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The DJ Mix Album 2000 onwards

A new millennium and my own adventures in clubland had diminished to ‘occasional’, but my love of the music remained. The big players: Renaissance and Global Underground kept putting out multiple releases each year and the Australian series Balance, started with Kasey Taylor and Bill Hamel amongst others. Some of those series strongest output was in the first few years after the turn of the century. Renaissance Mix Collection had changed to the Masters Series. The first 4 (Dave Seaman x 2, Deep Dish and the Nick Warren and Danny Howells Revelation were excellent. For GU, Digweed’s LA and Deep Dish Moscow, and for Balance, the first 7 releases, were their peak. Renaissance introduced James Zabiela and Hernan Cattaneo to the Masters Series roster but nothing has particularly stood out since then. The output became less DJ led and more about the producer. GU and Balance are still going but, apart from the odd gem (Joris Voorn GU43), were no longer for me.

New blood was on the way. Global Underground created the Nu Breed series introducing, curiously, DJs I was more than familiar with. Pappa, Howells, Burridge, Lawler, Satoshi Tomiie and Sander Kleinenberg all got early outings. This was a great side project for GU even if the concept was a little flawed. It was still going with new releases 2-3 years ago. I’d long since bailed out but did buy the uber progressive Habicshman Nu Breed just to hear what prog sounded like in the present day. It’s alive and well.

Many of the DJs featured on Nu Breed curated their own series later. Howells (Nocturnal Frequencies), Lawler (Dark Drums, Lights Out & Viva) Kleinenberg (Everybody and This Is…) and Pappa (Moments and Resolutions). Anthony Pappa is probably the most technically gifted DJ I’ve heard. All of his mix albums were very beautifully crafted, but for me it was his Resolutions album that endures. Both mixes are works of art in the way they build. CD2, I still listen to on occasion now. A proper driving journey peaking at Head Honcho – Afrochrome (Gentle’s Dirty 131 Mix).

Fabric and Fabric Live series began is 2001 and ran until 2018. There was literally hundreds of releases, including offshoots. It was impossible to keep up with all of them. I bought some of them by eg. Jon Marsh, Global Communication, LTJ Bukem and laterally Sasha’s Fabric 99. The 100th and final release in the Fabric series included Craig Richards, the guy who did the very first. Due to the sheer volume of releases the series was a bit hit and miss but did, nevertheless, produce some classic mixes.

Around 2008 I heard a tune on a Dave Seaman Renaissance Masters Series mix by a South African DJ/Producer called Culoe De Song. The track was called A Bright Forest. It blew me away and still does today. I’ve been a fanboy since 2008 when his debut album, A Giant Leap, was released. It’s an artist album but also beatmixed by him. It was so different to other stuff around that time. I’ve followed him through AGL – Elevate – Exodus – Washa. His sound got a little more European as he became more popular over here. For his last album Washa I had to get it from South Africa as it wasn’t sold outside the country. I didn’t go there clearly, but was lucky someone I knew was going on holiday there. I subsequently got into Black Coffee as a DJ and producer. The music from South Africa at that time was truly special.

I have to admit that I ‘evolved away’ from dance music during the 2010s. Surprised I lasted that long if I’m honest. In what I would consider recent years there have only been a couple of mixes I’ve bought that push things forward. One of those is Joris Voorn’s – GU 43 Rotterdam. It is astonishing stuff with 100+ tunes over 2xCD. Many cite his Balance album as one of the greats of the genre. I think this flows better as it doesn’t have the big ambient drops. This is the type of project I’d love to do if I had the time, the tunes, the ability and talent to create. This is Ableton Live used by a guru. The tune God at the end of CD1 is gorgeous.

The home listening/chill albums took off during the 00’s. Those, that were the clubbers and the mix buying public were now in their late 30s/early 40s. These type of albums resonated well. Another Late Night/Late Night Tales produced 3 releases that stood out – Those by Nils Frahm, Olafur Arnaulds and Jon Hopkins. We’ve spent many a winters evening listening to those 3. The Choice series were DJs going back through the soundtrack to their lives. Danny Howells and John Digweed putting out mixes that felt like they were aimed solely at me. Back to Mine continued but ended up being curated by indie bands and totally lost its ethos.

The DJ Kicks series carried on after the millennium and is indeed still going. Notables included Apparat and John Talabot. The Talabot one particularly was a stand out mid tempo masterpiece in a similar style to Balance presents Jozif.

Speaking of masterpieces, The Masterpiece series by Ministry had DJs creating 3 different mix concepts. Andrew Weatherall, did different times of the evening and Carl Craig had a meditation mix. It was a stellar cast on this series with Giles Peterson and Francois Kevorkian amongst others also providing mixes.

There have been a few DJs who have appealed further down the line. As I got older, i preferred more mid tempo mixes. One that appealed was the Balance presents Jozif. It’s an emotive experience and one I still return to. It peaks with his BT’s 3 & 5.

Dixon, releases are fairly infrequent but when he does they are special. – Body Language, Temporary Secretary and the Grandfather Paradox with Ame and Henrick Schwartz were excellent but it was his Live At Robert Johnson (Volume 8) that was my favourite. It goes right through the gears very subtly. I can’t recommend that mix enough.

