CD: The Best of Monte La Rue: Mood Mode

Mood Mode - The Best of Monte La Rue highlights special moments in the 15 year-career of this reputed deejay and producer. From his very first track, the rare and seldom heard Adeus, which minted the trademark La Rue sound back in the summer of 1998, to his latest single, the deliciously drowsy Sleepwalking, Mood Mode distills 15 years in the vanguard of sonic moodscaping into 75 minutes of aural bliss.

Monte La Rue is widely hailed as one of the instigators of the horizontal dancing wave that washed over Europe and the States at the start of the new millennium. His pioneering Lounge Deluxe (1999) compilation broke new ground and opened up a hitherto untapped market for quality music of electronic origin and exotic air. Many La Rue-compiled collections of electronic mood music followed this lead and established the Amsterdam-based producer as one of the downtempo genres finest exponents.

The Best of Monte La Rue is culled from his extensive catalogue of productions, which includes two artist albums (Interludia, 2002; The End of the Rainbow, 2008), an album under the FabergA alias (Dining & Dreaming, 2009), plus a smattering of tracks exclusively recorded for compilations.

Mood Mode - The Best of Monte La Rue displays a brace of new and never before released tracks. Apart from the new single, Sleepwalking, the 17 track collection includes When I Look and In Your Arms, both on offer for the first time. Mood Modes version of Meadow is a new remix, while Baby Come Down and Desert Island Night (originally released under the FabergA(c) moniker) are presented in newly remixed versions. All tracks on Mood Mode are re-mastered for this occasion.