DJ Dara
From Here to There
Moonshine
DJ Dara moved to the United States from Ireland in 1994, and is without question one of our premier junglists today. Aside from playing countless events from coast to coast, and operating his own Breakbeat Science imprint and New York City record store of the same name, Dara has consistently released a plethora of highly successful mixed CDs, on Moonshine, and Sm:)e records.
From Here to There , Dara’s newest release, certainly lives up to the expectations placed upon it. This 63 minute, 16 track mix really shows more competent mixing skills from Dara than I’ve seen in the past, with tracks from some of the biggest names in drum n’ bass today. The disc starts out on a harder, atmospheric note, with L Double and Serena’s “Crazy”, but soon turns on to a lighter shade of techstep with tracks from Dara and Profound Noize. DJ Hype’s “The Big 3-Oh” brings in a bit of ’70s afrofunk feel, and blends in very nicely with the funky hardstep of Monty and Pascal’s “4D99.” Dara then moves into a darker jungle sound, with outstanding tracks from Decoder and Substance, Cyba Space, and Future Cut. Kenny Ken’s “Project One” kicks things up a notch, with its jittery breaks, and John B’s “Progress” comes through with a funky, hyperspeed congo drum, and diva vocals. Closing out the disc is Fallen Angel’s “Rapier,” a very pretty uptempo track that finishes things off on a pleasant note.
Flawless mixing, diverse track selection, very few breakdowns. What more could you ask for in a drum n’ bass mix CD? America’s finest jungle import does it again.
Moonshine Music, 8525 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069; http://www.moonshine.com
