Alex Attias/Various

This is a fine mix of broken beat house music. Alex Attias, a Swiss DJ, mixes up 12 tracks that incorporate jazz’s melodies, house’s soulful vocals, vintage Detroit techno’s percussive tricks and other elements. The album begins in a very jazzy mood, with tracks like "Trash da Junk” and "Marz 2010.” For the first 20 minutes the beats are so syncopated most people would find this difficult to dance to. Later on the beats become a bit more regular, in tracks like "Distant Planet” by Attias’ brother Stephane, and Osunlade’s "Tree of Life.” Attias’ mixing is very good, considering the complexity of the beats. Without attaining high speeds, this mix is wonderfully energetic — the tracks have been chosen well. Taken together, this is a very good overview of what’s going on in the broken beat scene.