Trax Records began life in the 80s in Chicago, back when house, techno and electro were still uncharted territory and often interchangeable. This compilation brings together forgotten hits, b-sides and rarities. Anyone interested in examining the roots of modern dance music can find its prototypes here. For instance, Darryl Pandys "Searchin for Love sounds like 90 percent of todays vocal house tracks, Mike Dunns "Magic Feet is rough acid techno from 1989, whose echoes are still being heard today through Sven Vath and Jeff Mills, and Pete Blacks "Chaka Vedo outclasses most modern break beat tracks with its inventiveness and complexity. There are other good tracks, including one of Byron Stingilys first house tracks, "Funny Love, with its powerful male vocals, Paris Greys electro-pop song "Dont Make Me Jack (shed rather "house you slowly instead), and M.E.s beautifully melodic deep house track "Its Hot. Overall, it shows proof the good old days really were good.
(Trax)Various
Trax Records: Rarities & B-sides
BY Philip DowneyPublished Sep 1, 2004