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Celebrating 10 years of refining its highly personal vision of underground electronic dance music, Paris' Circus Company presents Snuggle & Slap, a 2CD compilation balancing contemporary house music with more idiosyncratic submissions. It's more than just a label sampler: many of the artists included here appear two or even three times, having been afforded the opportunity to think beyond the dancefloor and experiment with new sounds, unusual styles, and secret passions. Hushed funk, feathery beats and spongy textures characterize the "Snuggle" CD, while "Slap" snaps to attention with more insistent grooves straight to the heart of the label's sweet spot: sumptuously detailed, swoon-worthy deep house. Whether you've been following Circus Company for the whole decade or are only just now turning on, this collection of new, exclusive material is an essential portrait of one of the most dynamic labels around. Who's on board? There are veterans from the label's very earliest days, including Ark, Nôze, Dave Aju and Sety. There are folks that have joined in recent years, enlarging the label's sound along with its roster: dOP, MyMy, Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts, Audio Werner, Antislash, Oleg Poliakov, and Le K., and finally, there are the most recent freaks to join the Circus: Ryan Crosson, Nicolas Jaar, and Homewreckers. There are also a few familiar faces hidden behind names that might be new to you: Ezechiel Pailhes, who contributes a touching sketch for piano and voice, is one half of Nôze; Destination Danger is the pairing of Oleg Poliakov and Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts, and together they come up with one of the album's most driving and hypnotic tracks. These tracks go far deeper than the bongos-and-keyboards model of so much current "deep house." An emphasis on live instrumentation, acoustic samples and subtle vocals keeps the sound warm and supple across both discs.
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