Various Artists – Eskimo Recordings: The Green Collection

An appropriately verdant selection…

What does the colour green make you think of? Vast forests? Grassy meadows? A political party being weirdly ignored by the mainsteam news media? According to Belgium’s Eskimo Recordings, it's all about painfully tasteful nu-disco and indie dance.

As themes go it’s fairly arbitrary, but that's fine as it's just a hook to hang off 12 tracks from the venerable dance label. Knight One’s ‘Shimmer’ kicks things off and sounds not unlike a Jolly Music track that’s somehow escaped from 2002, all jarring cuts, synth bass and chopped vocals.

UK producer Horixon’s collaboration with Jacques Teal is a low-key indie electronic gem, Teal’s vocals cruising over a minimal synth line and lazy beat. Later, ‘Me To You’ by Trulz and Robin (audio, below) brings an element of menace that’s a welcome counterpoint to the generally genial tone of the album, while Kraak And Smaak ape Zombie Zombie on ‘Ghostnote’.

The niceness of it all is occasionally a bit of a problem, and some of the tracks here slip into ignorable Ikea disco mode. NTEIBINT’s ‘Baby’ is immaculately produced, but goes nowhere very interesting and takes six minutes to do so. For the most part though, this is an appropriately verdant collection.

7/10

Words: Will Salmon

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