Private Lounge Vol.6

The sixth volume of Apricot's Private Lounge series finds the famous front cover couch adorned in red leather and accompanied by dry wooden paneling. The art direction suits the musical choices running over Lounge's two-disc span -- from the organic piano chording of Cinematic Orchestra's "Evolution" to the rich female vocal on Rainmaker's "Hands That Offer Wings," the set is pleasantly organic even when beats and programming burble in the background. There's plenty of that sort of technology here, too, including a stretch of remixes in disc two's midsection that are pretty difficult to tell apart. But that doesn't mean they're played out. Despite the hundreds of downtempo and chill compilations on the market, Private Lounge does a nice job of keeping itself fresh and constantly throwing the listener little loops. "This week, weather will not be a major concern," a disinterested woman intones over the swirling, stormy beats of Continuo's "Wheather Girl." Elsewhere, the Tao of Groove mixes snatches of string and vocal samples over a shuffling percussion track, while the velvet decadence of Zorg's "One Night in Monte Carlo" is thicker than four-foot shag. ~ Johnny Loftus|