Gilles Peterson - In The House

Smoother than a baby’s bottom

“In The House” has a special meaning for a man who actually owns a whole house just for storing records. Radio 1 DJ and acid-jazz maven Peterson has managed to narrow the master bedroom down to two CDs’ worth, presenting his current state-of-the-beat and his roots respectively, then commissioned a third disc of exclusives house tracks from artists including Carl Craig and DJ Switch.

Disc One starts off jazzily but soon pulses off relentlessly on into progressive and deep house, well-heeled grooves sounding like the soundtrack to the cocktail bar of your MDMA-soaked dreams, rather than the cramped, sweating holes full of blaring Hooray Henrys you inevitably end up in. Occasionally you crave a little depth, a bit of heart under the surface, but not for long, such is the glossy superficiality and bug-eyed energy of Peterson’s mix.

The second disc is more the funky, laidback Sunday afternoon in the pub with a roast dinner. Inevitably, it sounds a bit dated, more like Peterson on autopilot (Brother’s Gonna Work It Out? Quelle surprise!), with endless acid-jazz meanderings that are very much a matter of your noodle tolerance. Overall, In The House is flawless, but oddly soulless, a case of the beats are on, but there’s nobody home.

Defected | ITH 23 CD (2-CD)

Reviewed by Emily Mackay
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