In a move that may be defined as surprising, refreshing, or just unexpected, Loco Dice is the most recent DJ/producer tapped to boast his record selecting on behalf of Defected Records‘ long running “In The House” compilation series. Defected in the House is a well-known party brand, radio show, and compilation series run by Simon Dunmore’s label, and while usually reserved for artists that lie a bit more closely on the dance music spectrum to Defected’s traditional releases (like MK or Sonny Fodera), there is absolutely nothing wrong with a hip-hop DJ turned Desolat label head taking the reigns for a highly anticipated summer release of Defected’s latest “In The House” volume.

He starts off the mix with “M Train To Brooklyn,” a track off his first album 7 Dunham Place and pumps through the very memorable Marcelo Rosselot & Francisco Allendes’s “Straight Up” (note the Paula Abdul vocal sample), Robert Dietz’s “Common,” and a Theo Parrish vocal translation of About Group’s “You’re No Good.” His choices aren’t cut from the same techno cloth that tends to define his club sets, but they are well-curated nonetheless. The Glitz’s “Not Easy” was the first record, with its off-kilter instrumentation and sing-songy melody, that served as a break from Dice’s housier selections of the first half of Disc One. He doesn’t pull every song deep from the crates — Catz ‘n Dogz’s “Bad Love” and Nathan Barato’s “Give It To You” are quite arguably defining songs of the summer season and Dice doesn’t snub them on his period piece for Defected.  To close out the first half of the compilation, he lands back in his past — throwing in a choice from Gee-Man, which Dice points to as a tidbit of nostalgia from his pre-techno DJing days.

Disc Two continues to veer into new places — there’s definitely still no one common thread between these second sixteen tracks, but he’s nodding in a couple different directions. First it’s Hotflush/Aus Music/Hypercolour regular Glimpse, then young raw Detroit techno enthusiast Kyle Hall, and then…Diplo. Including “Express Yourself” may not feel like a fit, but in a compilation where he’s already breaking some of the more rigid alliances between artists and labels in the industry, why not fully explore the spectrum of his taste? More nods to hip-hop flavoring comes from the ever baudy “Cream” from Harvard Bass and Tiga’s Turbo Recordings, pure bred German techno sensibilities in the form of Berghainite Marcel Dettman’s “Ellipse” from earlier this year, and a short diversion to filtered disco with Mr. Tophat & Art Alfie’s “Crab At The Green Hunter.” Before rounding off the compilation with Kerri Chandler’s perfect “Six Pianos,” Dice momentarily enters a driving groove more typical of what we hear from his live sets, like Alden Tyrell’s spastic “Rush” and a ode to some Detroit’s Underground Resistance with Mad Mike & DJ Rolando’s “Aztlan.” Loco Dice definitely deserves a firm clap of the hands for sticking his neck out on his work for Defected in the House, and although the compilation may have felt disjointed and inconsistent at times, we’re always more for artists expanding their resumes past what they’re best recognized for than resting comfortably on their laurels.

Tracklist:

Disc One
01. Loco Dice ‘M Train To Brooklyn’
02. Roger Gerressen ‘Somebody Should Have Told You’
03. Marcelo Rosselot & Francisco Allendes featuring Gustavo Ferrante ‘Straight Up’ (Original Mix)
04. Franck Roger ‘Don’t U Know’ (Matthew Styles Club Mix)
05. EDA ‘Love Worn’
06. Robert Dietz ‘Common’
07. He Did ‘Something’ (Original Mix)
08. About Group ‘You’re No Good’ (Theo Parrish Translation With Aashong)
09. The Glitz ‘Not Easy’
10. Brixton & Bommersheim ‘Late Up’
11. Doc Martin featuring Lillia ‘So Many Dreams’
12. Tevo Howard featuring Rick Howard ‘House Room’ (Paul du Lac Vocal Remix)
13. Federico Grazzini ‘Untouchable’
14. Delaze ‘Discoordination’ (Original Mix)
15. Catz ‘n Dogz & KiNK ‘Bad Love’
16. Nathan Barato ‘Give It To You’
17. Gee-Man ‘The Soul’ (Pimp Daddies Mix)

Disc Two
01. Call me ES ‘Short Circuit’ (Original Mix)
02. Glimpse ‘True South’
03. Kyle Hall & Kero ‘K2 Attack!’ (Short Mix)
04. Skudge ‘Convolution’
05. Diplo ‘Express Yourself’ (Original Remix)
06. David Alvarado ‘Ysleta’
07. Harvard Bass ‘Cream’
08. Marcel Dettmann ‘Ellipse’
09. Jack The Box ‘Pon De Undaground’ (Dingeman Remix)
10. Audioone ‘Avantgram’
11. Randee Jean ‘You Got It’ (Dexter & Awanto3 Mix 1)
12. Mr. Tophat & Art Alfie ‘Crab At The Green Hunter’ (Original)
13. Jean Pierre ‘Who U Mad At?’
14. Alden Tyrell ‘Rush’
15. Mad Mike & DJ Rolando ‘Aztlan’
16. Kerri Chandler ‘Six Pianos’

Purchase: Beatport

Tags: Defected Records, Loco Dice, Loco Dice in the House, Simon Dunmore

Categories: Music