James Holden – At The Controls

Still coming back to this one, 13 years after. I discovered so many artists through this release (Trans AM, Issakidis, James Holden himself..) and i really like his mixing style, very enjoyable while chillin or on an improvised dancefloor at home.
5/5

Personally, my favorite is the first disc, for me it brings a very exciting atmosphere which can't really be described with just words. I was so amazed by the heartwarming melodies of 'Wooden', the alternative rock trip 'Anita Berber', Holden's evergreen 'Lump', the banging 'Trace Function', the delicious 'Medean', and the marvellous closing section with 'Perlandine Friday' and 'Rivers Of Sand'. Still sounds so fresh after listening it countless times.

CD2 is beautiful and timeless, especially from track 1-5, which flow into each other in wonderful ways. Musical, uplifting and gorgeous, one of my all time favourites, even after all these years.

This has become my favourite CD. It's not perfection - rather a distopian reality much like our own where things shakily build up and fall apart.. and then something grows in the ashes born out of, but not necessarily resembling what spawned it.

As mentioned previously, this CD does capture James Holden's ever-changing sound and vision. I especially like CD2 which just has an edge to it from start to finish. I went to his last gig in Chicago half expecting this type of sound from him, only to have him take me down another altogether different avenue of sound. He never ceases to amaze! His track selection is always very clever and his ability to blend tracks I wouldn't dare put in the same 70 minute mix is unthinkable at times. James is never one to disappoint, but rather open up a new perspective.

I found this compilation by sheer luck and bought it thinking it would be along the lines of his Balance effort.
Instead I found that at times, the mixing is almost heavy handed and strained, and I found myself skipping through tracks halfway through on disc 1. Disc 2 seems more polished, however it took a while before both discs sunk in. Not what I expected, but that's no bad thing, but there are certainly better examples out there.

James Holden is a former prodigy kid of the British Trance scene who break through first at the tender age of 18 with the huge Horizons hit that was played to death and was licensed later to many compilations and mix sets including Dave Seaman's Global Underground album. A few years later he set up his own label "Border Community" that considered by many as one of the most interesting and influential labels nowadays including the seminal Soopertrack / Zu Fuss by Extrawelt, Drowning In A Sea Of Love by Nathan Fake and more. Definitely a fine label with a broad and futuristic view on the electronic music.
This double album presents Holden's eclectic (to say the least) tastes and fuses seamlessly Minimal Techno with Dub, Electro, IDM and even some Psy Trance. Can't say how good are his Dj'ing skills in real life but his Ableton Live skills are impressive. The flow here is remarkable and he manages to fuse so much interesting music without sounding artificial for a second. Really hard to milk some more words for this one but if you enjoyed Sasha's Involver and if you like your music melodic, laidback and warm you should go and check it. Not another hit collection with a super star DJ on the decks. This one was made with love.

This double disc is one of the 2 most mind-bending, reflective journeys an electronica enthusiast can go on. It's not necessarily a heavy dance set, but it does have its moments to entice you to get your groove on. Holden At The Controls has definitely redefined what a DJ set is & has set the bar very high. Since the release in March '06, this has been my most frequently listened to CDs in my collection of DJ sets ever. Watussi into 10101 is probably my favorite mixes on the 1st CD. I've never heard a duet in dance music like the one in 1939; it's so beautifully done! Definitely worth your time to hear, if you have an open mind going into it.

Personally I think this mix is Holden's best work to date, excellent as his Balance was, 'At The Controls' shows both how much he's grown as a DJ and a desire and thirst for pushing forward and refusing to restrict himself to genres or boundaries. If that sounds pretentious, well, maybe it is, but unless you want to take joking around into the realms of high art, sometimes you have to put at least a little bit of a serious face on to create something fresh and original within a format that is a) inherently limited and b) already full to bursting with apparent pinnacles. As far as I'm concernced, on 'At The Controls', Holden's set a new standard for supposedly 'Progressive' music by actually moving forward, unlike the majority of its practicioners. He's even put Trans Am on it, and Trans Am are fucking brilliant!

Cutting edge of cool it may well be but a little dissapointing measured against his excellent Balance CD. There's no doubt there's quality material on here but its sat with several 'Fashion' Electronica tracks, and this causes the mix to jar. Aphex is always good, however others seem more "art for arts sake" If you will....