Paper Tigers reminds me of the drawing exercises I encountered in studio classes so many years ago, particularly the ones where we were asked to draw the space that the model occupied and by interacting with that space gain a deeper understanding of the subject matter. Sasu Ripatti appears to take that visual arts concept to heart on this release as the arrangements are often indicative of something lusher and more detailed but have been worked down to those essential threads that bind the work together. It is at once abstract and organic, possessing a warmth and depth that can only be arrived at by realizing that a supposed finished composition can often be reworked into something more meaningful and that objects are often defined by the space which they occupy.

Ripatti’s process of carving and sanding his compositions is best felt on “Really Don’t Mind” which for all intents is a House track with a strong club beat and lush, soulful vocals. Execution of the piece takes a different turn as the vocals a reworked as an instrument and a texture much like the beat production, being used to both provide a structure and context to hang arrangement from as well as to serve as a primary focus for the listener. Wrapping about the arrangement are beats that occasionally skitter into the soft pads and sweeps that make up the songs open landscape. As the song bleeds into “Let You Know” it becomes clear that Ripatti approached the album as a whole rather than a series of discrete tracks. The composition sees the arrangement of the prior track evolve into a sort of minimalist Deep House production, similar to the trance leaning “Good To Be With”, though that description does not really do it justice as the compositions are more carefully thought out than just layering samples and beats.

The songs on Paper Tigers have a tendency to slowly unfold, quietly rotating and shifting in a manner that is more akin to the ambient work of Thom Brennan, Robert Rich, or Pete Namlook. It is this tendency that makes the album best suited for headphones rather than pumping it through your stereo as it is a study of contrasts: sparse and lush; wispy and warm; minimal and detailed. For myself, it is one of Ripatti’s best releases and easily makes it on my Best of 2006 list and finds itself to even be a contender for my favorite album of the year. Paper Tigers is simply outstanding.

I first discovered the two names behind this double-disc set one trip to NYC where on a hot August afternoon a clerk slid copies of DJ Heather’s Tangerine and Colette’s In The Sun over the counter and with much gravitas recommended them both. Colette and DJ Heather at the time were part of Superjane and their work was generating plenty of buzz but sadly as life caught up I fell behind on their work along with everything else going on on the club circuit. Needless to say when I saw the two of them collaborating again and on the heels of last year’s sublime Hypnotized I found myself dancing like only a middle-aged white man from the suburbs can.

House of Om features many of the Om Records royalty from Caldwell to Kaskade and the first disc, a breezy and light journey, belongs to Colette. Her track selections are warm and expansive carrying that fat, round San Francisco sound out to the setting sun in a blissfully trance like way. “What Will She Do For Love”, from 2005’s Hypnotized, makes an early appearance with a high energy remix by Andy Caldwell that bangs its way from beginning to end with a huge back beat and an early 80’s Disco flair in the last couple of minutes which gently slips into the sublime minimalism of Late Night Alumni’s reworking of “I Knew You When”. The Latin tinged “No Problem” with its shuffling rhythm section and bouncing piano line, vaguely reminiscent of Rhythim Is Rhythim’s “Strings of Life”, provides a sharper flavor to the mix.

DJ Heather’s set settles into a late night Deep House mix that is at once spare and soulful; her aim appears to keep bodies moving and she does this through a tight mix with a focus on razor sharp beats. In contrast to Colette’s set, Heather’s is built around transitions and mixing artistry as she works groups of songs that are shorter and closer related yielding a greater sense of continuity. The passage from “Jus Trippin”, “Getting There”, to “To Do” is a great example as she steps from stiff tech driven beats to a warmer soul sound driven by a organ and saxophone line that will put a hitch in your step. Heather also takes a turn at the mic on the East Coast Boogiemen’s track “Picture of You” where she floats in indistinct and hazy with breathy vocals adding to the overall stickiness of the cut.

House of Om is a solid set and both discs stand well on their own buoyed by their individual strengths, be it Colette’s vocals or Heather’s instincts behind the decks. Highly recommended. You can grab a copy over at eMusic.

DJ Cheb I Sabbah’s La Kahena, which dropped last year, was a wildly intoxicating blend of traditional North African rhythms and modern production techniques. On La Ghriba: La Kahena Remixed Sabbah revisits the same sonic territory but with an increased focus on breaking those tracks down further and folding them into beats anchored in Dub and House through the work of artists such as Bill Laswell, Fnaïre, Yossi Fine, The Chakadoons, Temple of Sound, and Bassnectar.

Stand tracks include Laswell’s work on “Esh ‘Dani, Alash Mshit: The Constantine Remix” which brings the track into an expansive sound that is at once dark and exotic but still inviting; the vocal samples peppering the song are reminiscent of Juno Reactor’s more ethno-flavored work on Bible of Dreams. Makyo’s re-envisioning of “Madh Assalhin (The Zen Breaks)” stretches the track out to a drifting trance infused Dub that is deeply hypnotic while DJ Sandeep Kumar opens the album with a fiery remix of “Toura Toura” that adds a touch of swing and sway to the underlying beats.

La Griba makes a great addition to La Kahena, ostensibly it could be packaged as a second disc if it sees a re-release down the road. Highly recommended and La Griba certainly has a place on my “Best of” list for this year as it maintains the artistry and integrity that made La Kahena such an incredible listening experience.