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Everyone's gotten a postcard with the "Wish you were here" sentiment
attached. In the case of the c/o Pop Festival Compilation 2005, it's more
like "Wish I'd been there." 2006 will mark the third year for this
"electronic pop culture" in Cologne, Germany and this audio postcard ‹ a
double-CD collection of unmixed tracks by festival artists ‹ makes a
compelling argument to visit the 50,000 strong event. A German electronic
music festival like C/O Pop is probably a much more pensive affair than,
say, the Miami Winter Music Conference, closing week parties in Ibiza or
even its larger, somewhat more mainstream cousin in Berlin's Love Parade,
but the music is no less affecting. On the pop end, indie-kid darling,
Scandinavian star and incredibly cute Annie is featured with her crystalline
and precious voice on the Phones Maximo mix of "Heartbeat" while Benjamin
Diam's whispy vocals on "Let's Get High" coast on a lovely guitar melody
pinned to a rolling, minimal beat - both tunes evoke a sweet, innocent and
touching feeling. The electro-pop re-interpretation of Kylie Minogue's
"Slow" by Michael Mayer and Agua is also pure gold. Usual suspects of the
minimal techno and house movement like Mayer, Alex Smoke, Ricardo Villalobos
and Wighnomy Brothers all make appearances here and they're joined by
lesser-known future stars like Egoexpress, Audio Werner, Prosumer, Andre
Kraml (with the quirky and growlingly cool grooves of "Dirty Fingernails").
And it's not all a thinking man's game either, with the MFA doling out some
tight and snapping electro on "Disco 2 Break." More channel-switching
cerebellum-bending beats come courtesy of Junesex, Alex Under, Ame and
others ‹ 23 tracks in all, and a compelling argument to pop in on the c/o
Pop Festival. -- review by Yuri Wuensch
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