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Global Warming in Da Club

This past weekend, Miami's Winter Music Conference—an annual festival that lures thousands to Florida for a debauched romp of all-night dance parties and ear drum-destroying DJ sets—kicked off summer early with six days of pool parties and record label soirees. In the always forward-thinking world of dance music, DJs and producers are constantly hunting for new, attention-grabbing sounds—and summer, with a festival-laden calendar that has swelled to stretch from May (or did we just say March?) to late August, is the perfect stage for showcasing the latest cuts. Thankfully, a batch of summer-y new records are sure to have revelers dancing and head-nodding well past this June's solstice.

Of these albums, perhaps none shines brighter than Swiss-born Kalabrese's Rumpelzirkus. The former hip-hop drummer's debut full-length is already drawing comparisons to Isolée's 2005 shape-shifting landmark We Are Monster. From thumping house to pop-infused ditties, the record does its fair share of genre-skipping. On languid, acoustic flutters like "Hide" and funky, trumpet-backed cuts "Auf Dem Hof" and "Oisi Zeukunft," Rumpelzirkus proves a subtle—but never lukewarm—seducer. Perfect for swaying hips and swilling cocktails, expect this castaway to wash up on the shores of Ibiza and stick around the island all summer long.

After having practically redefined techno with everything from minimal, pop, glam, trance, and ambient takes on the classic 4/4 sound, German super-label Kompakt returns in '07 with a stocked arsenal of dance floor-buffed records. First out of the gates is relative newcomer Gui Boratto's Chromophobia, a stunning album that, like Rumpelzirkus, dodges pigeonholes with each one of its manifold mutations. Whether red-lining pulses with dark, mechanized stormers or offering melodic, sun-kissed comedowns, Chromophobia consistently pleases with cut after varied cut. But the São Paulo, Brazil native outdoes himself with the joyful, anthemic "Beautiful Life," a guitar-driven track wrapped in blissful synth layers and the titular vocal, which is repeated over and over to transcendent effect by Boratto's wife, Luciana Villanova.

Another recent Kompakt signee, Swedish laptop producer The Field (aka Axel Willner), has garnered a lot of buzz for his From Here We Go Sublime. While the album does suffer from a lack of variety at times, the tracks stand strong on their own and represent an exciting departure in sound for the label. Willner's strength lies in his ability to embed warm beats and melodies beneath icy textures; a nuanced technique that lends his dewy, trance-inflected techno an ethereal, almost vaporous quality—like winter's snowy vestiges melting and then evaporating under a spring thaw. From Here We Go Sublime certainly isn't prime fodder for the sweaty season, but it should serve as a pleasantly chilly reprieve from summer's dance floor send-ups, or just as a dreamy retreat for headphone listening.

Kompakt's Hamburg, Germany-based neighbors at Dial records provide some good alternatives for those more accustomed to catching rays off a disco ball than from a Balearic sun. Marked by its romantic, even gothic, sensibilities, this severely underrated label will have no problem perking ears this summer: Both Pantha du Prince's sophomore album, This Bliss and Efdemin's untitled debut guide listeners through night journeys of mysterious techno that is equal parts melodic and driving.

On the other side of the pond, Vancouver veteran Frivolous keeps things funkier with his recent Midnight Black Indulgence, released on Berlin's ~scape records. This thoroughly satisfying offering sees the soulful producer channeling Matthew Herbert as he bolsters his catchy microhouse with orchestral strings, jazzy piano snippets, and laidback vocals.

As if that's not enough, avant-garde darling of the indie-rock set Panda Bear (of Animal Collective fame) throws his hat into the ring with the genre-blurring Person Pitch, an album that represents the percussionist's first foray into fully realized electronic music. Influenced by minimalists like Luomo and Wolfgang Voigt, the Portugal-based expat loops samples and beats on his second solo album, coloring idiosyncratic aural kaleidoscopes with Beach Boys-style harmonies and vocal mantras. While the album surely won't coax crowds onto the dance floor, uplifting tracks like the 12-minute "Bros"—a euphoric song that builds into a liberating swell of chants, strumming guitars, and atmospheric piano keys—call forth a more intellectually-inspired flood of endorphins.

Of course this is just the tip of the already-melting iceberg. But as we hotly anticipate, Matthew Dear's follow-up to 2003's excellent Leave Luck to Heaven and Bpitch Control labelhead Ellen Allien's forthcoming installment in the esteemed Fabric mix series, it's already starting to feel like school's out for summer.

- James Jung
03.28.07