Bare Essentials: Volume Two [Regular Edition]
This second volume of New York label Naked Music'sBare Essentialsseries continues whereVolume 1left off, showcasing the soft-edged house and blue-mood electronic music of artists likeAquanote,Blue 6, andMiguel Migs. Like other Ibiza-flavored downtempo compilations that have been released in the midst of the style's popularity,Essentialsis dance music for beautiful, stylish hipsters who prefer a more bourgeois thump than club music usually provides. Songs like Andy Caldwell's "All I Need" (CJ One Remix) are awash in warm keyboards and an atmosphere of relaxed elegance, transporting even the most landlocked listeners to the imaginary tropical paradise of their choice.Volume 2also provides a nice mix of old and new, putting tracks like Blue 6's "All I Need" (Jimpster Remix) alongside previously unreleased material, including a blissful track from Weekender ("Weekenderstyle") and two from rising stars Central Living. It's a compilation that appeals to our collective happy place, a land where the nights are warm, everyone is beautiful, and the daiquiris flow freely.--Matthew Cooke