Playboy - The Mansion

Album review

This is more a promotional tie-in than a proper soundtrack for Playboy: The Mansion, a video game to be filed under "social simulation" (apparently an airbrush doesn't do the trick well enough). Only a handful of the tracks on the disc can be heard in the game, and each one was provided via licensing outfit INgrooves. Felix da Housecat strings everything together in the form of a mix and does so admirably, especially given the constrictive nature of being handed only a dozen records to work with. Also: he might not even like some of them. This mix isn't liable to do much for Felix fans who have been following the DJ/producer since 2001's Kittenz and Thee Glitz, and it only remotely resembles the mixes he has released since then. With rare exception -- Felix's own "Do Me What I Do," Miles Maeda's discoid cut-up "So Hot" -- this is a set of straightforward progressive house from the past few years, including tracks from Armand Van Helden, DJ Sneak, and Johnny Fiasco. This will only be a revelation to gamers who want to be exposed to more music in the vein of what that they hear while oogling playmates and erecting empires.
© Andy Kellman /TiVo