Compilations for clubs, bars, beaches or even restaurants have become a trendy, and lucrative, marketing tool of late. In recognition of this, the temples to electronica and hip hop that are the two Guandiis, located in Shanghai’s Fuxing Park and Suzhou’s Shantang Jie, have released their own compilation, purportedly offering a taste of the clubs’ true ambiance. Yes, this double-CD release mixed by DJ Email (CD Two is all remixes), provides solid progressive trance from an international line up, including DJ Steve Lawler from UK, but with nary a hip hop joint in sight. The trance beat dominates: there’s heavy-hitting BPM from Mooncat’s “Bad Ass”, as well as Paris & Sharpe’s soulful and hypnotic “Temptation”. This is, of course, before DJ Email gets back on the throttle, with the supersonic paced and altogether otherworldly House cut “Filth” from Rowan Blade and Chris Lake, and a couple of anthemic numbers, “Seven Cities” and “Rebounce Indicater”. With the hip hop half of the music missing, this isn’t a complete album, but then again, that just means Guandii will have to bring out a hip hop compilation. Perhaps what they intended all along.
High Note Records

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
July 2006 issue