Artist: Tom Middleton
Title: The Sound Of The Cosmos
Label: Hooj Choons
By: Simon Jones,  | 23 May 2002
Tracklist:
  1. Lovelife - Odyssey
  2. Ils - No Soul
  3. New Order - Blue Monday
  4. Tiga & Zyntherius - Sunglasses At Night
  5. Plasticjunk - It's My Duty
  6. Fabrice Lig - Please Try Again (Morgan Geist Mix)
  7. Modaji - Shocka's Joint
  8. DJ Rocca visits Pressure Drop - Taxi (Cane Matto Mix)
  9. Trevor Loveys - U Know It (Solid Groove Mix)
  10. Landslide - Hear My People
  11. Roots Manuva - Dreamy Days
  12. Blue Effect - Skybound
  13. Envoi - Landscapes
  14. Swag - Pong

Tom Middleton "The Sound Of The Cosmos"

Out Now on Hooj Choons

Tom Middleton has been one of the most consistent producers around in recent years, but has never been one to give too much away about himself or the projects he works on. With one of his latest productions, Take Me With You, under the guise of Cosmos causing a commotion amongst clubbers and record labels alike, he has decided to put together a triple CD, showcasing just some of the very diverse genres he tends to enjoy playing. Please be warned that this is not a live mix, go check out the Jedi Master at work at a venue near you if you get the privilege to do so. Instead, he delivers a journey through 3 discs entitled The Rhythm, The Melody, and The Harmony, using a decks n fx setup to its full potential.


The Rhythm takes in breaks from the outset, with the excellent Ils being showcased with the track No Soul. From here we are treated to a unique mashup, that fuses Tiga and Zyntherius's Sunglasses At Night with the mammoth classic that is New Order's Blue Monday. Nowhere else will you find this for it’s a unique mix designed with this CD in mind. From here we are taken through a journey through some of the lesser known labels like Hospital and Innvergroves, with Dreamy Days by Roots Manuva being another standout track, as the mix tells a story that leads us into...


The Melody. Immediately the pace is lowered to a sexier house groove that just bubbles softly through the speakers. Some of the best producers of the genre are wheeled out, with the excellent New Phunk Theory mix of Yann Fontaine's Open Your Eyes being one of the first tracks to really stand out, quickly followed by the excellent French cut, Breathe by Telepopmusik. Moving along we are treated to cuts from the Danish house master, Illinton, then across the globe for the influences of Ananda Project and rounding off the disc is one of the fathers of deep house, Charles Webster, with the excellent Forget The Past, bridging the transition into...


The Harmony seamlessly. Once again the pace is lowered as waves wash against the blissed out soundscape that Tom lays down, taking in superb cuts from Rae and Christian, Mandalay, and of course, no chillout disc would be complete with one of the finest downtempo masterpieces of recent times, Hayling, from those excellent brothers FC Kahuna. As the CD ends, you are left feeling fuzzy inside, the journey through the Cosmos has now ended.


I am not a fan of concept CDs, so when this dropped through the letterbox I had my doubts about its calibre, and after listening, feel that it pulls off the idea that so many other CDs cannot, but possibly peaks too early on the first CD with the outstanding Sunglasses At Night / Blue Monday mashup, but never really follows it up. Nevertheless, the album as an overall should be checked out, even if just for the Harmony disc which will now be a regular fixture in my hifi over the summer.

Search:
Music Reviews -more-
browse