Cielo – Paradizo 2


The fact this recent compilation is attached to one of the most popular house clubs in the New York City scene, Cielo, this album brings with it a significant amount of excitement and expectation.  Instead after sitting through the first half of Paradizo 2 I found myself softly willing it to come to an end.  The ‘hand-picked bona-fide gems and inspirational grooves’ would best serve their purpose as easy listening filler music that nobody ever pays much attention to.  This, to me, is not what clubbing should be about or represented by.

On the other hand Paradizo 2 would find itself comfortably at home playing some of the Ibiza clubs, which isn’t surprising as the co-owner and resident DJ of Cielo, Nicolas Matar, was the former resident of the world renowned Pacha.  Just hearing this accolade to Cielo by luring Matar back from the white sands of Ibiza will probably force some people into repeating how fantastic this album is, when really it needs to be judged alone and as an individual compilation.  I can see myself quite happily grooving along to some of the tracks on Paradizo on a sunny afternoon in Ibiza, but put me anywhere else and I struggle to find a place for it.  It’s pleasant enough to endure if you have other things to distract you, but pay attention to it and it leaves you feeling incredibly bored.  The album includes tracks from some great names such as I:Cube and Layo & Bushwacka! who unsurprisingly produce the best tracks on the album allowing it some redeeming quality.  You wouldn’t feel out of place listening to these tracks on a summer’s day, cocktail in hand, but I still wouldn’t choose these to relax to, and having said that to dance to either what with the staggering variation of house music on offer, therefore the album ultimately lacks purpose and direction.  

Cielo has had some of the worlds best DJs grace its decks, which is why I find it peculiar to not want to get up and dance when listening to this compilation.  If I plan to go to a club I first and foremost want music that will evoke feelings of ecstasy and euphoria, tunes I can focus on and sink into, not sit down and talk over.  If I walked into a club and heard this album playing I would be disappointed, and probably wouldn’t stay for that long.  Cielo describes itself as ‘a haven for mature individuals seeking intelligent nightlife’, a description I have little time for.  When I go out clubbing I’m generally looking for one thing – a bloody good time.  We all have different ideas of a good time of course, but Paradizo 2 does not fit into that category, or any other for that matter.  Perhaps you are mature and intelligent enough to enjoy this album?