Like their erstwhile peers at Scotland’s Optimo, The Glimmers – the Belgian duo of Mo Becha and David Carlos Fourquert – are scavengers, collectors who search for the needle in the haystack. Their Eskimo Volume V mix follows on from their 2005 DJ-Kicks set: modern dance music rubbing shoulders with neglected classics from the 1970s and ‘80s; surprising left turns and 180-degree twists in character, and an impressively broad aesthetic that keeps an eye to the floor and a hand in the bargain bin. I used to have issues with this kind of grab-bag eclecticism – something to do with wilful eclecticism for its own sake – but then, I was always a humorless bastard.
Volume V sets itself up for a fall, though: by starting with a mini-revolution, Primal Scream’s “Loaded,” there aren’t many places to go. But Becha and Fourquert keep things interesting for the duration, most notably a mid-section that peels everything to its deliciously brittle core, with pared-back selections from Pop Dell’Arte and Kenneth Bager (both tracks edited for concision by The Glimmers). The staunchly arch Cultural Vibe’s “Ma Foom Bey” is particularly gorgeous, just one grumbling drum machine mounted by a burping synth, and the ridiculously fun run from Patrick Coutin through half a minute of Trio’s “Da Da Da” (a very judiciously selected half minute, at that) and Tussle’s “Warning” makes for an energising coda.
If I have any problem with The Glimmers, it’s their seeming inability to shepherd the listener in a forward-thinking direction. Their contemporary selections are almost all in thrall to music from that ‘70s/‘80s nexus, whether it be disco, funk, post-punk, or some rabid combination of the three. Much like their inclusion of Lindstrom & Prins Thomas on DJ-Kicks, track selections by LCD Soundsystem and Tussle are fine, but it’d be good to leave this mix feeling dance music hasn’t quite eaten itself just yet. But looked at for what it is, this is as fine a selection as you could hope for from these second generation Glimmer Twins.
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