Rob da Bank and Chris Coco: Listen Again

Rob da Bank and Chris Coco
Listen Again
Ether
2006-10-24

Capitalizing on their co-hosting duties on the hit BBC radio show, “The Blue Room”, DJs Rob da Bank and Chris Coco release Listen Again, a double-disc set. Each DJ gets his own separate disc of choice cuts displaying a wide variety of his favorite artists, hoisting the banner worldwide for those unable to tune into “The Blue Room” on a weekly basis. The result is akin to scoring a few really good mixtapes (or mixed CDs, now in this digital age) from friends with a killer music collection and an idea of music you might like, but may not have been exposed to just yet.

The Chris Coco disc of the compilation is filled with mellow, ambient music that gently pulses regardless of if it’s folk infused with atmospheric beats and drum machines — like Skewiff’s excellent and unexpected redux of O Brother, Where Art Thou‘s “Man of Constant Sorrow — or the ethereal electronica take on ’50s doo-wop with The Acid Casuals’ “Bowl Me Over”. There’s also some nice, entirely acoustic offerings on Coco’s disc that fit well with the overall mood. Rob da Bank’s selections are more upbeat and traditionally techno-based, but still not overly so, ranging from the sexually charged “Yes Bos” by Hess is More to the ironic and incredibly fun “Pop The Glock” by Uffie, intoned with a sweet, veddy proper voice that conjures an image of Mary Poppins meeting the Spice Girls and toting automatic weaponry. Both DJs tastes mirror one another in a way that although the image looking back is similar, there’s an opposing, yet harmonious twist to the reflection staring out from either side. The most common denominator is that both hosts have a keen ear for digging up selections that prove dance remixes don’t always have to be warped into submission by speeding up the track or polluting it with a series of electronic beeps in order to create something new and exciting.

RATING 7 / 10