Live at Robert Johnson volume 8 by Dixon

A few years on and Ewan Pearson, who I’d come across via his remixes, created We Are Proud of Our Choices. I’m sure he is with that album. Another Ableton special, as they all became. In many ways they were all the better for it.

We Are Proud Of Our Choices by Ewan Pearson

As special mention must go to the Hotel Costes series by Stephane Pompougnac. It’s not chill, it’s not house but calling it ‘lounge’ is doing the series a disservice. They are joyous mixes with tunes you’re unlikely to hear anywhere else. The packaging was pretty high end for CDs. All in boxes, with posters etc. The series ran to about 16 with some side projects. Definitely worth checking out if you’ve never heard them.

What of Sasha and John Digweed? Digweed continued his Bedrock series to around 20 of them. Whilst some were good, there was unmixed releases and as a concept became less appealing. His Transitions series (there were 4 of them) were all excellent 1 mix packages. They were always a good representation of where he was as a DJ. As his Bedrock label grew he started the Live In….. series. These ranged from regular 2 x mixes to nearly 11 hrs, over 8 or 9 CDs. More and more tunes were, unsurprisingly, from his own label to avoid licensing issues and could be a ‘bit samey’ over such a long period.

Sasha put out some variety over those years. Some were more successful than others. His Involver (x3) project, where he remixed all the tunes then sequenced them, was very popular. His Live at Avalon mix where it was recorded live then sold at the end of the night, wasn’t his best (by his own admission, but I liked it). His artist album Airdrawndagger is for another day but Fundacion and later, Emfire, Scene Delete and Refracted Live were more for the home listener. His final offering, and the last mix CD I ever purchased, was Luzoscura. A playlist he curated during lockdown morphed into a bigger project. Mostly ambient, breakbeat stuff, it gave him an outlet as clubland was shut. It’s an outstanding mix and is backed with 3 x 2 hr Luzoscura radio shows and a live at Alexandra Palace event. I think the playlist still exists. My first mix CD was Sasha and so was my last. It’s a proper circle.

CD mix albums aren’t really a thing now. There’s unlimited access to punters mixes online and the paid for Mixcloud if you want to follow your old favourites. Ableton Live has meant anyone can beat match. Mixes are ubiquitous including my own, which I still occasionally make. In fact, here’s my last one. Enjoy.

Looking back – March 2001

I recently started the process of converting my old mixes to something that doesn’t involve digging out my Walkman or Minidisc player. It’s been an enjoyable experience hearing them all again. All the Minidiscs are now converted, the tapes are for another day.

The mixes were variable in quality. The monthly Spectral series at the start of 2000 was better than I remember, but a bit fast for my aged taste. It’s hard to believe I liked my house at about 128-130 BPM back then.

There then followed a few mixes from August 2000 through to March 2001. Some of the mixes were decent but the tunes hadn’t always aged well. The last mix I did for over 3 years, and the last ever on my Technics 1210s, was March 2001. It stood out listening to it again after 22 years. It was a stellar time for the tunes. Timeslip was on Danny Howells Nu Breed, Xzique was Steve Lawlers Nu Breed, Quivvers One More Time was on a Digweed Global Underground and the Bedrock Mix of Nalin & Kane’s Live at Crystal Palace I heard on a Sasha & Digweed Essential Mix. The other tunes appeared mostly via Global Beat Records.

To get it to Mixcloud, the mix went from Minidisc > Ableton > Pitched Down > and ‘tweaked’ a bit. I hope you enjoy it. I loved hearing it again.

The tunes

March 2001 – 77 minutes

1. Dirty Logic – Deep Funk Project

2. Timeslip – The Beloved

3. Outside Looking In (Down) (Sub Project Remix) – Xzique

4. Fire Escape – Sean Cusick & Rogue Radio

5. One Last Time (Dub) – Quivver

6. 2 Heavy – Deep Funk Project

7. Live at Crystal Palace (Bedrock Mix) – Nalin & Kane

8. Electric Kool (Dub) – King of Spin

9. Matica (Moogwai Mix) – Chab

10. Get Down (Dub) – Sleepfreaks

11. Moondiver – Austin Leeds

2023 Albums

Another stellar year in 2023. I say year, but a vast majority of this list comes from the 2nd half of 2023. I had only bought one new album by April. There was no need to panic as things picked up beautifully. I remember saying I’d buy less music this year, I’m not sure that played out.

10. The Ballad of Darren – Blur

I was never big on Blur but then britpop passed me by in a haze of house music. I got them as a band when they released Think Tank. This is full of great pop songs and was pretty immediate. Someone once said to me that Blur were the only Britpop band that will stand the test of time. I don’t know if that’s true but I’m glad they’re back producing high class albums.

9. I DES – King Creosote

It’s a joyous affair when a new KC album is released. Given how much music he’s made over the years, it’s criminal it has been 7 years since Astronaut Meets Appleman. It was one of those worth the wait situations. I’ve yet to listen to the 30 odd minute Drone in B#. Waiting on the right time (when the house is empty). I love Kenny’s voice, Fife’s finest.

