Joe Bermudez - Nervous Nightlife presents: Mass Movement

By Derek Johns

It's always wonderful to see a release from Nervous Records, I'll state that off the bat. Nervous has gone up time and time again for dance enthusiasts, even when it may involve a "not-so-lucrative" project. We all know of Joe Bermudez, from his Open House Party fame to producing remixes for nearly every Hilary Duff and Kelly Clarkson single out there. I can honestly say I've never heard him spin or mix outside pre-recorded mixshow programs, so this was a new experience for me.

"Mass Movement," to me, is a movement away from this pop-laden template into a more dubby, electrohouse vibe. It begins with mellow, vocal house tracks, reminiscent of everything Iio – and surprise, here's Creamer and K. with Jordan rolling up on track two. I really enjoyed the fifth track, "Don't You Want Me" by Gold, Diaz & Young Rebels. It's a more progressive cover of Felix's "Don't You Want Me" and properly uses the sample (think Meck's "Feels Like Home"). Track eight is DJ Dan's "Needle Damage (Macca Remix)," and is a nice switch to a more aggressive track. Next is the advertised "With Love" a dub by Bermudez and Preve. I love Hilary Duff and wish this had been a vocal mix. There's enough in there to get by, though.

There are two grievances I had with this compilation. The first was its packaging. Mainstream America may pick up this CD in the store after seeing the "featuring exclusive mixes by Gabriel & Dresden / Hilary Duff/ DJ Dan" (nice middle placement) sticker on the cover. But they're going to place it back on the shelf once they see that Hilary is only artist they recognize on the track listing (and even that mix is a dub). Was this an effort at the mainstream? If it was, it wasn't strong enough to win them over and it leaves the rest of us wondering what Hilary is doing there in the first place. Does Hilary fit into the same genres of as JS16 and Chris Lake? Although the evidence points to the contrary, Joe does fit his dub of "With Love" in there perfectly.

The second grief was that although it's an entertaining journey through a variety of house and electro tracks, it doesn't seem to go anywhere. There won't be a big mass of movement anywhere when the tempo stays in the exact same range for 70 minutes of music. The first track begins at a steady 128 BPM, the middle track is still holding strong at 128 BPM, and the CD ends at…well, 128 BPM. I may be spoiled on compilations from Ultra and Thrive Records, but I'm used to beginning a CD at a good medium tempo and hopefully, ending on a really high or finishing note that completes the trip. We can only blame labels and licensing issues for not allowing a tad more variety.

Mass Movement is a good rebound after the tragic last CD in Nervous Nitelife Series from Oscar G. It's also a good beginning to what looks like will be an ongoing series - Mass Movement. Bermudez' mixing is flawless; there are no errors in the progression of the tracks. This makes me smile as I now know that he's more than a capable DJ as well as remixer – this obviously wasn't his first time at the rodeo. The tracklisting is a decent exploration of unexplored progressive and electro house and the vocals found here are full, melodic and pretty. As a whole, it just never builds into enough energy for my taste. This compilation would be perfect for a long road trip or adding atmosphere to a friendly martini party at the house.