Review of European Sex Music Album by Burns

Anyone who's ever fooled around with a trial copy of Mixmeister will be able to tell you that this DJ-ing thing is nowhere near as easy at it looks, unless you're only planning on doing kids parties. Setting mood, managing the energy, ensuring that your beat matching doesn't make Madonna sound like one of the Chipettes; all of these things have to be mastered before you can start thinking about seeing your name on some flyers.

Burns European Sex Music Album

Burns arrives into these ranks having remixed amongst others Ladyhawke and Empire of The Sun, as well as taking a production credit on latest Kelis album and eulogies from Pete Tong and Annie Mac. It appears then that he can e-Bay that mirrorball, but European Sex Music comes in at a whopping thirty seven tracks across two CD's, and it has to be said requires some commitment from the listener.

Criss-crossing between old and nu school disco, house, techno and funk, the good news for Burns at least is that much of the best work on show here is his own, especially the opener So Many Nights, a towering remix of The Gossip's The Cross and the sexed-up beeps and beats of Teknique. The supporting cast is also generally A-List - names such as Zombie Nation, Armand Van Helden and L-Vis - and as party soundtracks go, the first CD is a reputation-building masterclass.

Part deux however is even more ambitious, and proof that you can have too much of a good thing. Horse Meat Disco may be devoutly resurrecting the sound of Studio 54 for a new audience, but the presence here of Hamilton Bohannon and Gary's Gang is about as welcome as a safari suit. New stuff can be equally trite as well, as the badly advised inclusion of an out-of-water Lykke Li demonstrates. Staying in this century there are still moments of greatness - Vitalic's Bluesy Tuesdays and the jittering ADHD vocal cut-up's of Puzique's Don't Go - but in totality the journey requires too much grey matter and is only for those with the broadest musical perspective. Good things seem likely to happen for our man, but this European Sex never quite reaches a satisfying climax.

Andy Peterson


Site - http://www.thisisburns.com/

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