8. Yarns From The Chocolate Triangle – Chocolate Hills, The Orb

A surprise album that popped up on my Spotify Release Radar. It’s Alex Paterson and the chap from Bomb the Bass collaborating. It’s a meld of styles providing a textbook late night soundtrack.

7. Chaos For The Fly – Grian Chatten

I’m daft for Fontaines DC and love Grian Chatten’s voice. His first solo album is short but perfectly formed. One of those albums I knew I’d love before hearing it. I did/still do. It’s much more folky than Fontaines but that style suits him well.

6. Think of Me When You Hear Waves – John Massoni with Sonic Boom

After The Sundowner Sessions I was curious what this would be like. Sundowner was almost unlistenable but this one falls on the tuneful side of Sonic Boom. A really lovely album and a bit gothic in parts. It was one of my 2 RSD purchases (along with BRMC Live at Levitation) this year. The nine minute title track has Sonic written all over it. The album I didn’t expect to be so good in 2023.

5. Everything Is Alive – Slowdive

Slowdive felt like a secret between a few of my mates back in the early 90s. Just For a Day is a top 10 album in my lifetime. It brings back a lot of memories. It’s so good to see how popular they are now. Far more so than they were in my day. Everything Is Alive is modern day Slowdive being slightly more ‘upbeat’ than they were but no less ethereal. Album closer The Slab is also the best tune I heard all year. Looking forward to The Barrowlands in February.

4. Hard Light – Drop Nineteens

If Slowdive felt like secret between a few, Drop Nineteens felt like my own. It’s been over 30 years since the lesser known classic Delaware. The musical suicide of National Coma is long forgotten. It’s a return to the glory days. It’ll never be the same as when I was 21, but Hard Light is Delaware in my 50s.

3. Black Bay – Silver Moth

I heard about Silver Moth on the Twitter from Stuart Braithwaite of Mogwai fame, who is one of the band. It’s 6 tunes, 40 odd minutes with the epic Hello Doom covering most of side 2. I saw them in November touring the album, ending with Hello Doom in deafening style. As it usually does, seeing a band live made an already great album, greater. I hope the project keeps going. Been there, seen them and bought the T-shirt.

2. Rain Before Seven – Penguin Cafe

I bought this on a whim from my local store as I loved Penguin Cafe Orchestra from the Cafe Del Mar days. I think they are the next generation of PCO without the ‘orchestra’. They have a very similar sound to the previous incarnation including a tune the bears more than an uncanny resemblance to the Beatless mix of Smokebelch II. The most uplifting album I heard all year.

1. Stereo Mind Games – Daughter

Daughter were new to me this year. It’s great to discover a band a few albums in. Their sound could be viewed as Slowdive/Cigarettes After Sex/Drug Store Romeos in style. From the first tune ‘I got a feeling that we’ll repeat this evening’ throughout both sides, it’s class. Each time I heard it, a different tune would pop out at me. In the end, the entire album is wedged in for life. It’s always a good sign when Mrs W gives an album a thumbs up as well. I’ve not done it yet but I will revisit the back catalogue very soon.

Notable mentions to Sigur Ros with Atta, James, Helios, Rufus Wainwright, BJM and The Lemon Twigs with the ridiculously catchy Everything Harmony.

Jaykits 18 – Breathe

I spent much less time listening to ambient in 2023. It’s not that there aren’t great albums around, it’s just I didn’t spend time looking for them. Most of this years mix comes from my Release Radar and various playlists I listened to of an evening. The tracks from Daughter, Chocolate Hills, Helios and Penguin Cafe were from albums I love and play regularly. Weirdly, I started listening to perennial charity shop favs Sky again, so they made an appearance courtesy of Sky 4. Enjoy.

Jaykits 18 – Breathe

‘Ascending, Dawn Sky’ – Jon Hopkins
‘Tramonto’ – Aamina Russo
‘Najwa’ – Le Palade
‘Rever’ – Phialia
‘(Missed Calls)’ – Daughter
‘Quiet Motions’ – Spheres
‘Independencia’ – Miravaldini
‘Jij Bent Alles’ – Dardan Leistra
‘Being 432 Hz’ – Fravula
‘Weathering’ – From Overseas
‘Ambient Guitar (Demo)’ – Slowdive
‘Symmetry’ – Sea of Waves
‘Visions’ – Zazenki
‘Heavy Water Pt. 1’ – Andrew Heath
‘Zone (A Tale of a Mourning Mother)’ – Mary Ocher feat. Mogwai
‘Xango’ – Sky
‘Ferris Wheel’ – widx.
‘Winter Wonders’ – Aurenthe
‘Sargasso Wells’ – Chocolate Hills
‘A Familiar Place’ – Helios
‘Galahad’ – Penguin Cafe

The DJ Mix Album – The 90s

Looking back over the music that has influenced my life has landed at the 90s, and the emergence of the DJ Mix album. I’d always intended to create a best of the genre list covering all the years I bought mix albums, but realised this was a difficult ask. Firstly, the early 90s were the formative years, the time when those memories were created. It was all new then, we were all younger and a proper community/family vibe was around. From those you recognised at club nights to the trainspotters beavering away creating the tracklists so we could say we knew what ID – ID was, it was a community. As time wore on and I got older, the times had were always compared to those early years. Renaissance at the Que Club and Bakers in Birmingham, Up Yer Ronson, Back to Basics and Vague in Leeds, The Rhumba Club and the early Essential Mix nights wherever they were held.

