Darren

Any cynics who view Darren Emerson's seemingly instant accent to superstar DJ status as a result of his long affiliation with Underworld best head directly to the final song on the two-CD Darren compilation intended to capture the monumentally successful Underwater/Subliminal Records nights in Ibiza. The track is a 1993 cut by a group called T-World released on Emerson's then fledgling Underwater label. Today, the members of T-World are now more widely known as Gus Gus, and Emerson has neatly picked up from where he left off a decade earlier, DJing and releasing tech-infused house anthems guaranteed to rock global clubbers to the bone. Along for the ride with Emerson is newcomer Tim Deluxe, whose breakout productions for Underwater are the discs' highlights. "We All Love Sax" is an invigorating rub that goes along nicely with Deluxe's megahit "It Just Won't Do," widely regarded as the biggest Ibiza track of 2002. But this is hardly a mainstream hits compilation, as cutting tracks by D'Julz and Ian Pooley will attest. Emerson has still not approached the populace dance achievements of his former band, and it seems unlikely that he would desire to do so. Although, this disc is admittedly more accessible that Emerson's darker and harder mixes for Global Underground.