Various – Tresor.2000 Compilation Vol. 8

This is a very pleasant compilation to just sit back, relax and listen to. It starts very deep, with the first few cuts heading into a heavy dub techno direction. Even though it is not usually my thing, by the time Drexciya's tune drops, I'm comofortably melting in my chair. Savvas Ysatis' contribution is my favorite from the first part of the release, with dubby beats and cool, subtle, repetitive piano loops. After Aril Brikha's timeless Detroit tinged classic, Groove La Chord, we are treated to three consecutive dance floor designed tracks. None of them are overly hard, but rather hypnotic and driving, especially Claude Young's Rise with a lenghty beatless sequence when tension is steadily rising. Sterac does his usual trick with fast paced beats and nervous piano synth stabs all over, in the vein of stuff like Jeff Mills The Extremist or Workers, although Spector is never as hard.
Little Cherry is another deep cut, more along the lines of first three on this compilation than its three predors I mentioned a few lines above. Pacou's Freelancer is a monotonous rolling techno piece, with not really much going on, but there are entire segments with really loud and emphasized cymbals, and that seems to do the trick very often, as the sound ages alter from very uplifting and agressive to more laid back and quiet (relatively). Oh yeah, and it has one of those cool hum along to it bass liness.
The last track here is one of my all time favorite pieces of work by James Ruskin, Detached. A great, sci fi tune with really spaced out and far reaching melodies, reminiscent of Jeff Mills most mesmerizing and dreamy soundscapes created on Axis. I really like it, as it stands out above most of Ruskin's tunes from that period. Not as hard and relentless, more elaborated, and if you want, orchestral and developped. With solid rocking beats throughout, but it's those cool melodies orbiting around which steal the show here.
Now, this is not my favorite Tresor label compilation, that place might be reserved for the amazing seventh installment, but just as with any other label overview, odds are you will find around three to four tracks to your liking, to say the least. The overall quality of the material here is great. Tunes which are carefully crafted and selected, for both your home listening sessions or clubbing nights, "Tresor 2000 - Compilation Vol. 8" has the potential to satisfy a broad amount of people, from casual techno listeners through to more demanding and older heads. In my opinion, that is this compilation's strongest point.