The upshot of all this nostalgia is a couple of posts: the first covering the 90s, then another casting a net over the noughties and 2010s. The only way to do this properly was to listen to the mixes again. It has taken months, but was most enjoyable.

The art of creating the mix album developed from live club recordings to studio mixes, Protools then Ableton Live. It is funny now listening back to the pre-Ableton mixes. In my head I’m trying to correct those wavering mixes that are now totally locked on via Ableton. It didn’t make listening to them again any less enjoyable. I only marvelled at how good they were given the technology available to them back then.

It began (for me) with bootleg tapes from various clubs or radio shows. Sasha’s ‘Giving It Up’ Kiss FM show did the rounds for a while. Lots of the tunes forming the original Renaissance Mix Collection. On the show he also introduced a young John Digweed. His ‘Unplugged’ tape was flawless, having been a studio mix rather than live. Shelley’s tapes, Pimp tapes, Rhumba tapes are were copied or shared amongst the troops. One the first mix CDs I can remember getting was Sasha & Dave Seaman – DJ Culture Non Stop in the Mix which was a mix put out via Stress. The CD is nothing but classics start to finish (eg. Bedrock, Brothers Luvs Dubs & Last Rhythm) recorded in a seminal era.

Then house music gospel Mixmag created a Mixmag Live series which paired Sasha and CJ Macintosh on one CD, Digweed with Gordon Kaye on another as well as Nick Warren with Dimitri together, each doing shorter 30min (ish) mixes of contrasting styles. There were many others, some of which were a joy to revisit. Mixmag ended up providing a covermount CD with their monthly magazine. Some of those were well worth having as a release on their own.

Around the same time, or maybe slightly earlier the Jouneys by DJs series started with Billy Nasty and Judge Jules. Two releases from that series stood out – John Digweed’s Silky Mix (JDJ4) and Coldcut’s 70 minutes of madness (JDJ8). The series carried on for a few years but eventually slipped away due to the deluge of others that appeared. Another early notable series was DJ Power with Danny Rampling, Sister Bliss, Farley & Heller each producing a mix.

Pete Tong’s Essential Mix started in 1993 with Tong himself, Danny Rampling, Farley & Heller again initially. However, it was Sasha’s Essential Mix 15/01/1994 that generated such a buzz. It felt like a change of style, much more proggy and no more piano anthems. It still sounds fabulous today. This was followed by Junior Vasquez the following week, then the immense John Digweed mix from early March, where I first heard ‘Bump – House Stompin’.

The bootleg tape was taken a stage further when the Boxed series emerged. Some of the output were studio mixes showcasing the DJs talents giving them more control over the final product. Boxed was the precursor to the Global Underground cities series, which is still going today but with a much reduced release schedule. The premise was, a DJ is sent off to do a party in some glamorous location. They then recorded a studio version representing those shows and packaged them up in limited edition long box. Nick Warren and Dave Seaman particularly, did some air miles back then. The standard of the GU output remained strong throughout, with Sasha, John Digweed and Danny Tenaglia all providing multiple mixes. There’s only a handful of those releases that i didn’t listen to again, as I remember not liking them much at the time.

The Renaissance series was kicked off back in 1994 by the original, and still the best, Sasha and John Digweed mix. I was only to happy to listen to those 3 mixes again, It’s timeless. Perhaps they didn’t think so, as they added Kym Mazelle to the 10th anniversary edition also removing all trace of M People. I do however, understand why they did it. It is a perfect representation of the time I properly got into house music. I could talk about that album for hours, but suffice to say that they missed off very little of importance in this release. There was a quality to the Renaissance mixes in terms of the DJs they used, their music and the packaging. This was reflected in the club which was always decadently presented, wherever it was. The series carried on for years with Dave Seaman being a mainstay, but adding Nick Warren, Hernan Cattaneo and James Zabiela to name but a few. The later year mixes were by DJs I didn’t know. Often producers putting a mix together, pretty forgettable stuff. That was most likely, just my age.

The Ministry of Sound (MoS) releases started with Tony Humphries and Clivilles & Cole as early contributors to the Sessions mixes. Those mixes in particular remain great snapshots of that vocal house era. Strangely, Paul Oakenfold did Volume 2 but with a tracklist that fitted the brand. Nothing like the euroscreamers he played for the rest of his career.

Ministry of Sound as a label also gave rise to the Northern Exposure series. There were 4 Northern Exposure releases. Like Renaissance, it was Sasha and Digweed’s first that was the true gem. Two very different mixes – Sasha’s (North) was very atmospheric, less club friendly. It included Banco de Gaia, Morgan King and the late Scott Hardkiss with Raincry under his God Within moniker. Digweed’s mix was darker, more club ready. It included the epic Rabbit in the Moon mix of Inner City Life and ended with Underworlds Dark & Long. Castle Trancelot – The Gloom also sounds epic on a big sondsystem. Northern Exposure 2 followed a similar theme with Sasha’s home friendly disc the better of the 2. Northern Exposure 3 (Expeditions) was good but with both discs being much more aligned in terms of style. Northern Exposure 4 (Communicate) was really disappointing. I still feel that way about it today.

