The Rabbit That Hunts Tigers

For this release, four musicians from Maastricht, the Netherlands get together and jam, playing disco, funk and rock filtered through a shared love of South-East Asian melodies and guitar lines. Yīn Yīn sound upbeat and happy on an album that shows they've put in serious time playing live together. Throughout samples pop up unexpectedly, including a Bruce Lee clip on ‘One Inch Punch’ that is laid over a Thai molam style groove, while shorter ambient type interludes like ‘Lotus’ slow things down between the dancier tunes. Closer ‘Dis ko Dis ko’ uses the synth bass line of Donna Summer's ‘I Feel Love’ as the starting point for a sample heavy dance floor workout.

Best of all is the penultimate track ‘The Sacred Valley of Cusco’, which despite its title doesn't really evoke Peru but more drops you right into what you imagine a psychedelic rock bar in Bangkok would have felt like in the 70s if you threw in some modern electronics. Thai disco groove by way of the Netherlands, this is another quirky and fun release from the consistently fine Bongo Joe label. World music club DJs will find a lot here to choose from.