Selections: Chaos In The CBD

The warm and flowing brand of house music purveyed by Chaos In The CBD may have something to do with their upbringing. The tracks brothers Louis and Ben Helliker-Hales (the latter goes by the moniker Beans) produce, occasionally jazz-flecked and nearly always chilled to the max and deep as hell, might be connected to what sounds like an idyllic youth on New Zealand’s North Island near Auckland, close to the beach and with vineyards nearby — a laid-back environment leads to laid-back music, perhaps.

Whatever the case, it’s the kind of sound that’s made the duo a regular presence on such labels as Japan’s Mule Musiq and Bradley Zero’s Rhythm Section, as well as their own In Dust We Trust. The pair, who have just completed a US tour, made the move to London a few years back — but the move to the big city has done little to take their tunes out of their halcyon comfort zone. Case in point: A new Chaos In The CBD mix for the everlasting fabric series, which just hit the shops on March 31st.

The mix is a nice blend of new material — including a fresh track, ‘Higher Elevation’, from Louis and Ben themselves — and older tunes from the likes of Kerri Chandler, Joshua and Psychedelic Research Lab. And speaking of older music, here are the brothers’ choices for their top 10 underappreciated house tracks from years gone by.

“A truly beautiful record. All the cuts on this one are amazing. Not an easy one to find these days — but if you do, buy on sight.”

“Written and produced by the now sadly deceased Gene Hughes, aka Bluejean, the track appears on the much sought-after debut 12-inch release on Code Blue Records from back in 1990.”

“Written by Yvonne Turner and Tommy Musto. Yvonne’s productions are always incredibly special. We generally draw for the instrumental mix on this one, although the other mixes are also great.”

“Kerri is one of our biggest heroes and inspirations, and ‘Mind Funkt’ is Kerri doing what he does best. Released as part of his ‘Raw Grooves’ series in 1998, it’s pure high-quality house music.”

“From 1991, this collab by Roderick Goode, Juan Lopez and Eddie Perez was the one and only release under the moniker Yohan Square.”

“Outstanding jackin’ Chicago house track from Lil’ John Coleman, released in 1994 via the Music Box and Lazyboy Records labels.”

“Released on the hugely influential Bigshot Records out of Toronto back in 1990, this stripped-back electro masterpiece was written and produced by Michael Ova shortly before he passed in 1992.”

“Warm and full of emotion, this beauty from 1992 originally surfaced on Mascot Records and was produced by Edward Goltsman under the No Joke guise.”

“Gran Turismo 5, baby — loading screen nostalgia. One of those tracks that molded our love for deep house.”

“New York Latin house style, simple and groovy. The percussion in this one is what really does it for me.”