Get Physical 8

Get Physical's eighth annual anniversary compilation represents the Berlin label's dancefloor legacy and its bright future with 19 tracks, 7 of which are previously unreleased, from familiar names, old friends and fresh talent. With longtime DJ, producer and labelmate Thomas Schumacher at the helm, the compilation is guided by his expert hand through seamless mixes and astute selections. Get Physical was born of friendship and a shared love of music, so it's only fitting that the opener, "Buddies," is a tribute to both. M.A.N.D.Y.'s Philipp Jung and Matthew Dear lit up 2010 in New York City, with their Buddies club night and - as M.A.N.D.E.A.R. - by crafting the hyped unreleased number "Buddies" that fused deep hypnotism with swirling hints of cosmic disco. Thomas segues this perfectly into the filtered loops and precipitous drops of Lee Curtiss' "The Disco Dub," and the early Chicago house stylings of Delete's Kindisch release "Lunchbox." Andy Cato's "Bassline Track" is a shot in the arm and a raise of the stakes, as the Groove Armada gentle giant shrugs off the shackles of calm, chilled grooves for mutated bass lanes and a full frontal sonic kick, which lays the spiky groundwork for the tweaked and reverbed proto-electro of Detroit upstart Kris Wadsworth with "It's Time." Schumacher's own loopy cut-up jam "You Got Me" slips sideways into "Make Me," where Emerson Todd and Tim Green reveal a secret breakdown of free jazz, before its heavy drums descend into the deep tribal stomp of Steed Lord's "You." Thomas' melodic electro house edit of his own Elektrochemie project blooms in rich, full color, before the metallic tones of Booka Shade's "In Space Remix" of their own "Teenage Spaceman" reveals the very best that their full-length masterpiece More! has to offer. Shifting effortlessly from DJ to selector, Thomas then proceeds to cherry pick the best Get Physical moments for the morning after the night before. An emotional piano chord introduces Nôze in quirk balladeer mode, with a pop version of "Kitchen," before the heartfelt, slowed-down electronic pop of Damian Lazarus' "After Rave Delight." Raz Ohara and the Odd Orchestra deliver stripped back soul that slowly builds into static and lush orchestration, while a meeting of mind sees DJ T.'s "Gorilla Hug" remixed by wunderkind Nicolas Jaar, for a treatment that gives a nod to vintage electro-funk grooves. Nôze make another cameo appearance with a rework from Matthias Kaden, which progresses from beat-boxed acapellas to Kaden's trademark minimalistic latin house, while Lopazz' affecting 2007 synth-laden track "Wasted Days" both proves yet again why he's a treasured member of the GP family, and closes out the mix. Patience is a virtue, however, as "Revolution" - the exclusive hidden track from M.A.N.D.Y. (a cooperation with Brooklyn´s hottest talent Adultnapper, just produced in New York this year) that constructs slow-burning deep tech house around a lone reverbed guitar - brings the compilation and the story of GP full circle to back to its start: friendship, body music and special dancefloor moments.