Glasgow Underground 3 [Audio CD] Various Artists

Now challenging the irrepressible techno label, Soma, as Scotland's most consistently excellent dance music label, Glasgow Underground have their roots more in the legacy of American house, the Paradise Garage, and deeply spaced-out producers such as Larry Heard and Deep Dish. Their third showcase avoids any narrow parochial visions, thankfully, making for a refreshingly cool sweep of global grooves. There are throwbacks to the minimal bleep of 1989 (Cassio, Powder Productions), freestyle disco wig-outs that are purest Larry Levan (Love Rec), and, best of all, the man who really should be bigger than Prince--Romanthony, the James Brown of house music, elevating the funk on "Bring U Up." There's even a bonus CD with label boss Kevin Mackay plundering the label's recent albums for a set that flows like the sound of the deep at 10,000 leagues below. It's a 4 a.m. thing you won't fail to feel. --Calvin Bush