[.ca] Hotel Costes V.4 - Quatre

From Amazon.com:
Celebs like the Rolling Stones, Madonna, and Craig David enjoy hanging out at the legendary, exclusive Hôtel Costes in Paris, where the good life is lived with abandon. This fourth installment of the Costes music series highlights the slick and impressively alternative music selection played at this avant-garde establishment. Mixed by Parisian scenester Stéphane Pompougnac, the collection of super-ritzy, downtempo-flavored nuggets starts with the beautiful "London in the Rain" by Variety Jam and "I've Got a Cat" by the Method. There's plenty of uptempo vibes too, with Dublex Inc's "Tango Forte" and slow-burning deep-house missives like Slowsupreme's "Granada," Pompougnac's own "Closer to Julie," and Jon Cutler's classic "It's Yours." After raising temperatures with Imada's Brazilian vibes on "Playground Do Brazil," an Afro-Cuban sway on Major Boys' "Sous le Soleil," and Doctor Rockit's brand of seduction on "Café de Flore," Pompougnac brings us back down to floor level toward the end with Gotan Project's "Epoca," Shantel's sophisticated shuffle "Whatever," and Orbient's supine "Boarding." All in all, a great listen and a refreshingly different selection of tracks, many of which are tough to find domestically. --Paul Sullivan

Better than most...:
Fed up with boring "chill out" and "electro-jazz" compilations that offer little more than instantly forgettable background music? Well, here's one that actually delivers something worth listening to. Opening with Variety Lab's wonderful "London in the Rain" it "wobbles" a bit over the next three perfectly acceptable tracks before embarking on a 45 minute sequence that's an amateur DJ's dream. Selection is everything and in this case Hotel Costes' Stephane Pompougnac gets it just right. Each track in this inspired seven track mix is highly distinctive but the trick is in the way he seamlessly integrates them while steadily building on their combined atmosphere. The end effect? Well it's "chilled" and it's "cool"... but above all it's interesting & exciting, two things which most of the huge number of "chill out" albums out there are not.

THE BEST BY FAR!!!:
I'll admit that I'm a "late bloomer" to "Hotel Costes"--I didn't actually give the series a chance until I started reading the reviews and sampling certain volumes of the esteemed series. That being said, I bought Volume 4, aptly penned "Quatre", yesterday with the last few dollars I had in my pocket (money that was supposed to be alocated for gas until payday--HELP ME, SOMEONE!! It's obvious I have a major CD addiction.) Be that as it may, I am not at all disappointed in my purchase. In fact, in comparison to the other 2 Costes CDs I own (2 & 5), this one actually sounds the best. I thought it was going to be too "Latin" for me, but I was so wrong!! "Sous le Soleil" by The Major Boys with its laid-back Cuban rhythms is one of my favorite songs on "Quatre." Other noteworthy songs are those from phenom mixer Pompougnac himself, Dublex Inc., SlowSupreme, Thunderball and Orbient. The songs are perfectly mixed, melting into the other with the precision of a truly experienced DJ. The Costes series has become my all time favorite compilation CD set. Now, I must go and check my seat cushions for loose change or maybe I 'll go and trade in a few of my "whack" compilation CDs to get Volumes 1 & 3 of "Hotel Costes." There's obviously some subliminal messaging going on in those fancy-smancy Costes CD covers that's persuading me to go out and buy more of this stuff. Or perhaps it's just outstanding music and my avarice to want to hear more from Pompougnac.

My favorite Costes Hotel in the series!:
Stéphane P has done it again! No question about it - this is my favorite in his series. It has a great mixture of house, jazz and latin music. Perfect for late gatherings if you need good background music for chilling out.

Must have!:
Great songs! But Stephane Pompougnac should stop using the song "closer to julia"!! It's in 3 of his albums!! This album, Sax 5th Ave and Living on the Edge, it is one of his best song, but come on think of something else already!!

Great music:
Not as good as the others in the series, but pretty good! If you need another CD in this music category, this is a good add.

• London in the Rain - Variety Lab
• I've Got a Cat
• Solar - Thunderball
• Tango Forte - Dublex Inc.
• Organ Nights, Pt. 2 - Scott Grooves
• Granada
• Closer to Julie - Stéphane Pompougnac
• It's Yours \oJon's B-Side Breakdown Mix\c - Jon Cutler, Eman
• Playground do Brasil - Masaru Imada
• Sous le Soleil \oCuba Acoustic Mix\c - Amelia, The Major Boys
• Café de Flore \oCharles Webster's Latin Lovers Mix\c - Doctor Rockit
• Época - Gotan Project
• Whatever - Shantel
• Boarding \oDoubleseat Mix\c - Orbient