VA - BIS: 001-020 [2CD Set] (2016)

Beats in Space, a radio show hosted by DFA associate Tim Sweeney, has been broadcasting every week on New York college radio station WNYU since 1999. Seemingly every quality house, nu-disco, and indie dance DJ has stopped by the show at one point or another, and of course Sweeney himself is heavily in demand as well. The Beats in Space label was established in 2011, and this double CD compiles highlights from the label's first 20 12"s. The collection is sequenced somewhat thematically rather than chronologically. The first disc tends to focus on more pop-minded tracks, with vocals, hooks, and live instruments often taking precedence over machine grooves. This includes songs like Hidden Fees' "So What," which is sort of like a more smoothed-out version of the Rolling Stones' flirtations with disco, to the full-on disco of House of Spirits' "Holding On," complete with strings and a choir. There are also slower, more relaxed tracks on this disc; Dukes of Chutney deviate from the dancefloor with the sun-baked slow-mo dub of "Domino," and Tornado Wallace contributes some supremely soothing Balearic sizzlers, especially the gorgeous "Desperate Pleasures." Jee Day's "Sum of Love" is another sunny, cheerful highlight. Palmbomen II's hazy, swirling "Carina Sayles" dips a bit closer into the L.I.E.S./Future Times school of lo-fi house. The second, more club-centric disc is a bit more polished, though, leaning closer to tech-house than nu-disco. These tracks are generally longer, more hypnotic, and almost purely electronic. Some of them have long, steady builds, such as Crystal & S. Koshi's "Break the Dawn," which has a lengthy, sustained diva vocal sample. Matt Karmil's "So You Say" sets gently glitchy vocal loops over a simmering acid house bassline, and Lauer's "Macsat Ring Down [Lee Douglas Remix]" is nine minutes of ecstatic congas and synth swells, perfect for dancing under palm trees. Tornado Wallace's "Kangaroo Ground" is a dirty slice of acid house with a thin layer of atmospheric pads, and the collection ends with another tape-smudgy, offbeat track from Palmbomen II. The fact that Beats in Space took five years to release 20 or so records demonstrates the label's commitment to quality control, so there should be a lot here to feast on for anyone tuned in to the intergalactic house underground.