German tech-house pioneer Ian Pooley extends his winning streak with another mix CD, serving as an excellent sequel to his 2001 Nite:Life mix CD. Where Nite:Life tries to emulate an actual DJ set one would hear in a club, Excursions takes things down a bit, making it perfect to listen to while getting ready for a big night out. Pooley starts things off slowly, bringing in one Chicago house classic after another before setting his sights on some obscure Detroit gems, finally bringing the mix to an apex with the underrated classic "Sueno Latino." Excursions is beyond a mix CD — it's almost as if Pooley is paying tribute to all of the mix cassettes imported from Chicago and Detroit radio a decade before. Brilliant track selection, superb mixing skills, and sharp track sequencing make this the strongest mix in the Excursions series yet and probably the best mix CD of Pooley's long and highly respected career.

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