Loft Party: New York City
This two CD set aims to capture the ultra-chic sounds of New York City's Loft party scene (not to be confused with the legendary NYC club of the same name).  Mixed by Tim "Journeyman" Fielding, this album contains a collage of soulful, funky, and vocal house grooves.  Disc one starts out a little bit disorienting, making hair-pin turns from deep to funky.  The sound gets into a slightly more comfortable groove around track 5, with a bass line that gets the neck nodding and horns that get the blood flowing.  Tim really shines through on the second disc however, which is a bit more dubby, and features a number of excellent tracks from some of the usual suspects--Blaze, Mateo & Matos, and Kevin Yost.  The progression is excellent, as the disc delves into equal parts organic and electronic, without losing direction.  While this offering is far from ground breaking, it's easy to imagine loosening the tie and kicking back with a martini to the sounds of this album.--Anish Acharya