Rating:
Genre:
Electronica
Release Date: 08/06/2002
Om 100, which celebrates the 100th release of
Om Records with a two-CD set of previously unreleased material, starts off with
King Kooba's
"Salvation." It's an appropriate track to begin this kind of collection -- worthy of dancefloors and living room chill-outs -- because it seems to look back with fuzzy-at-the-edges beats and jazzy keyboard orchestration that seamlessly evoke some lost vintage sound.
Afro-Mystik picks up this thread with the soulful vocals and
world rhythms of
"Natural." Other highlights include
"Pimp Rekker"'s
electro-
R&B track
"In Time," Soulstice's shimmering, funky
"All Right" and
hip-hopping "Never Stop," and
techno innovator
Juan Atkins' beautifully
experimental "Something About the Music," which still easily eclipses most
electronic producers. But the true winners on
Om 100 are
the People Under the Stairs, whose
old school,
underground hip-hop on
"The Bomb Combo" -- tipping a hat to both 1992 and 1986 -- is nothing less than revelatory. All in all,
Om 100 is a great record, a sweet party mix, a perfect chill-out set, and a history worthy of a label that's still growing.
~Charles Spano, All Music Guide