I went back and forth about including this album, which is a patchwork of samples knit together from hundreds of songs (estimates range from 900 to over 3000 samples used in all the album’s various versions).

The reason for my hesitation is honestly my current appreciation for “real” music, played on real instruments, which is an idea that 1) requires some more unpacking than I have room for here and 2) is pretty much driven by the AI ripoff-heavy atmosphere of 2025. Unpacking what “real” music is will require a thinkpiece, and I don’t have enough think energy at the moment. But I think this album will figure heavily in whatever conclusions I might draw at that future moment of brilliance.

This album is built around a cohesive concept, it’s tight, and it’s beautiful in many ways. Dance music is an arena I’m still learning about, but this effort sounds like it should have taken a million DJ’s mixing and sampling to achieve; in fact it was 2 guys in Australia working in different studios, sending mixes and records and samples back and forth, who made it happen. I’m no expert, but that sounds like an achievement most producers could only dream of; I haven’t heard of a music production effort that impressive since I discovered J Dilla’s deathbed masterpiece Donuts.

It’s a musical quilt that I might not use every day, but it’s worth pulling out of the chest at the foot of the bed on cold winter nights. Despite the stroke-inducing repetitiveness at times, the kind I refuse to believe anybody actually enjoys outside a mind-addled dance floor, it’s an album I’m glad to know about.

Note: this album was released in Australia in 2000, and internationally in 2001. But I already wrote it up so it stays in the 2000 issue!

From the roundup Some Excellent Albums from 2000.