SOS house trio prepares the Balance 013 compilation

Wednesday, 12th March 2008 at 4:52 pm / Words: Beat Factor

At the helm of this voyage is London-based DJ collective SOS (or SexOnSubstance), featuring Demi, Desyn Masiello and Omid 16B. As friends, producers, DJs, label owners – and model clubland citizens – Demi, Desyn and Omid are three of the most passionate talents working in electronic music today. Taking inspiration from their SexOnWax and Deeper Substance imprints to form SOS in 2004, they’ve built a first-rate reputation for quality music, inventive mixing and an infectious party spirit, whether it’s on a boat along the Thames, deep inside Bedrock or Ministry of Sound, or glowing in the sun in Ibiza or Miami. Like Danny Krivit, François K and Joe Claussell’s legendary Body & Soul connection before them, the chemistry between the members of SOS makes for a proper three-headed DJ monster.

Balance 013 marks the first time the trio has committed their energetic and eclectic sound to CD, and the result is nothing short of mind-blowing. Having locked themselves away for weeks, submerged in their home studios, SOS painstakingly programmed and pieced together a three-disc opus using many of their signature re-edits, top-drawer treasures from underground troves, and a few kinky surprises out of left field.

The journey begins with crashing waves and a sublime guitar solo. Omid’s track ‘Seagull’, made using a simple four-track when he was in an early-90s band called The Reunion, is heard here for the very first time. We then glide into a realm of guitar loops and spaced out disco. And from there we catch a chugging, hypnotic groove that takes us right into the heart of the mix. Here the SOS sound snakes cleverly between cosmic dub, ambient breakbeats, Arabian horns and all things house. It’s a playground perfect for the more experimental shades of SOS’s palette.

The next disc continues where the first left off with The Cure’s ‘Lullaby’. However, this time it’s a special up-tempo edit that blends the blissful nostalgia of the original with a new, dreamy soundscape that lies beyond. (Actually getting clearance to use ‘Lullaby’ in this context involved another massive effort by SOS, which ultimately led to Robert Smith himself helping the guys out!) Continuing to build the mix, SOS passes through the deepest analogue territories before hitting the acid funk running. In true SOS style, things later take a turn for the surreal when the rude boys splice it up to ask, in the voice of Queen’s frontman Freddie Mercury, ‘is this the real life’? After an infusion of twisted, percussive techno, the energy flow reaches a climax before dropping back two decades to the timeless party sounds of Inner City’s ‘Big Fun’.

The final mix is every bit as epic and compelling. It’s also more club-orientated, with tracks cherry-picked from a brotherhood of underground talents. Sure enough at times it gets pretty intense, with prime dancefloor cuts from the likes of Aphex Twin, but it’s always in keeping with the ebb and flow of the project. Effortlessly organic and seamlessly dynamic, the sequence progresses, releasing pressure and leading to the atmospheric finale entitled ‘Full of E_mty’ from Omid’s current ‘Like 3 Ears And 1 Eye’ album.

Track list:

Disc 1
01 Omid 16b - Seagull
02 AN-2 - Wide Open
03 Modern Heads feat Pig & Dan - Gliding (Hypnotherapy)
04 Omid 16b - The Final Choice
05 Christian Smith & John Selway - Slow River
06 LFO - Nurture (Surgeon Remix)
07 Speedy J - De-Orbit
08 Jody Wisternoff - Starstrings (Instrumental)
09 Aeroplane - Caramellas
10 Chymera - Umbrella (Beatless Mix)
11 Imagination - Just An Illusion (Lindstrøm Dub) (SOS Edit)
12 DJ Frtizo - Pimms By The Pool (SOS Remix)
13 Bryan Ferry - Don't Stop The Dance (12" Remix) (SOS Edit)
14 Jan Driver - Kardamoon
15 MC Sultan - Der Bauch
16 Brandy - The Ritual (Chateau Flight Remix)
17 Cocteau Twins – Cherry Coloured Funk (Seefeel Remix)
18 The Cure - Lullaby

Disc 2
01 The Cure - Lullabye (SOS Edit)
02 Dusty Kid - Luna
03 Josel - Digiboy (DJ Tarkan & V-Sag Remix)
04 Nima Gorji - Whatever
05 Spirit Catcher - Brain Candy
06 Kollektiv Turmstrasse - Wagnis
07 Marsmobil - Mangia Amore (Makossa & Megablast Remake) (Lucas Abadi Edit)
08 The Blacklight Society - 2028
09 Whizz Kidzz - Fly High (SOS Edit)
10 Aeroplane / Corporation of One - Aeroplane (Dub) / The Real Life (SOS Edit)
11 Sugar Caine Pres Bionik Phunk - Once In A Lifetime (Dub) (SOS Edit)
12 Marc Romboy vs Stephan Bodzin - Atlas
13 Slytek - Spin Out (Neon Skin Mix)
14 Ink & Needle - Six
15 Middleman - Dum Dum
16 Inner City - Big Fun (Edit)
17 Joeski - Caribe Elektrico (Outter Limits Mix)
18 Henrik B - Logos

Disc 3
01 Speedy J - Fill 17
02 Joash - Salome
03 Aeroplane - Pacific Air Race (Dub)
04 Paul Keeley - A Sort Of Homecoming (SOS Edit)
05 DJ Pippi & David Penn - Do U Feel It (The Piano Mix) (SOS Edit)
06 AFX - VBSRedlofB
07 Dimitri - Here She Comes (Elektrokid Remix)
08 Kid Massive - Release (Raoul Dub)
09 Levan - Miau
10 Ozze - Bend The Rules
11 Loco Dice - City Lights (Martin Buttrich Remix)
12 Michael Ho - Kiss The Wasp
13 Ytre Rymden Dansskola - Kjappfot
14 Kingpin Cartel - Moogie Nights (SOS Edit)
15 Michael Cassette – Shadow’s Movement (SOS Edit)
16 Bastian - Game Over
17 Alessi Brothers - Savin' The Day (SOS Edit)
18 Stereo Brains - Luna (Jhonny and Peps Remix)
19 The Detroit Experiment - Think Twice
20 Omid 16b – Full Of E_mty