Mezzanine [Import]

The first volume set the stage nicely with both Dinner Time and Seduction Time mixed by Fabrice Lamy and Shade respectively. The Mezz was followed up with Volume 2 with very sexy and stylin new cover art. The music was again top notch. Fabrice Lamy and Chloe (regulars at the Mezzanine) provide your ears with aural love.

Finally Volume 3 hits the shelves, and took a listen last night in my ride. Damn good...each one gets progressively stronger. Check out the FIERCE beats found on track 4 disc 1 by RJD2....unbelievable smokin beats. Makes you wanna dance dirty with the nearest hottie.....onto some Seduction Time.....

Tracks:

Soul Vibration - J-Walk
Lady [Acoustic Version] - Modjo
Vuelvo Al Sur - Gotan Project
Brain Thing
Outro Lado - Zuco 103
Lebanese Blonde - Thievery Corporation
Paul's Pal - Paul Hunter
Speechless Drum 'N' Bass (K and D Session) - Count Basic
Velcrosquat Light - Zombie Nation
Your Revolution - Sarah Jones,
Orozco - Tosca

Tracks:

Dream of You - Sun Trust
No Communication, No Love (Devasting) [Original Mix] - Charles Schillings
Over the Waves [The Dub Mix] - Next Evidence
Jazzy Kinda Sum'n - Mark Grant
Pure [Mig's Petalpusher Vocal] - Blue Six
Things You Said - Sunday Brunch
My Heart Belongs to Daddy - Playin' 4 the City
Flight Time
Fly With Me [Ubq's Vinyl Soul Mix] - Glenn Underground
Two Stones Ahead - TO-KA Project
Everything [Miguel Migs Naked Vocal Mix] - Spero
You Are Love [Afterhours Payback Session] - Lovetronic
Rise-Up and Walk

Album Description

Another ace double cd collection out of France. Released on the Wagram label, home of the immensely popular 'Buddha Bar' series. CD 1 is subtitled 'Dinner Time' and includes, Modjo'Lady (Hear Me Tonight / Acoustic)', Thievery Corporation 'Lebanese Blonde', Tosca 'Orozco', Count Basic 'Speechless (Kruder & Dorfmeister Mix)' and many more. CD 2 is subtitled 'Seduction Time' and includes, Blue Six 'Pure', Lovetronic 'You Are Love', Sun Trust 'Dream Of You', Sunday Brunch 'Things You Said' amongst many others. Double digipak.

Album Details

As Sir Terece Conran's only restaurant in France & his first lounge bar, the Mezzanine de L'Alcazar has forged a reputation based on a careful selection of music, starting off cozy & warm & finishing off in more deep house. This compilation encapsulates these two styles, with the first disc chosen by Lamy & subtitled 'Dinner Time' & the second called 'Seduction Time' & mixed by Shade. Includes cuts from Modjo, Zuco 103, Sun Trust, 8FATFAT8, J-Walk & many more.

Customer Reviews:

Get your Own Drum Synthesizer....and You're in Business!.......2003-07-09

A number of beach restaurants and swank hotels along the French Cote d'Azur are hiring DJs to play, and are issuing recordings of, music that (they think/hope) reflects the ambiance of their locales. It's such a trend that it's almost surely happening elsewhere in France too!
This is one of the leaders in that trend. "L'Alcazar" is a Parisian hot spot restaurant that was created a few years back by Terence Conran, a trendy British designer. This CD is a selection of some of the background music that he has allowed in. I really have to hope his cuisine is better than the music his DJs have come up with.
Thousands of diners, plus 'le tout-Paris' "in" crowd think I'm wrong, of course, or just don't care as long as they can be in the swim somewhere and maybe meet a like soul. If your idea of a cool night out is a drink and conversation with friend/friends over a background cushion of endless, montonous, simplistic, unsubtle, and ultimately boring electronic beats -- one very much like the one preceding it -- plus a repeating electronic or "vocal" motif over the top, then this is for you. If my adjectival laundry list appears redundant and heavy, it nevertheless reflects the music as I hear it.
If, however, you like musical music and have your own musical choice and identity then you will quickly find the Alcazar formula empty.
There is much that makes music a valid art form that is missing at L'Alacazar. Their crop of composers sets up a rhythm on a drum synthesizer, adds a mournful riff, a dirge or some brief tough dialogue and then repeats, and repeats and repeats it. I imagine it provides a medium that stressed-out yuppies can chill out to. However, it is ultimately a creation of the drug age, where hypnotic sound is considered a plus.
As for the drumming patterns on these disks, the likes of Chick Webb, Sonny Greer, Sidney Catlett, Dave Tough, Jo Jones, Art Blakey, Philly Joe Jones and their (dead) disciples are surely turning over in their graves.
The recording is good and if you buy this series of CDs, some of your friends may find you pretty darned stylish!! However, this up-to-date canned elevator music will surely soon go the way of the Lambada.

Another Dinner & Lounge Mix From A Paris Hotspot.......2001-04-22

I buy a lot of this stuff and there are only 5 tracks of the 23 that I had before, so even though it's kind of the same old story, there's plenty of new stuff and most of it is quite good. Same concept as Claude Challe's Buddah Bar: first disk is "Dinner" and the second is "Seduction", but without the Far East/World influence. Starts out as chilled out, ambient, light trip hop and ultimately ends up in sampled, deep house. Nicely mixed but not so seemlessly you can't hear it. Would sit nicely next to Naked Music, Kevin Yost, Costes, or anything lounge or deep house (no divas). Would be a good buy both for someone new to downbeat, chilled, house as well as someone trying to get their hands on more.

Average customer rating:

Mezzanine de l'Alcazar, Vol. 5
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Pschent Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ambient | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

House | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Dance Pop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Contemporary R&B | R&B | Styles | Music

General | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music

Northern | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Funk | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Adult Contemporary | Pop | Styles | Music

Adult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music

Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Dance & DJ | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000N8UXV0
Release Date: 2007-03-20

Tracks:

Kiss the Sky - Shawn Lee, Nino Moschella
Last Wig - Barth
She's from Mexico - Zimpala
Magnifique - Rouge Rouge
Walk on the Wild Side - DJ Disse
Hcopt - Lili Bulle
Cosmological Constancy - Kelley Polar
Disco's Revenge - Maxence
Solid Ground - Ms. John Soda,
Pant - Mamaluke
Michelle Plays Ping Pong - Daisy Daisy
Nin-Com-Pop - Lali Puna,
How Long Do I Have to Wait for You? - Sharon Jones
Robots Will Save Us - Leonard DeLeonard,
Another Station [Original Version] - Lindstr
Granfathered - Nathan Fake
Birds Fly by Flapping Their Wings - Biosphere

Tracks:

Spread Some Love - Tony Ransom
Life Is - Kenny Carvajal, Reggie Hall
Thousand Words [H&H Soulsurvivors Mix] - Antonio, Dom Navarra,
Dandy Dancer [Don Navarra's Switch & Get Down Mix - MC's Edit] - Freakfaze, Karl the Voice, Greg Kozo
Flying High - Byron Stingily
Keep on Shining [Main Soul Mix] - John Gibbons, Raw Artistic Soul
Glory of Life [Dfa Main Mix] - Mink
Aurora - Organika
Way - Antoine, Kid Massive
Animal Vibes [Edit] - Alex, Reverend P
My Life [Original Classic Mix] - Ron Carroll, Hardsoul
Serenity - Tiger Stripes