James Zabiela: Renaissance Masters Series

By Muna Noor  •  in Music
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Ask anyone what their favourite compilations are and, invariably, James Zabiela’s Alive and Utilities will feature amongst them. Ask what their favourite compilation series is and, invariably, Renaissance Masters Series will also crop-up. Put the two together and you have the recipe for one of the most eagerly anticipated dance compilations of 2009.

“I’m delighted to step-up and join the ranks of The Masters Series,” says an ever-humble James Zabiela, “It’s produced some incredible comps over the years and, albeit nervously (lol!), am relishing the opportunity of joining its ranks.” “After recently completing the comp’ I can’t wait for it to hit the shelves. I haven’t done a solo compilation in over two years so I really went to town on it,” he adds.
And he isn’t kidding….

James has produced two incredible discs that differ, yet complement each other perfectly. Disc One – Down is what James describes as an “audio travelogue”, an intricately produced collage of beautiful electronica over-laid with his own “field recordings”, a suite of ambient sounds and spoken word that represent both his journeys on the road and in the air, and time and thoughts between gigs. The result is one of the most beguiling mixes to emerge in recent years.

Disc Two – Up transports the listener to the club and is where James has chosen to feature 2 new original productions: a mix (Darkness.2) of the much-hyped ‘Dark By Design’, and a brand new Luke Dzierzek remix of ‘Perseverance’.

We couldn’t sign-off without giving a shout to James’ wider, exciting track selection, which features Trentemoller, Modeselektor, Boards Of Canada, Paul Woolford, Apparat, Extrawelt, plus many more… That’s not all James has been up to. He launches new residency, Positronic at London club Matter this March, while this 2009 will see him travel with a VJ with viz made by renowned LA artist Scott Pagano, who also worked on BT’s ‘Binary Universe DVD.

Renaissance: The Masters Series – James Zabiela is due out this 23 February 2009. Pre-order your autographed copy at www.recordstore.co.uk/renaissance/ or http://jameszabiela.shop.musictoday.com/.