Jesus. Jalapeno Records is TWENTY FIVE YEARS OLD. That’s ridiculous. I still think of them as a ‘recent’ label’, but then, I guess the year 2000 still seems recent to me. Anyway, that’s irrelevant really, unlike the label, who have somehow stayed extremely relevant, as this marvellous set demonstrates.
Of course, the brilliant Smoove & Turrell feature several times on this compilation, early on with the ridiculously infectious ‘I Can’t Give You Up‘, sounding like a long lost Northern Soul Classic, as well as the smooth late night soul/jazz feel of ‘The Difference‘ – an utterly gorgeous track incidentally – and the Aroop Roy remix of ‘Geno’s Discotheque‘, a joyous slice of rhythmic ecstasy from the dancefloor. Fabulous selections all.
Another act making numerous appearances here is the Dutch production trio Kraak & Smaak. Their ‘Keep On Searching‘ has one of the best build ups you’ll ever hear – your hips and shoulder will sway whether you want them to or not, while arguably their most affecting moment, ‘Stumble‘ (featuring Parcels) could quite reasonably be considered the pinnacle of the entire three disc vinyl set. It feels like you’re waking up to a beautiful morning, full of energy and ready to make this the greatest day ever.
Skeewiff (who would find top ten hit success in the UK with their number two smash ‘(Mucho Mambo) Sway‘ under the name Shaft, and featuring the two founder members of the label, no less) have a couple of storming tracks on Twenty Five too – they open the show, in fact, with the irresistible ‘Coming Home Baby‘, which sounds partly like a track that might feature in the pre-amble before watching a film at the cinema, and also is for all the world like something that may have been used to great effect in an Austin Powers movie. Their other entry here is the incredible mix of Dick Burnett‘s ‘Man Of Constant Sorrow‘, making traditional American folk sound as though it always belonged on the floor of the hottest nightclubs.
We’ve featured The Allergies amongst our pages before, so it will come as no surprise that they have a couple of gloriously ballsy funky soul cuts here, most notably the delightful ‘God Walked Down‘, while a host of other highly impressive artists make up the remainder of the record. Perhaps the best of those is Dr. Rubberfunk‘s captivating ‘Sunset Breakup‘, an instrumental to both warm the heart and make you feel like everything is going to be alright.
In all honesty though, it doesn’t really matter what order you listen to these tracks in – they all have their value in their own unique ways, and it’s nothing less than an aural pleasure throughout. Here’s to the next 25 years!
Twenty Five is out now on Jalapeno Records.
