Artist: Dave Seaman & Phil K
Title: Renaissance Presents: Therapy Sessions Volume I
Label: Renaissance Recordings
By: Simon Jones | 16 May 2004
Tracklist:

• Disk 1
• Disk 2

1. Habersham - Transparent Sound
2. Luke Chable - Melburn
3. Jeff Bennett - Swapping
4. Sterio & McGrath - Hostile Ground
5. Powerplant - Blame (Luke Chable Mix)
6. Cass - Giant (Cass' Four Four Two Mix)
7. Infusion - Girls Can Be Cruel (Infusion sQ'ed Mix)
8. Paul Jackson & Steve Smith - The Push
9. Ernest St. Laurent - Do Ya Dub
10. Redanka - In A State (fUcKed Vocal Mix)
11. Stel & Good Newz - Particle

1. Polanski - Film Song # 1 *
2. Vance Musgrove - Music In The 24th & A Half Century
3. DJ Jacques, Uber and Fosch - Slow Talking
4. The PQM Project & Phil K - They Just Won't Let Me Be *
5. Nubreed - One Day (Phil K's DJ Re-Edit)
6. The Operators - Furball
7. Habersham - Follow The White Rabbit
8. The Disciple Grin - Odditease (Transformer Man's Blueberry Muffin Recipe) *
9. Andy Page - Mr. Rush *
10. The Crystal Method - Born Too Slow (Nubreed Mix)
11. Dark Globe - Take Me To The Sound *
    * Derrick Carter - Where U At (Acapella)

Dave Seaman & Phil K "Renaissance Presents: Therapy Sessions Volume I"

Dave Seaman is a DJ who's career is linked in a major way to two things. The first is Renaissance. Along with Sasha & Digweed, Dave was a key player in helping the brand to develop to the world recognised level that it is today, with many compilations and headline slots for the brand to his name, and if there's one place he loves to headline, that would be Australia. Australia, a place where Dave Seaman has diagnosed and administered his own brand of audio therapy over the past few years, developing a huge fan base and more importantly making friends. One of those happens to be Phil K, a DJ that all audio manufacturers fear for his machine operating, and one that has quitely been battering the far reaches of the globe into submission with his twisted style that fuses house, breaks and everything inbetween. The 'Therapy Sessions' is both poison and it's antidote, and an exciting new project from Dave Seaman and Renaissance.

As you might expect from Dave Seaman, the first disc is a journey through progressive in a way that we've come to expect from this highly respected DJ. Building layer by layer over the course of 70+ minutes, this is basically everything you would expect from one of Dave's sets condensed down in one whistle stop mix which starts off with the ethnic ambience and rippling beats of Habersham's 'Transparent Sound', tracks from Luke Chable and Jeff Bennett devising a solid groove that takes us into the thick of the mix, where swirls of sound and melodic waves begin to shine through, taking the mood deeper at the same time. This allows the soaring electro of 'Giant', the latest production from progressive joker Cass to cut through and take the disc back towards the sky, each section forming the foundation for the next which drives even higher, with the tempo fitting the mood of Infusion's 'Girls Can Be Cruel' perfectly. From here basslines are linked with precision, shifting through keys as Dave hop, skips and jumps through tracks by Paul Jackson, Ernest St Laurent and Redanka , before unleashing the devastating 'Particle' upon us to bring the cd to an end. It's a track that is subtle in it's delivery, but will wipe out everything in it's path as it's bassline snakes through the speakers. Watch out devastating melody line and sub bass that erupts during the break, carrying the mix to a dramatic finale.

Phil K on the other hand cooks up an interesting and diverse mix for his Renaissance debut on the second disc. The poignant harmonies of Polanski's 'Film Song #1' is overlapped with an acapella of Derrick Carter's 'Where U At', a dialogue that creeps into the mix at key points throughout it's duration. It's harmony and melody that are the main elements of tracks from Vance Musgrove and Jacques as we shift in sublime and moving fashion through house and breaks and back again. A collaboration between Phil and PQM entitled 'They Just Wont Let Me Be' finally gets the tempo moving along after the simmering introduction, a big Tina Turner-esque diva vocal complimenting the driving beats and shuffling bassline as it cuts into Phil's own rumbling edit of Nubreed & Luke Chable's 'One Day'. Extending the intro as it spirals out of control, Phil knows exactly what he is doing as you find yourself drawn in when the vocal hook is teased for the first time, and now that he has you where he wants you, the real fun begins. 'Furball' by the The Operators is an absolute mind bender, and with backing from that demented son of bitch Habersham and his 'White Rabbit', Andy Page and 'Mr Rush' and The Disciple Grin who is on hand to oddly tease us with 'Odditease', you better book an appointment with your shrink before committing your ears to this aural carnage that is intent on raping your mind. The harsh vocals of Nubreed's 'Born Too Slow' rerub by The Crystal Method may grate on your ears, but by this time your mind is too blitzed to care, and as Dark Globe bring the mix to an end with the subtle and emotive breaks and piano of 'Take Me To The Sound', your mind is left in a state of disarray, dismantled, dismembered and dissected by one of the finest technical DJs on the planet today.

Both mixes are well programmed and show exactly what to expect from each of these talented DJs. However Dave's disc seems to go through the motions, but finishes it up on a high which compensates for the fact. Meanwhile, Phil once again proves why he's a DJ held in such high regard by his peers and why his fan base worldwide is growing. The clinic is now in session, come on in and let the therapy begin.