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A lot of the mixed disks that come down the pike are either dull all the way through or hype from track one on. And then there's the schizophrenic collections that at one point are pulling you on the dance floor and at another point are putting you to bed... Which brings us to Dave Matthias' House Mixed vol. 1.

The collection starts off strong and celebratory with the Lee Cabrera mix of Martin Solveig's "Rocking Music" and then Clepto's take on Frankie Knuckles' "Bac N Da Day." Kaskade's beautiful yet moody "Steppin' Out" chills things out a bit and is followed by a handful of decent but unmemorable tracks until Miango's "O Loko" [Afro Vibes] kicks in.


The cut mixes hot African vocals and Latin jazz trumpet and flute into a great broken beat samba. Although Costa S's "El Comandante" continues the groovy Latin vibe for a few more minutes, it is followed by yet more okay songs up until disc one's closer, Enamor's "I Believe." And it's not that the last track is to die for, but it just might seem so given its great amount of energy when placed next to the sleepy track before.

The second disk is much more consistent, showcasing laid-back house up until the last three tracks, blasting an intense set starring 90s rave piano-rooted Chopstick & Spoiled's "Who is it?," the punching synths of Ad Finem's "If You Fall" and the simple instrumental sendoff of Valentine & Carter's "What's that track?"