There are advantages to not necessarily being the coolest, trendiest cat in town. Just ask Vakant - a label which has, for 5 years, quietly gone about its way without become a buzz word; without becoming closely associated with any one niche sound and without craving adoration from the masses. Instead, it's the sort of label which has you referring to it as ‘ah, good old Vakant' such is its continually reliable output.

Testament to that is Family Values, an unmixed compilation which offers up mostly new material alongside a couple of old gems. Said material bows to no one trend in particular, but instead takes influence from a range of the labels around it in Berlin (from M_nus' minimal to Mobilee's depth via BPitch's kick) before skewing it through the filters of Vakant's close core of artists.

There are no cheap hooks; no motifs du jour and no sonic blueprints which mark out this material collectively as anything more than high quality house and techno music. But that's not a bad thing. It means there are various takes on various themes which, in turn, mean that despite this being a straight-up selection of eight dance floor tracks, it doesn't become tiresome by the end (as did, say, DJ Hell's recent International DeeJay Gigolos compilation which tediously hammered home the same tech house point for three long hours).

Things kick off with the steady alien disco of Argentinean Nico Purman, before next track ‘Linnz' from Tolga Fidan lays down some pacier rhythms without departing too far from the deep space atmospheres hinted at on the compilation opener. An early highlight then follows when label mainstay Alex Smoke makes machines sing as only he can on ‘I-73 Night' where sinewy synths are drawn out like elastic. As they thread themselves through the middle of a dry, chugging bottom end and as the track marches on, you can't help but look forward to hearing it in a dark, sweaty club, such is its inherent dance floor appeal.

For choppier, more sliced up fare look no further than percolating tech builder ‘Stringer Bell' from DeWalta, or if it's deep, delicate and skipping retro vibes you're after check in with Robag Wruhme who serves up his 1996 effort ‘Kuttenrolch 1996.' There's broken tension in the following synths of Anthony Collins' ‘Boys Sometimes Cry' before Dario Zenker closes things out with seductive, tumbling drums and a well channelled groove on ‘Apollo 910.' All in all, a solid comp from a solid label, and one which makes a trip to Watergate for the release party on August 25th all the more appealing.

Artist: Various Artists
Title: Family Values LP
Label: Vakant

Tracklist
1.  Nico Purman - Xpress Yourself
2. Tolga Fidan - Linnz
3. Alex Smoke – I-73 Night
4. DeWalta - Stringer Bell
5. Robag Wruhme - Kuttenrolch 1996
6. Anthony Collins - Boys Sometimes Cry
7. Mathias Kaden - Circle Pit 2010
8. Dario Zenker - Apollo 910

www.vakant.net