Trust the DJ: PA02

In most cases, there's no need for a DJ to release mix albums in two consecutive years. But an exception can be made for Phil Asher, since his two mixes in the Trust the DJ series have helped chart the development of West London's broken beat scene -- a scene that isn't as documented in the CD format as well as it could be. Like most strains of dance music, broken beat thrives in the 12" vinyl format; full-length albums are particularly few and far between, however, and most of the material is released on artist-run labels with limited distribution. So one is particularly S.O.L. if they're unable to stay on top of this rapidly growing sphere of one-off releases, collaborations, and aliases. Those factors help make mixes like this one all the more crucial. As with Trust the DJ: PA01, Asher's mixing leaves little to be desired, but the selections don't have the depth and variety of his initial Trust the DJ mix. This one relies a little more on slickly-produced deep house, with leading lights Blaze ("Breathe") and KemeticJust ("Minstrel Speak") featured within a sequence that doesn't offer the same sense of breathless excitement. Still, there's enough exceptional material to inspire outsiders to dig deeper. Seiji's "3 Dom," Mustang's "Give a Little Love (Freedom Soundz Re-Edit)," and one of Asher's own productions as Restless Soul ("Peace in My Life") help prevent the disc from being a let-down.