Various - Best Seven Selections 2

Berlin-based DJ, Daniel W. Best, is a long term cohort of Jazzanova and their Sonar Kollektiv label. Together with fellow DJ and producer, Dixon, he's responsible for the very successful Innercity night at Berlin's legendary Weekend club. Since 1999, he's been representing the more soulful side of reggae with his Best Seven label which has featured releases from Rhythm and Sound collaborator, Paul St. Hilaire, and Joe Dukie, vocalist of New Zealand's Fat Freddy's Drop. As the title suggests, Best Seven Selections 2 follows-up the label's earlier 2003 compilation, rounding-up the highlights since its release. Though offering nothing particularly fresh or new, the album succeeds in creating an effortlessly relaxed vibe, best illustrated on Bazoo Bajou's Take It Slow featuring the honeyed vocals of Joe Dukie; Like A O - Paul St. Hilaire's collaboration with Frost and Wagner - and DJ Vadim's bouncing, head-nodder Black Is The Night. [Colin Chapman]