- Scan the tracklist of any one of the 20-odd Cocoon compilations released over the past 11 years and you'll find a common thread. Almost invariably, each edition serves to welcome a few new producers into the label's ranks. And more often than not, it's the efforts of these one or two-time contributors that shine most brightly. This revolving door approach is one of the primary reasons that Cocoon has never been associated with one sound for very long. That's just as obvious on 11 Years Cocoon Recordings as it's ever been, with the bulk of the remixers having had less than two tracks signed to the label throughout its 11-year history.
Perhaps the most in-demand quartet in house music at the moment, Visionquest—Seth Troxler, Lee Curtis, Ryan Crosson and Shaun Reeves—open up the album by reworking Dinky's "Acid in My Fridge" into a plodding and highly workable deep house excursion. Roman Flügel's first outing on the label since his 2004 debut sees him applying his loopy touch to Martin Buttrich's "Hunter" for another one of the collection's standouts. Further along, Joel Mull's "Harmonautic String" gets the Steve Rachmad treatment, and ends up drenched in the Amsterdam resident's smooth chord progressions for what results in one of his more memorable recent remix efforts.
By and large, the rest of the release isn't too far from what you've heard from each of the respective artists before. If it's a heavy hand on the appegiator button that gets you going, Kollektiv Turmstrasse and Petar Dundov have you covered, remixing Guy Gerber's "Timing" and Extrawelt's "Titelheld" into epic but somewhat one-dimensional workouts respectively. Meanwhile, Carlo Lio goes deep on "Diablo" from Dubfire vs Oliver Huntermann and Gary Beck gives Pig & Dan's "Deliverance" a spacey makeover.
When it's all said and done, however, it's the guests, not the Cocoon old guard, that steal the show. Cocoon's constant efforts to reach out have resulted in 11 strong years for the label. It stands to reason with efforts like these that there'll be plenty more to come.
Tracklist 01. Dinky - Acid in My Fridge (Visionquest Remix)
02. Martin Buttrich - Hunter (Roman Flugel Remix)
03. Argy - Unreliable Virgin (Tim Green Remix)
04. Joel Mull - Harmonautic String (Steve Rachmad Remix)
05. Dubfire vs Oliver Huntemann - Diablo (Carlo Lio Remix)
06. Pig & Dan - Deliverance (Gary Beck Remix)
07. 2000 and One - Tropical Lemons (Paul Ritch Remix)
08. Guy Gerber - Timing (Kollektiv Turnstasse Remix)
09. Extrawelt - Titelheld (Petar Dundov Remix)