DJ Jerry Bonham’s residency at the West Coast club nights known as Spundae are legendary. So much so, in fact, that he has been given the honor of compiling Spundae presents Interpretations II (Mute), the first release for the new collaboration between Spundae and Mute Records. Bonham, who has been DJing for 25 years (!), knows his stuff and this double disc set of mostly instrumental house/ trance tunes, some of which are previously unreleased, casts a spell that lasts beyond the confines of the dance floor. High points include “Orbit 1.3” by Second Hand Satellites, “Driverz Of The Deep” by Chiller Twist, “Sorry Mate You’ve Got The Wrong House” by Two Right Wrongans, “Thirteen” (with the chant that Bonham describes as “haunting”) by Brian Stillwater, “Travelogue” by Loafer, “Sudden Journey” by Mad Dogs, and the line-blurring “Dark Sympathy” by Murph.
DJ Tiesto’s remix of Delerium’s “Silence” gets things started on the first of the two discs in this double album compilation. Mixed by Johnny Vicious, disc one is a hard trance handful that is as ethereal as it is earthbound. Vicious selection of material is topnotch as you can hear for yourself on tracks such as Paul Van Dyk’s Breathless Mix of “We Are Alive,” BT’s “Never Gonna Come Back Down,” and Richie Santana’s Anthem Mix of Operatica’s “Melancholy Rose.” Six foot six (hence his name) DJ Tall Paul includes Pete Heller’s Park Lane Vocal remix of Moby’s “Southside” and “Star 69” by Fatboy Slim, among a dozen others on his disc.
The nine tracks on the compilation Junior’s Nervous Breakdown (Nervous) represent cuts that producer/remixer/DJ extraordinaire Junior Vasquez remixed or produced himself. Attempting to replicate the definitive “Junior Vasquez sound,” most of these tunes are proof positive that Mr. Vasquez has earned his status in the world of club music. On the Junior’s Education Is What You Need Mix of “Learn 2 Luv,” Kim English takes the song’s message of empowerment to the dance floor and beyond. Anyone who has ever had enough of a dead-end love affair will recognize the sentiment in “Nowhere Love” by Soul Seekers featuring Deepa Soul. Besides, where else you can rage in rhythm? Junior Sticky Version of Byron Stingily’s “Stick Together” finds the distinctive duo having a meeting of the minds, and you know that two heads are better than one. Charlotte’s “Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark” ends the disc on a soulful note.