Ultraviolet [Audio CD] DJ Touche - Journeys By DJ

Forget what you know of DJ Touché, the one time Wiseguy. Once the tough prince of party breakbeat, he's now mixing up genre-straddling house music on Ultraviolet. The opener "Ego War" from Audio Bullys (a kind of dancefloor Madness) is actually not a million miles away from the Touché of old. However, followed by his own track "Tangerine", a blast of bass-plucked Latino house, it shows just what direction he's headed in.

It's a surprisingly freestyle selection all told, embracing house music of all denominations. From the filtered Raw Silk sampling funk of Kid Crème's "Hypnotizing" and the tribal glitch of Tim Wright's "The Lunge" to the harder "A Lot of People" from Frankie Bones and Paul Kieran's acid-tinged raver "Africa 70", there's plenty here to admire. --Paul Tierney