Album Review: Darkroom Dubs Volume Two - various mixed by Silicone Soul

If you have heard of Silicone Soul you probably know them for their genre-defying track 'Right On!' from the turn of the last decade. It was the kind of track that found a place in many DJs sets it managed to please both techno fans and house heads with a combination of strings and loose percussion and despite the duo having released four albums over the years it remains their biggest track.

What you may not know is that the Glasgow duo are not only still active but they also run their own label, Darkroom Dubs. This is their second label compilation, following on from Darkroom Dubs Volume One in 2005.

Darkroom Dubs Volume Two surprises just based on how understated it feels. 'Right On!' was never exactly a fair barometer for Silicone Soul's sound but this never strays even close to the elements that made that track cross over. This is an album for fans of dark, atmospheric minimal music and it takes itself seriously. What you get, therefore, is serious music for people in clubs that want to dance and don't want to talk to other people.

It's clinical then, but in places it works. Opening track 'Diabolus In Musica' by Mirror Music lays down a delicate introduction that feels like floating in space and there are numerous tracks, especially those from Silicone Soul, that get a groove going on.

But what Darkroom Dubs Volume Two lacks is any form of transcendence. There is nothing here that adds up to more than the sum of it's parts - so it's basically a collection of average to good quality minimal tech-house tunes. Nice if that is your bag but ultimately, as the name suggests, this is music for darkrooms in nightclubs.

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Darkroom Dubs Volume Two is out now on Darkroom Dubs.