Soul Jazz Records – Singles 2006-2007With Christmas behind me and the end of 2007 one day away, I needed a musical change. I had already played my yearly top ten picks to death, so I thought I’d go back and pick up some things I missed or never made the effort to listen to this year, including the Soul Jazz Records – Singles 2006-2007 compilation. Ever since the first time I ever purchased the excellent New York Noise compilation over four years ago, I’ve trusted the London label’s widely eclectic tastes (Jamaican soul, Brazilian tropicalia and post-punk, acid, punk-funk, you name it). I have been willing to spend good money on their import records to hear something new/old/rare because I’ve haven’t once been disappointed by what I heard. A few artists from this year’s Box of Dub, a fantastic Soul Jazz-issued compilation of dubstep and “future dub” featuring Kode9, Skream, and Digital Mystikz, initially sparked my interest of the Singles compilation, but most of it was brimming with unheard goodness I just had to wrap my ears around. And there I had it, a two-disc smorgåsbord of some truly forward thinking dance-music – from dubstep, dancehall, and acid house to italo-disco, techno and electro. I was light on my toes and groovin’ along the entire time it played, constantly going back to the jewel case to see what it was I was listening to. And I found a new favorite act along the way: Subway, whose song “Persuasion” I’ve heard little portions of on Hot Chip’s recent DJ Kicks mix, but neglected to seek out until hearing the original mix of the song. Just frickin’ incredible. Hearing is believing: Subway.