Ministry also put out Junior Vasquez – The Future Sound of New York Sound Factory mix. Listening back, some of the mixing was patchy, but those tunes were outstanding and a great showcase of that moment in time. MoS may just be purveyors of cheese for the masses now, but early doors, they had more of an eye on quality and contributed massively to the 90s.

Tribal UK put out a lot of great releases in the mid 90s. This is the Sound of…, and Mix This Pussy by Danny Tenaglia mixes were notables. As was DJ Vibe via Tribal America who did the Kaos mixes.

Out of Australia came the Balance series. Kasey Taylor and Bill Hamel delivered a couple of blinding proper progressive mixes. The 5th in the series by James Holden is the most revered and is still cited as the best in the series. Personally, I liked those by Chris Fortier, Jimmy van M and SOS but agree the Holden one is class. Balance is still going today, with a release last year by a guy who wasn’t a DJ but a producer. The same way Renaissance went.

Towards the end of the decade John Digweed started his Bedrock series. His own mix was my personal highlight, but the Jimmy van M offering was also stellar. His ’99 Essential mix was based heavily on this album but had an even stronger ending. Digweed would later do Transitions and his enduring Live at series. That’s for next time.

The Back To Mine series started with Nick Warren and Dave Seaman doing beautiful ‘chill’ albums designed for after a club night, when the comedown was in effect. This series gave rise to a multitude of similar themed albums over the next couple of decades. Late Night Tales being the most notable. For the middle aged ex clubber, those albums still get a play every so often.

In a similar vein to Back to Mine, the DJ Kicks series emerged in the middle of the decade. Thievery Corporation and the genre fluid Kruder & Dorfmeister mixes we’re particular highlights. K&D also did their K&D sessions, widely heralded as one of the great downtempo compilations.

It wasn’t all progressive house though. I have always had a soft spot for a bit of cheese. A vocal, big break and drum roll went down well. The Fantasia series, including Jeremy Healy and Jon Pleased Wimmin was enjoyable. Trade, was a gay club that was represented by music that could best be described as bouncin’. The late Tony Di Vit, Pete Wardman and their peers put out some incredible mixes as Trade. Tony Di Vit was also given the honour of the very first Global Underground mix from Tel Aviv. He was taken far too young. I also remember fondly Pete Wardmans Essential Mix in 1995. It was a time and place though, as I find Trade mixes difficult to listen to now on account of my age. Kudos though, they were an outstanding set of ‘hard bag’ mixes and part of my life for a while. My personal favourite cheeser was Vague – Now & Then. I loved Vague as it was the friendliest club I ever visited. The night I was there was a Coronation Street outing as Angela Griffin was around with some others. On the clubs closing night, they changed the club sign from VAGUE to UGAVE, beautiful. The album covers old Vague (Then – pre 95) and a mix from ’95 (Now).

That’s the 90s DJ Mixes as I remember them. The following list are just my favourites, the ones that have stood the test of time. It’s no surprise the list is dominated by two guys. They opened by eyes and ears to house music, and to the music that followed in the 2000s. In no particular order:

Journeys by DJs 4: The Silky Mix – John Digweed. This is a very different John Digweed from the man you may know now. It’s an album of classics from 93-94 seamlessly mixed. A who’s who of bangers that never gets cheesy. Even Atlantic Ocean – Waterfall seemed to fit. That haircut though.

Essential Mix: 15/01/94 – Sasha. Not even 2 news breaks in a 2 hour mix could take away from how well this flowed. It can’t be underestimated what this mix meant and still means. From Timeless Land right through, this is a phenomenal journey.

Northern Exposure – Sasha and John Digweed. I said it earlier, these are chalk and cheese mixes that together made the perfect package. I can remember the excitement of it coming out and first playing it. I’ll pretty sure i’ll never tire of it. It’ll be 30 years old soon.

Renaissance: The Mix Collection – Sasha and John Digweed. Renaissance was important in my life. This album represents that period perfectly. Even if you don’t like house music, but were interested in what 1993 – 1994 was like, give this a listen. All 3 discs.

Global Underground 9: San Francisco – Sasha. I ended up buying so many tunes from this album. Joi Cardwell, Stoneproof, Slick Mick, Incisions, the list goes on. The samples from the local resident and his harmonica, provide great intros to both mixes. The transitions suggested they were computer aided, but that doesn’t matter.

Global Underground 6: Sydney – John Digweed. This is fierce, as it’s played much faster than later mixes in the series. Disc 1 could be considered peak time stuff. I’m still stopped dead when The Crystal Method break happens on disc 2 – There is hope. Phenomenal mixing from Digweed considering this is done on 2 technics.

Unplugged: July ’93 – Sasha. From the ambient jungle sounds at the start and which permeate throughout, to the Def Mix of Kym Mazelle’s – Was That All It Was, this is textbook Sasha ’93. A clearly planned out studio mix which did the rounds as a tape. I’ve still got the tape.

