Late Night Tales - Jon Hopkins, compilation review

I slip into a candle-lit bath.

This feels like a perfect fit.

Other Late Night Tales releases often have a vibe of an afterparty, a melding of minds as records play in the wee small hours, but Jon Hopkins turn in the series feels different... more personal, more insular.

His offering is a mix for the individual.  To call it constructed is to do it a great disservice, it feels more natural than that, gently pouring from one musical movement to another, the ebbs and flows often gradual, virtually no announcement is made as one track takes the reigns from the other.

The tranquil state is thrown on occasions, vaguely psychedelic turns or disturbances that jar against the relaxed ambience, haunting and cutting a swathe through the safety of a run-of-the-mill chill-out session, because this is no run-of-the-mill chill-out session.

Jon Hopkins' acclaimed musical states are writ large across the 75 minutes, it is grandiose, yet personal, meditative, yet reaching, and I find myself still listening even once the bath water has gotten cold.

Released 2nd March on Late Night Tales

Late Night Tales: Röyksopp

How much can really be said about Late Night Tales?

If you are already subscribing to this series of compilations then you already know exactly what you are getting.

And if you are a fan of Röyksopp, lava lamps and jazz cigarettes then you are probably already in a purple haze, reclined, listening to the latest in this long line of mixes rather than scouring online reviews.

For those that may need a little more convincing, here goes...

Röyksopp are here to take you under their most capable wing, perhaps you've had a few too many down at the local Yates', perhaps it has been a hard week at work and you are in need of a bubble bath and massage oils, or perhaps you have another reason to simply want to drift away from the rest of the world until morning breaks, it's ok, relax, Röyksopp are here for you.



Although it may not connect directly with fans of the down-beat, up-lifting duo, the spirit of their music and the comfort of a post-club, post-chill out zone, pre-satisfying slumber early hours crash-pad make this a special mix for a ridiculously niche audience, but as Late Night Tales continues unabated, this drowsy niche audience must be buying in droves.

We have the obligatory exclusive music from Röyksopp to satisfy the completists, and we have track after track of easy listening, because the time to dance is over, we have Acker Bilk, XTC and Vangelis, all at their most mellow, and plenty more besides, and we have Bernand Cumberbatch reading us a bedtime story to bring the release to a close.

Part of me demands more from my DJ mixes, but then another part of me has had enough whisky already and is now wanting to close my eyes, hope the world stops spinning by morning and slide away into sleep.


Röyksopp's Late Night Tales compilation can be ordered here.