In a year where Villalobos and Hawtin banked enough airmiles to rebel a White Christmas at the North Pole, two of their sidekicks, both female artists, produced my favourite two dance mix CDs of 2006. Hawtin’s protégé Magda released “She’s A Dancing Machine” while Villalobos’ collaborator Cassy released the first mix CD in the legendary Berlin club Panoramabar’s mix series.

While Magda followed her Yoda’s favoured path of Ableton-ing elements from over 70 individual tracks into her mix, Cassy opted for the more organic approach and crafted this mix by hand, with vinyl on decks. Each new track enters the mix loud and clear, lending a warmth and immediacy due to that same flourish of adrenalin you get in a club each time you hear the next track fading in. The mix straddles a broad timespan of releases, sometimes sacrificing anorak fodder for older, classic underground tracks. As well as journeying through the years, the album melds ingredients from Jazz, Acid and Deep House, Minimal Techno and Drum ‘n’ Base to very satisfying effect. The aura of this album captures perfectly the uniquely ethereal and unearthly experience that is a night spent on Panoramabar’s supernal dancefloor.