Alex Smoke - Sci.Fi.Hi.Fi Vol. 3

This is the third installment in the Sci.Fi.Hi.Fi. series, and rather pleasingly for mix enthusiasts everywhere, was recorded in just one take using live vinyl and exclusive CD tracks. The exploration of electronica, electro, dubstep, and Detroit techno starts with Porn Sword Tobacco (Najat Library Card), seamlessly mixed into the grimier dubstep of Burial's Gutted. These are not warm and enriching sounds, they are cold and jagged and cynical; stripped constructions growing and writhing together like snakes in a pit (or on a plane). M69 Starlight by Model 500 is lighter on its feet and picks up the pace with a more forceful bass, while the dubstep fades and Detroit techno steps up in its place; Gaiser's remix of Troy Pierce's 25 Bitches then enters with a snarl. Selections from labels Minus, Transmat, Hyperdub, Vakant and Seventh Sign (to name a fraction) delve into aquatic and chunky bleeps, melodious chimes, and 2000 & One finish the mix with a pounding piece of history otherwise known as Fokus. It's another Smoke success. [Alex Burden]