(Inertia)

Hell-bound heaven sent

Thanks to groups like Chromatics and Glass Candy – as well as more mainstream figures like Cut Copy, and even Moby – old-school Italo disco sounds have come back in a big way over the last year. Berlin’s DJ Hell has something of a reputation as a trendsetter – he was name-checked on Daft Punk’s Teachers, and was championing the electroclash sound way back in 1998 – so it seems obvious that he would have something to say about this burgeoning Italo business. Rather than bringing together new tracks, his newest mix compilation, Hellboys (International DJ Gigolo Records) looks back to classic leftfield disco artists of the seventies and early eighties. Creepy and cold yet propulsive and inviting, Hellboy features many tracks – Giorgio Moroder’s Chase, Alexander Robotnik’s Problemes D’Amour, Donna Summer’s I Feel Love – that are stone cold classics no matter which way you look at it. A few more obscure tracks add to the enjoyment – Cerrone’s Supernature, with its combination of killer beats and disturbing disco vocals, is a winner, as is Trans-X’s pulsating, lo-fi Living On Video. Newer tracks, like Hell’s own Control (a definite highlight) and Experimental Products’ Glowing In The Dark, slot in seamlessly with the old, but taken as a whole package, Hellboys sounds like the future.

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ALASDAIR DUNCAN

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