[kriztal]	review from dimm

Hardcore ET fans, (of this site, not this, nor this), will remember my raving about the German release of this cd on Poet's Club Records that sported elusive remixes and fresh offerings from the Euro-club scene.

For the States, a lovely label from Miami, Florida, recognised the stagnancy of the deity-saturated world-box of "nu Asian Sounds" and found a remedy in Eastenders' Orientation. But not without a few side effects...

Disappointingly, the first four songs of the cd are a slow start. Even the first three being stuff we hadn't heard before doesn't alleviate the fact that the vibe set is mediocre at best. But suddenly Eastenders' "Misterio" wakes you from the slumber with what could possibly be a new sub genre of arabtronica I'll coin 'Discotronic Arabica™'. This aesthetic gets slammed into full-frontal studio-54 milieu a bit later on Karuan's "Laali."

The salient calm of Digital Jocky's "Ach Ware Ich Ein Zug, So Fuhre`" gives way to the superexcellent "Cinema" delicately executed by Ramesh and expertly remixed by Atomhockey. Names we are not familiar with in the States, but should be. This by far is the most mature and utterly UK-borne sound on the compilation delivering gritty pop layers over sensually strange basslines. If your butt doesn't move at least a little by this point, check your pulse. You may be dead.

The sublime sounds of Orient Expressions' "Istanbul 1:26 am" is another notable, along with dZihan & Kamien's "Dabudei," from their seminal debut Freaks & Icons. What would've been extra-special would be the trading of one of the earlier tracks here for their ultra-rare remix of Nitin's "Homelands" from the German edition...

Considered in its totality, Orientation seems as if was being hit from different angles by different people compiling the collection. Perhaps this is because the US release is a conglomerate of the previous two Orientation offerings in Germany. Some new tracks are added, thus the final product is unfortunately very unbalanced given the strength of the second two-thirds of the cd.