Renaissance: The Mix Collection 2 – John Digweed. Sasha had moved on from Renaissance and Digweed was now the resident. For the second in the series he got all 3 discs to himself. He did a pretty decent job. His sound had moved on from the first album and was the beginning of him transitioning to where he is now.

Back to Mine – Dave Seaman. Often the back to mine series were eclectic tunes crashed together. This wasn’t like the rest. The mixing was seamless and the tracklisting was stellar. Craig Armstrong, Depeche Mode and finishing with Gorecki by Lamb. Very few chill albums have come close even as the technology improved. Timeless stuff.

Bedrock – John Digweed. The mixing on this release was something else. Over the course of the 2 mixes he slowly moved through the gears peaking at the closer, his own ‘Heaven Scent’. When I think of this album I always think ‘We Are Connected’. It’s a masterclass in DJing.

2022 Best Of

What a challenging year 2022 has been. With all that’s happened, I don’t feel like the same person that entered the year. It’s 12 months I’ll never forget but I’d love to. As always music played a crucial role in keeping some form of grounding to my life. The first half of the year was spent listening to an ever evolving playlist on Spotify called All Farewells Are Sudden, based on the A Winged Victory For The Sullen (AWVFTS) tune. AWVFTS feature every so often in the playlist. The tunes I heard formed the basis for my annual ambient mix of the same name.

The summer was long and helped push the earlier part of the year to the back of my mind. The albums I ended up buying were mostly not ambient but were returns by old favourites and also first time reissues on vinyl. I discovered a few artists, as is so often the way, well after they became established. Artists such as Julia Kent and The Soft Cavalry spring to mind. I also rekindled my love for Supertramp and early Genesis. I’d forgotten how much I loved Crime of the Century and Selling England By the Pound. Also, the band EAT from the early 90s and their album Epicure became a favourite again. Time spent listening to bands from that era (specifically 1992) gave way to a playlist. That was a golden era in music.

Here’s my best of for 2022. It wasn’t drawn from a massive pool but they are all albums I’ve grown to love. Apologies to Kathryn Joseph and The Smile.

10. The Brian Jonestown Massacre – Fire Doesn’t Grow On Trees.

It’s unusually been a couple of years since their last album. This is high quality psychedelic rock as always. There was talk of another album as a single was released. Maybe next year.

9. Suicide – Surrender.

One of the bands that influenced Spacemen 3. Not everything on this retrospective is easy to listen to but it shows what a great band they were. The title track will likely be familiar.

8. Loop – Sonancy.

It’s like they’ve never been away. A proper Loop album start to finish. I’ve went back and listened to A Gilded Eternity a few times of late – pure class.

7. Fontaines DC – Skinty Fia.

Another outstanding album. Watched their sets at Glastonbury and TRNSMT (on the telly) and they are excellent live. Maturing nicely.

6. Spiritualized – Everything Was Beautiful.

Still churning out great albums after all these years. It was May and the sun was out. We played this as we cleaned the house ready to move back home. I’ll forever associate it with that time ❤️

5. Tears For Fears – The Tipping Point.

Released back in February. 3 singles were released before the album which whet the appetite. An older TFF but still great songwriting and vocals. I’ve always loved Roland Orzabals voice.

4. The Dead Texan.

Taking liberties with this given it was released in 2004. This year saw its first vinyl release. One of the great ambient albums. Really pleased to have this in my collection finally.

3. Federico Albanese – Before and Now Sounds Infinite.

Another beautiful album made all the sweeter by an appearance by Ghostpoet. Federico Albanese never puts a foot wrong. One of Mrs W’s favourites so it still gets played a lot.

2. Andy Bell – Flicker.

The first album I bought in 2022. Every track is quality across both bits of vinyl. It’ll forever remind me of a difficult time but that doesn’t take away from how good it is.

1. Nils Frahm – Music for Animals.

This stands head and shoulders above everything else this year. I’ve played at least one disc daily. I’m sure I read it was music to watch leaves rustle. I love an album with no surprises. He’s created so many great albums but none as ambient as this. A thing of beauty.

2021 Albums

2021 was book-ended by some amazing ambient albums. From Hotel Neon and Warmth back at the start of the year to some fabulous compilations and artist albums by familiar faces at the tail end. During the summer we were all let out to play again, so the ambient blanket was cast side in favour of something slightly more ‘upbeat’. As always, another stellar year. Expensive though, as all the lockdown albums came out this year. All ultimately worth it. Next year, I’ll reduce my vinyl budget significantly.

My 2021 album list. Unlike last years aberration where there was a Top 11, this year I went for a dozen.

12. Various Artists – Pop Ambient 2021. I’ve been buying this series since the early noughties. The last couple of years were a little weaker but this years edition is a return to form. The rota this year included Blank Gloss who put out the wonderful Melt in 2021. The vinyl is mixed unusually.

11. Nils Frahm – Old Friends, New Friends. 3 vinyl releases in 2021. Tripping with Nils Frahm, Graz then this. It might be a compilation of some old, some new but it’s my favourite release of his this year. Nils continues to cost me a fortune.

