The extended mix of SisterLove’s The Hypnotist is a certified Cafe del Mar classic. Jose Padilla included it on his first compilation for React, in 1994. There it sat, sipping a sunset cocktail, alongside seminal stuff by A Man Called Adam, William Orbit, and Sabres Of Paradise. To be honest, I thought that the tune was exclusive to the LP. I never realised there was a separate 12, but there was.

In 1992 Californians Cliff Brigden and Jeremy Leahy (who later joined Rephlex’s Gentle People) sampled hypno-therapist Barrie Konicov. Layering his meditation exercises, taking you through colour coordinated higher levels of consciousness, from pink to gold to royal blue, over a laidback but funky break, and drum circle congas. Serenading you with softly strummed guitar, orchestral strings, and a swooning diva, as you picture your heart a cathedral, and wander its corridors, projecting peace, understanding, and love.

The Atlantis Mix has suitably aquatic acoustics. The music removed and replaced with subterranean rumblings. The voice slowed and stretched. Everything drenched in echo. As if in a sonic mylar chamber. The vibe far more mind-bending, and akin to a Timothy Leary narrated trip. The OK Mr. Mogul take, however, is probably the deepest dive. Frequencies fluttering. The rhythm reduced to the boom of a resting heartbeat. The strings now a solo violin or cello. The bass-line swapped for a warm, womb-like, room-shaking LFO. There’s also an instrumental version – a “Subliminal Suggestion” – for those who can’t get with the guru.

I’ll be honest again, and say that back then, in the early / mid 1990s, downtempo, sample-based tracks like this one appeared to be ten-a-penny, you couldn’t move for them. Today, though, very little seems to be made with the same degree of sensitivity and musicality.

SisterLove’s The Hypnotist will be in shops again soon, care of Sound Migration.