DJ Nasir's trancey remix compilation of electronica, lounge, trip-hop and acid jazz delivers a slow-mo punch to your cerebral cortex. It's sure to blow away any cobwebs in your interior attic. If trance were ships, this CD would be the Queen Mary -- it's that bloody stately in its pacing. The sound envelops you and sort of sinks you deep down into your chair, leaving you absolutely unable to move. Doubtless there are times everyone needs to feel boneless, and if you can't get into a tub full of hot water or slug down a glass of Jameson's, the Free Activation Series Vol. 2 should do the trick just as well.
Synth bits, drum kits, sound samples of a Houston space mission at the beginning and ending tracks (thus clueing in the listener: you're in for a spaced-out ride) and really softened, flattened-out guitar chords float through the first five tracks. "Boring as Everything But the Girl," my sister grumbled. The exception to this would be the Dennis Hopper sample from Blue Velvet (the second time I've heard Blue Velvet sampled in a three month period. What is it with this movie?). The variety and change in tempo here is almost neglible. The disc is a great choice for a DJ who's played about an hour or two of fast beats and wants her audience to come down to earth, rest a bit and suck their lollies and energy drinks before they pass out from exhaustion.
The disc's second half varies things a bit by mixing in some international sounds, a few more samples and some more loungy percussion. There is some drum and bass thrown in here and there, such as Bahamadia's "Pep Talk". Frankly, I think it's an accomplishment for Nasir Rasheed to have slowed down drum and bass to such a heartbeat pace. Karma's "High Priestess (Jazzanova Remix)" adds some Latino noise to an otherwise largely European-flavoured comp. The outstanding track (the one I'd hit the repeat button for, over and over again), Buscemi's "Nightlife at 3:33", sounds a bit like the Propellerheads, and features the lounge flavours of Stereolab's "Dots and Loops", with a looped sample of a Peggy Lee-ish voice thoughtfully intoning, "It might be...fun".
There's little doubt that Free Activation Series Vol. 2 will be fun. Play this the next time you're holding a cocktail party at 1:00 a.m.; it'll help keep you from spilling the scotch. Don't shake it; this one's best served up like the emotions it conveys -- gently stirred.
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