10. Stray Theories – This Light. A gorgeous lush album again. I always find it odd it sits in the ‘Ambient Post-Rock’ genre in some streaming platforms. To me it’s another warm blanket. I’ve followed his releases for a number of years. Hugely underrated guy is Micah.

9. James – All the Colours Of You. Another year, another pop masterpiece from James. Still one of my favourite bands even after countless studios albums. Watched them perform much of the album at the Isle of Wight festival and it cemented how good the album was in my mind. It was released the day after my 50th birthday. It’ll remind me of that time.

8. Various Artists – @0. A Ninja Tune compilation that arrived late in the year without much fanfare. A beautiful album supported by a mixed version by Mixmaster Morris and Coldcut. Proceeds from the album going to mens mental health charities. Lots of great artists, lots of great tunes and a great vinyl package. Autumn Leaves, however, makes yet another appearance on the mix version (not on the vinyl 👍).

7. Bobby Gillespie & Jehnny Beth – Utopian Ashes. I buy all Primal Scream releases, so this was a given. It’s a breakup album and all the stages associated with that. An album I played a lot over the summer months. Includes the wonderful Remember We Were Lovers.

6. A Winged Victory for the Sullen – Invisible Cities. I’m listening to this as I write. While it might not scale the heights of Atomos (we may never hear the likes again) it is nevertheless a great standalone album. It was the score to a multimedia production which I remember reading about at the time. I was delighted when it got a full release of its own.

5. Max Richter – Voices 2. This might have been leftovers from the Voices project but it is equally as good an album. If anything, it is a more relaxed experience, less epic in parts and importantly for me, voiceless. I read Max Richter said it provides room to breathe, it does.

4. Sasha – Luzoscura. It has been great watching this project develop. Sasha curated a Spotify playlist during lockdown. There were 4 x 2 hour mixes on OpenLab radio. 2 shows at the Alexandra Palace once lockdown eased and this album in May. A beautiful ambient and breakbeat DJ mix at the time the world was opening up again.

3. Jon Hopkins – Music For Psychedelic Therapy. Probably the album I’ve listen to more than any other this year. Impressive given it only got a release in October. The album I always hoped Jon Hopkins would make. He does ambient very well indeed.

2. Cheval Sombre – Days go By. The 2nd of his 2 full album releases in 2021 arriving late May. I’ve listened to this a lot over the summer months. Very much in the same vain as….

1. Cheval Sombre – Time Waits For No One. Sounding more Sonic Boom than Sonic Boom. A friend bought me this thinking I’d like it. He was right. I ended up getting Days Go By as well. My favourite musical discovery in 2021 and also my favourite album. Sorry it took so long to get onboard.

Notable mentions go to Hotel Neon, Warmth, The Specials, The Coral, Mogwai, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Admiral Fallow, Blank Gloss and Sonic Boom for his remix album ‘Almost Nothing Is Never Enough’. Incidentally, the only gig I went to in 2021.

Until next year.

Jaykits 16

16 years of these, 16 years of ‘ambient’ music. I still get a lot of enjoyment from putting the annual mix together. This year it was more difficult to do as I didn’t listen to nearly as much music of that genre. Albums by Bobby Gillespie, The Coral and Luzoscura by Sasha were staples over the summer. Saying that, there was still great ambient albums peppered throughout the year. From Hotel Neon and Warmth right at the start of the year to the pair of Cheval Sombre albums in the Spring/Summer ending with Jonsi, Jon Hopkins and the immense @0 compilation on the Nina Tune label in November, it was still a year for stellar releases.

I hope you like volume 16. I was unsure what it would be like when I first started gathering tunes, but i’m really pleased how it turned out. Happy listening.

Jaykits vol. 16

1. ‘Love Theme From Jesmond Dene’ – SL Walkinshaw

2. ‘Time’- Michael E

3. ‘Cirrus’ – Warmth

4. ‘Towards a Distant Shore’ – Hotel Neon

5. ‘The Mind Scans and Maps the World Behind’ – Tilman Robinson

6. ‘Virga’ – Blank Gloss

7. ‘The Celestial City’- A Winged Victory for the Sullen

8. ‘Floodgate’ – Ryan Teague

9. ‘Dreamsong’ – Cheval Sombre

10. ‘Because This Must Be’ – Nils Frahm

11. ‘He Was My Gang’ – Cheval Sombre feat. Sonic Boom

12. ‘Elevated Pastures’ – Chinyami

13. ‘Cryonics (Part 7)’ – Motionfield

14. ‘Follower’ – Max Richter

15. ‘Breaking the Horizon (Eluvium Broken Mix)’ – Michael Price

16. ‘Hedione’ – Jonsi

17. ‘Yin-Yang’ – Felsmann + Tiley

18. ‘Remember We Were Lovers’ – Bobby Gillespie & Jehnny Beth

19. ‘Pink Soldiers’ – Theme from Squid Game

The Wonder Years 5

Spring is in the air and we’ve been organising stuff, loads of stuff. Thankfully, this has involved my music collection. Mrs W has graciously let me get all my CDs out of boxes and they are now displayed in 2 massive units.

