Sofa Surfers

This compilation took me back to the early '90s, back to a time of cigarette smoke-hazed clubs where the crowd moved like so many drunken masters to jazzy dub rhythms and laid-back beats. The slow intro track, "If It Were Not For You," by Ian Simmons, leaves you space to case the joint and take in all the faces. Richard Dorfmeister's "Sofa Rockers" would be the soundtrack to a pretty creature lighting a cigarette with infinite suave. "Sofa Rockers" is then followed by no less then dub luminary Mad Professor, who serves up a savoury dish of "Beans and Rice Dub." I then put down my plate to focus on the more rhythmically demanding "Teig," by the Sofa Surfers, while pleasantly jostled by shoulders and upper torsos. Cheers arise from the crowd as the DJ on this compilation drops Mum's upbeat "Life in Malmo." By now the smell of sweat is mixing in with cologne, perfume and second hand ganja as water bottles are poured over heads to Eardrum's laid-back "Guns'n'Bombs'n'Knives" as we gear up some serious moving to Tom Tyler's extended drum solo track "Sweat." To end the compilation, Spectre's "I Asked For Water" is particularly apt, because many throats, including mine, are all scratchy from hollering and inhaling second hand fumes. If anyone knows of nights where Constructions-style tracks are dropped, let me know.