The motive underlying 2Audacious, the new set from Los Angeles multi-talent Dave Audé, deviates from those established patterns. “The only goal here was to assemble the best of Audacious Records from the past two years,” he says. (Just to heighten excitement, he added a soon-to-be-released update of DJ Dan’s 2003 classic “That Phone Track,” too.) “I just want to keep pushing the music I make and believe in, because in the past I’ve spent so much time on other artists’ records.”

Launched in April 2006, Audacious Records was founded under a very simple principle: “My mission was just to make music with my friends, and get it out there,” says Audé. “My friends being DJ Dan, Christopher Lawrence, Tall Paul, Charles Feelgood, and DJ Micro.” Other Audacious comrades-in-arms include singer and songwriter Sisely Treasure, and big-room favorite Gina Star, showcased here via her debut single “Rock With Me” (featuring vocals by DeAnna DellaCioppa).

While it is the product of a small circle of friends, assembled under the auspices of a single label, 2Audacious feels expansive and diverse. Retaining the seat-of-the-pants style that characterizes his DJ sets at parties like Caffeine and Meltdown, Audé sequences for maximum variety and thrills. Listen to how “Rock to the Rhythm,” a concoction of fat timbres, synthesized squiggles, and a dash of dancehall, rubs up against the dark and sensual “Push That Thing,” with its ecstatic, pitch-shifting vocal hook. Or the three-song suite at the album’s center, with DJ Dan’s “Further Damage” and “Needle Damage” bookending an exclusive Saeed Younan remix of Tall Paul’s meaty “Peep Show.” 

Available now on iTunes 

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=303069350&s=1