4 out of 5

Label: Waltzer

Produced by: Andy Jenkinson

A cavalcade of some of the most bangiest bangers Andy Jenkinson has ever collected under one album, Slam Zone goes all in on many fronts: from the plain-as-day title, to the similarly vibed cover, to the habitual jokey song names that are especially pushing the booty-shaking puns this time around, and then, of course, there’s the music, which goes hard from stop to finish.

And with most house / acid house producers, that can be all that’s required: some loud, notable thumps; maybe a good vocal sample; whatever works to keep the house moving. But Jenkinson tends to elevate the genre by dicing things up with IDM, or breaks, or… techno prog? …and that dicing is also full bore here. If that sounds like I’m describing the album in all maximalist ways, well, yes. But the point is that the Ceephax style prevents this (99% of the time) from becoming overwhelming, with a couple of weirdass curveballs thrown in there just to make sure the party stays at least a little off-kilter.

Slam Zone was kickstarted / crowdfunded for a physical format, but Andy must’ve had that in mind when sequencing things, as the sides break down into pretty discrete slices: two acid house tunes; one of those curveballs. And generally, the acid songs find Andy operating in either menace mode – constantly changing things up; mischievously heavy-handed with his melodies – or going very linear, and dropping a track that could fit on a random house comp. I am knocking the rating for these tracks (and for the longer cuts in general, which tend to feature at least one section that rings very generic), but self-awareness goes very far to counter that: the way these songs tend to be paired with either a followup sample, or some blazing IDM breakdown, lends the experience a kind of wink-and-smile. This is the Slam Zone, after all, so Andy is just doing his due acid diligence, but also having a laugh at how silly umph-umph-umph style house can be. It’s not mocking, though – there’s love here, otherwise he wouldn’t commit to those songs so much.

A bit of an indirect plus, then, though it logically doesn’t “directly” change the fact that, if you prefer a bit more variation in your acid house, there are going to be some moments where you’re wondering if this is Ceephax at all. But then… it is, and the ace production, smart sequencing, and irrepressible body rocking will have you up and dancing, ironically or no.

Note: The digital has some bonus live cuts and – my goodness. I would’ve staked my music-listenin’ life on having zero interest in experiencing electronic music live, but where I’m criticizing some of the generic stuff above, wow do these bonus tracks make the case. I can absolutely feel myself jumping out of my skin, stuck in a club with Mr. Jenkinson doing magic synth things; the changeups executed in these tracks become magic when they’re a little more raw thanks to the live recording. I was planning on skipping these initially, but instead – they’re going to be the bar against which I compare any other live electronic music that comes my way.