My 25 Favourite Albums: Erol Alkan - A Bugged Out Mix/A Bugged In Selection

I'll begin with an extract from the liner notes:

The only reason I agreed to do a commercially available CD was so I could compile a second CD which had nothing to do with nightclubs and losing your mind along with your mobile phone on the dancefloor.

It's most likely for this reason that this album makes it onto my list. It isn't just a dance mix, it's also a selection of tunes that have nothing to do with dance music.

Bugged Out is a dance music event that's been going since 1994 and this is one of several albums they've put out. Erol Alkan is a well known DJ in the dance music world.

The "Bugged Out Mix" begins with the most unlikely of tunes, "Hush" by Deep Purple, though it is just a 30 second extract which then goes into "E Talking" by Soulwax. Next up is "The Creeps" by Freaks which of course was a big hit, but that was in 2007 and this mix came out in 2005.

The mix follows that electro formula throughout and includes tunes from the likes of Tiga and SebastiAn and perhaps the best known tune in the mix was "Rocker" by Alter Ego.

A great mix, but what truly made the album was the "Bugged In Selection".

This isn't your usual chill out compilation that you might expect, it's a wide selection of tunes which go back as far as the 60s.

The opening track is "Passing Through" by Rare Bird which is from the 70s. We also have a mellow version of the Rolling Stones song "Miss You" by Swedish group The Concretes. The oldest track is "End Of A Love Affair" which is from 1962.

The selection becomes more upbeat when "Lollipop Minds" by Wimple Winch, a psychedelic tune from the 60s appears. The tune that follows was "Rainbow Chaser" by Nirvana. That's the original Nirvana from the 60s, not the Kurt Cobain one. I'd known such a band existed since the early 90s but had never heard any of their music until listening to this, and it's a good tune.

There is one well known tune on the CD which is "Just An Illusion" by Imagination. The tune that follows is the strangest one, "Holland Tunnel Dive" by ImpLOG.

The final track is "Big City" by Spacemen 3 which never seems to end, but that's a good thing because you know it's the final track and once it ends, so does the compilation.

When I bought this album, I was wanting a dance compilation first and foremost. But seeing Deep Purple on the track list did make me intrigued as to how that would fit into the compilation. I also knew that the Nirvana featured were the 60s Nirvana so also wanted to hear what they sounded like.

I didn't think that the CD of random tunes would be the one I'd listen to the most, I think I was more particular about what I listened to at the time. I guess what this compilation taught me was that there's lots of great music out there outside of the genres I'd typically listen to.