets and Bluffs
Artist: Poker Flat Vol. 5
Label: Poker Flat
This is an excellent compilation from the Poker Flat label, collecting the best of their recent singles, a couple of exclusive remixes and a bonus mix by Martin Landsky. It's a compilation covering a broad spectrum of electronic music, from big, funky tracks like Bug and Tanzmann's 'Shock', to Trentemoller's wonderfully deep dub on 'Always Something Better'. The same synthetic stuff can grow repetitive on your stereo though, and Guido Schneider's contribution stands out from the rest - a previously unheard, carefully crafted piece of rubbery techno, shot through with sporadic freeform drum riffs, which cumulates in an entire choir humming. Steve Bug and John Tejada - respectively the label boss and the biggest artist on the roster - also feature, but you're left yearning for more of their unreleased material. It's handy then that the vinyl contains six exclusively produced original tracks from Pokerflat. Bets and Bluffs is a great chance to familiarise yourself with a label that has such a high output and diverse tastes. [Liam Arnold]

Release Date: Out now. If you like this, also check out Trentemoller, Steve Bug, and Guiedo Schneider.