With the winter chill now hanging ever more present in the Sydney air, the Bondi Calling 4 – Another Surfin’ Safari compilation of Australian and international tracks compiled by renowned Sydney DJ Andy Glitre is the perfect way to trick the mind into thinking the summer hasn’t disappeared yet. Pulling together tracks from beach-friendly genres such as reggae, soul, funk and hip hop, this collection of tracks flows ever so smoothly and steadily – there is nothing too raucous present, thus making this compilation an excellent musical accompaniment for lolling about on beach blankets.
The opener is a light funk venture called So Good Today by male vocalist, Ben Westbeech, who hails from Bristol UK, then there is a subtle transformation into the dubbed out but still lively number called Ganesh, courtesy of Noran. Next out into the surf is Summer Dress by Sydney’s Kingtide, who already have a surprisingly colourful past for an outfit that’s only been around for three years – something to do with Villawood… New talent then comes in the form of Liz Martin, who impressively has already worked with prominent Sydney musical figures such as Paul Mac and the eclectic Club Kooky crew and on Brightest Light she demonstrates a swooning, pop sensibility.
Jamie Lloyd contributes a track that sounds like classic Parliament groove but filtered through a huge cloud of marijuana smoke and once it dissipates there’s the arrival of a sunny reggae trilogy from Resurrectors, Custom Kings and the formidable Basslines Crew. From the not-so-sunny surrounds of Wellington NZ, Rhombus contributes a slice of cruising hip hop in Future Reference. True blue Bondi boy, Declan Kelly, shifts the mood back to a reggae-soaked one and Dead Rebels choose to bliss out further in a dub style on Raetehi. Helping to wrap up this compilation is Telemetry Orchestra and they do it in fine fashion with the woozy, washed-out pop-drone of Channel Three.
This album is an extremely chilled assortment of music and Andy Glitre establishes yet again his great ear for understated but always very cool music. It is highly refreshing when a compilation like Bondi Calling 4 – Another Surfin’ Safari comes along and is discovered to be a definite ‘grower’, which is a highly rare thing in the over-saturated market of the ‘dance compilation’.
