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Mixed Up in the Hague, Vol. 1
by John BushI-f's Mixed Up in the Hague is an excellent dance-history lesson focusing on the electro-disco that's been such an influence on his productions. Wisely avoiding most of the endlessly compiled electro classics ("Planet Rock," "Rockit," "Clear") that tend to bore advanced listeners, I-f instead looks back to the motorized sequencer disco of the late '70s and early '80s with a parade of excellent obscurities. (Featuring track titles but no list of performers is undoubtedly not an oversight but a challenge to potential trainspotters out there.) The more familiar tracks include "Manmade" by Man Parrish, "The Chase" by Giorgio Moroder, a remix (cover?) of Kraftwerk's "Tour de France," "Space Is the Place" by Newcleus, "Problemes d'Amour" by Alexander Robotnick, and "Dirty Talk" by Klein + MBO. The mix is raw and hands-on too, with almost two dozen tracks squeezed into an hour of mixing.