Winter Session/11 (Special Edition)

Album Review

Continuing a prolific run which includes the hugely successful Beat, Dancexpress, and Spin series, Winter Session/11 is the 42nd compilation in 11 years from influential Quebec DJ and producer Daniel Desnoyers. Never one to miss an opportunity to flaunt his talents, the 18-track collection includes two of his own compositions, "The Clown Song," a chaotic fusion of Tom & Jerry-style jazz and bass-heavy electro, and the more generic, Cascada-esque floor-filler "Back Again," alongside his remixes of Mademoiselle Luna & Miss Autumn Leaves' dance-instruction "Move Up & Down" and Miss Ketty's warped techno cover of Tom Jones' "You Can Leave Your Hat On." Elsewhere, there are 14 other club anthems in waiting, with remixes (from established DJs like Sidney Samson and Benny Benassi) of tunes from equally established artists Martin Solveig ("Hello") and Fedde Le Grand ("Rockin' High"), nestling alongside hi-NRG covers of '60s soul classics by Mephisto (the Supremes' "Stop in the Name of Love") and RLP feat. Barbara Tucker (Aretha Franklin's "R.E.S.P.E.C.T."), dancefloor hits from Belgium (Peter Luts' "The Rain"), Australia (Zoe Badwi's "Freefallin'"), and Italy (Gigi De Martino's "Mar Adentro (Il Canto Della Sirena)"), and two appearances from electro-house producer Federico Scavo, both on his own reworking of Michael Zager Band's disco classic "Let's All Chant," and as a guest artist on Alex Kenji's acid-house throwback "Like This." Released via his D-Noy Musik label, Winter Session/11 sometimes appears more as a showcase for Desnoyer himself than a reflection of the Canadian dance music scene, but it's still an anthemic collection of dancefloor cuts which should satisfy clubbers until the next addition to his extensive back catalog. ~ Jon O'Brien, Rovi