Unlike his many mixes for Global Underground,
Nick Warren's time up at the
Back to Mine bat was spent with a soft stash of bass-heavy, clanked-up late-night gems. No time for the aseptic stirrings of progressive trance --
Warren focused instead on his downtempo tastes, which were surprisingly strong, and he consistently made it feel like winding through drowsy acid house, Latin techno, and British breakbeats was a perfectly sensible idea.
Sequential's "The Mission,"
John Beltran's "Gutaris Breeze,"
Glide's "Space Van," and
Craig Armstrong's "This Love," featuring a welcome appearance by
Elizabeth Fraser, made for a dark and chilled experience but free of distracted lounge kitsch. Like late-era
Massive Attack,
Warren's
Back to Mine cared only about the appeal of a slow, hard beat, offering a smart and non-confrontational mix safe from predawn noise complaints. ~ Dean Carlson, All Music Guide