Vinyl is the preserve of obsessive collectors and too heavy to cart around, CDs promised to be indestructible when they were first invented, and refuse to play at the slightest mishandling. Minidiscs went the same way as DATs, Betamax video and reel-to-reel tape machines, and the iPod is now king. With music downloading becoming so popular, it's increasingly difficult to get punters to dig deep and shell out money for new music.
So how do record companies stay afloat? Well, either they change the fundamental business model of a record company, which many are doing now, by focusing on Internet releases and cutting staff and office overheads, or by giving away free music in the hope that artists' increased popularity will be reflected in the cash that is generated from touring and merchandising. Or they stick with the old model, and make it prettier. Global Underground has done a bit of both. On the one hand, the they have moved towards online sales, but then on the other, when you do buy a mix CD, you get not only the silver disc but a whole flash package with a booklet of photographs of the DJ and the city where the album was recorded, which makes it more than a bit of temperamental plastic.
And the latest offering in the series is from Deep Dish's Ali Dubfire and recorded at Taipei's Luxy, which means two discs of serious progressive house and a selection of shots of the man himself horsing around at various local landmarks. There's also an interesting commentary on Luxy and its various characters, and on Taipei itself. The tracks themselves are competently mixed and there are some real stunners: the Sebastian Ingrosso re-edit of Julien Jabre's Swimming Places is worthy of note, as is the exclusive track from Dubfire himself I Feel Speed. But it's worth buying as much for the packaging, which can be looked upon in years to come with nostalgia for the place we — at some point — have all called home. The CD is available from FNAC.
This week: break out your white gloves and polish your glowsticks — the United Nations of Funk present Rewind, featuring the best in old skool and classic house from 1985 to 2000. It's at Hips (formerly Barrio's) tomorrow night and this columnist will be throwing down the anthems alongside DJs SL and Junior and Megan. Elsewhere, tonight sees the return of Oxygen8 at Luxy, with Scotty Baller, Reason and Hooker who also celebrates his birthday.
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