Excellent Condition CD

Hotel Costes 5 continues the tradition set by its predecessors, highlighting the music policy of Paris' most hip hotel. As a more Western answer to Paris' other great lounge export, The Buddha Bar, DJ Stephane Pompougnac mixes up a set of 15 interesting downbeat tracks built upon a backbone of jazz, Latin rhythms, electronica and deep house. It opens with the twee, unbridled optimism of "Galaxy" by Hippiehaus where it's difficult to stop a heart-warming smile from breaking across your face as you relax and sink further into the imaginary big comfy chair. Other highlights along the way are "Cocaine is a Sin" by the Strike Boys, which grinds a dirty organ riff that cuts through like a funky knife and then curiously blends in with the uniform sound of a ping-pong ball on "Ponger Star". One slight drawback to Hotel Costes 5, and indeed this series, is that a few of the selections, while very chilled and sonically satisfying are little more than Parisian lift music but thankfully these are in a minority amongst a wealth of intriguing and diverse pieces of music. --David Trueman

Track Listings 1 Hippiehaus: Galaxy 2 Rouge Rouge: L?Amour 3 Physics: Leaving Monte Carlo 4 Streamer - Zwing Ting 5 Cam starring Anggun - Summer in Paris 6 Clémentine - Les Champs Elysées (Stéphane Pompougnac remix) 7 The Strike Boys - Cocaine is a sin 8 Vision - Ponger star 9 Gabin - Doo Uap, Doo Uap, Doo Uap (Radio Edit) 10 Janice hosted by BSG - Voodoo Bliss (Aaron Bingle?s Azure) 11 Minus 8 - Starlight 12 Limbo Experience - Illusion (Rollercone remix) 13 Dublex Inc. - Tocame 14 Louie Austen - One Night in Rio