Jeremy Underground Mixes My Love Is Underground II

One’s flagging interest in conventional compilations creeps down to zero in light of some outstanding collections curated by Joey Negro and Jeremy Underground. My Love Is Underground II nicks its name from Jeremy’s top notch label which has been one of the catalysts of Europe’s Deep House revival over the last half decade.

MLIU, the Label, has always had a deep and abiding respect for the roots (the very first cut on the very first record was Nathaniel X Project’s “Gotta Get Over 2010,” in reference to Nat X’s 1994 classic.) But MLIU II isn’t sourced from the label, except in the sense that these are the tracks that directly or indirectly inspired it. (A hell of a lot of these are also supremely rare, and pulling them out of the mothballs has given DJs a shot at either crossing a few titles off their want lists or writing hamfisted angry posts on discogs about how the reissue market is the 154th Cause of the Imminent Death of House Music As We Know It.)

At the top is Groovestyle’s “Love,” the lesser known but highly coveted flip to Eric “E-Smoove” Miller’s 1994 anthem “Freedom Train” (itself repressed three years ago by Classic with Rob Mello and Derrick Carter remixes). Another rarity to make the cut is Sublevel 3’s “Someway, Somehow” – a strange UK Garage test pressing that has high resale value without accumulating much of the fanfare of some other rare records. And another is “Untitled,” one of four tracks from the rare Sandy Rivera debut under the name “Sanjay.” (Should be noted that Plastic People got this out ahead of time on their ’90s House Collection.)

If you remember House from the era between when it was Disco and when minimal and edit nerds declared themselves “deep4life,” you will have a hell of a lot of fun with this. But the great thing about being alive and in love with music in 2016 is the unprecedented access one has to the whole wealth of human creation that came before us. I think you’re obligated to beat out your own path and dirty your fingernails with the accumulated years of vinyl grime, at least if you want to be true. But if you’re uncertain where to start, Jeremy Underground & MLIU II are good navigators to get you going in the right direction.