The popular
Cafe del Mar series returns with
Vol. 9, compiled by longtime curator DJ Bruno. As with the series' other volumes, this collection features plenty of atmospheric chill-out music, including Lovers Lane's "Island Memories," which sports a bassline uncannily similar to that of
Grandmaster Flash's "White Lines (Don't Do It)"; Kalliope's appropriately spaced-out "Lunar Landings"; Quantic's jazzy, subterranean "Time Is the Enemy"; and
Troya's surprisingly intricate "Rue de Solieil," which stands out amongst the ambient washes that make up most of the album. Occasionally, some of the slicker tracks, such as Jo Manji's "Beyond the Sunset," veer a little too close to the aural wallpaper of soft jazz for comfort, but on the whole,
Cafe del Mar, Vol. 9 is a solid, sophisticated addition to the rest of the series.