Tobias Becker/ Various

Minimal techno used to really annoy me; I didn’t understand it. It took an Adam Beyer mix featuring a plane taking flight — thrusters, landing gear and all — to convince me there was inherent value beyond the aesthetic cool in what seemed like a designer genre. Though inaccessibility doesn’t really serve to explain away my reluctance to listen, it might excuse the inability of my newfound openness to proliferate. Trallafitti, a star studded mix from German DJ/producer Tobias Becker, takes tracks from Akufen, Audion, and Marco Carola, to name a few, and gives the uninitiated a crash course through the record collection of one of Europe’s finest. Becker’s been acclaimed by critics and readers alike, with a laundry list of "best of” and "the next…” proclamations. This mix is exactly what you’ll hear at the hippest central European nightclubs, probably because Mr. Tobias himself will be spinning there. The annoying part still is trying to identify the diversification, since for most scenesters of any style it’s pretty hard to stop asking, "who is this?” The mixes are done so seamlessly, with all the builds and breaks, that I’ve seen seasoned tech-heads have trouble calling the kick. It’s a straightforward collection of finely crafted, melodic rhythms and glitch hooks. Released on Becker’s own Platzhirsch Schallplatten label, Trallafitti might not be what you’re looking for but once you’re on to it, it’s hard to stop looking at.