Also, ALL my house 12s are now out on show and accessible. No more guessing which box a tune is in. No more emptying a cupboard to find an elusive bit of vinyl I thought I had. It’s like Christmas, the one we never had last year.

Being as I am, I decided to organise the vinyl by record label. I have a ridiculous amount of 12s on Hooj Tunes, Fluid Recordings, Eve Records etc. Many of the tunes I hadn’t seen in years. I started pulling out some vinyl and then a mix was forming in my mind. Fast forward a week and here is the mix. Most of the tunes are still in good condition, so not too much crackling and no skipping. They cover 1994 to last year. I decided to use a record from Joris Voorn’s recent Global Underground mix. I don’t hear much house these days but the Willaris K track is outstanding. It was the tune they used to promote the mix before it came out. Apart from that, the mix is all olden but golden.

The tunes:

‘Want Me Need Me’ (FOS Full Dynamic Mix) – Justine (1994) Digweed used to play this during 1994. That point where he and Sasha were interchangeable in their music. I loved this time. I must check what ever became of the Fathers of Sound.

‘Atom Bomb’ (Doomsday Mix) – DJ Pierre (1997)
Atom bomb, outta control etc. Twisted put out loads of good dark, deep garage/house. The Doomsday mix has always been THE mix. A big Danny Tenaglia favourite. Incidentally, it’s his 60th birthday this week (March 2021). Mad to think.

Much Betta Man – Mindtrap (1998)
This is a Eddie Vedder vocal and a big drum roll. I heard Sasha play it at an Essential Selection thing on the radio one night. It was a difficult bit of vinyl to track down. I never heard it played out.

Carbine (Escape Remix) – Tungsten (1999)
Been trying desperately to remember where I heard this tune. It might’ve been a Global Underground, NuBreed or Renaissance. I bought it irrespective and the Escape Remix is still outstanding. Dark and progressive.

Lacuna (Original Mix) – Tocharian (2001)
Another one of these I can’t remember where i heard it. I do remember Hernan Cattaneo playing it at a night in Edinburgh I was at. Sounded great out of a big sound system. Also, dark and progressive.

Pure Frictions Groove – Voyager (1999)
This is some tune. Needs pitched down to -6 to be acceptable. This is from Northern Exposure 3 (Expeditions). It could only be a record Digweed played. A joy to mix with. Darker than the ocean floor.

Black AM (King Unique Dirty Dub) – Watkins (2001)
Sharam’s After-hours Toronto mix for Global Underground was where I heard this. However, I heard this on a Dave Seaman mix as well. It’s the King Unique Dub but includes a vocal sample to break up the prog of the last few tunes. King Unique put out a lot of good records during that period.

The Whoop (Dr. Slinky McVelvets Anadin Prescription) – The Self Preservation Society (1995)
The Rhumba Club, This remind me of that place, those nights. It reminds me of that period but still sounds great now. One of those tunes I’m glad I own.

4AM (Marc O’ Tool Mix) – Ballroom (1999) Dave Seaman Melbourne GU mix. I think it’s quite a beautiful record for a house tune. I see it was used by Tiesto further down the line. Probably one of his downtempo numbers.

Cobaki Sky (Joris Voorn Edit) – Willaris. K (2020) Taken from the Joris Voorn Global Underground Rotterdam mix at the end of last year. Beautiful, lush tune. I don’t own this on vinyl so there was jiggery pokery to get this thing on the mix.

Sufi (Original Mix) – Mavi (2001) I heard this on Nick Warren’s Renaissance Revelation Mix. Both his and Danny Howells mixes were excellent and are still enjoyable now. Proper progressive record. One of these journey in a tune types. A nice way to end.

I think of all the money spent on these records but still prefer to have the memories they provide. I hope you enjoy the mix.

2020 Albums

Music took on an even more important part in my life during 2020. Often providing solace and always providing joy. I spent a lot of time and money on vinyl as well as time spent on my own mixes this year. It was all worth it.

I could’ve had a top 50 list but here’s my favourite albums of 2020. I’ve got 11 for some reason.

11. Michael Rother – Dreaming. This took me by surprise. I heard a track from the album courtesy of Stuart Maconie’s Freak Zone. The ‘Krautrock’ legends first album in many years they said. Not a hint of krautrock about it. Lovely downbeat stuff.

10. Olafur Arnald – Some Kind of Peace. I didn’t like the lead tune ‘Woven Song’ but once in the context of the album it made more sense. This is a beautiful album and seems to have influences from many places.

9. FSOL – Cascade 2020. My first Record Store Day purchase this year. My favourite FSOL tune turned into a full album 20 odd years later. Cascade Part 1 permeates throughout.

8. Joris Voorn – GU43 Rotterdam. It’s been many a year since I spent a lot of time listening to a house mix. The last Global Underground left me cold (Patrice Baumel – pretty heavy duty stuff) but this is a masterpiece. 100+ tunes over the 2 CDs. It’s totally inspiring stuff and pushed me to put a mix together. Sadly, not quite to this standard.

7. Fontaines DC – A Hero’s Death. I loved Dogrel, but after listening to this, that album feels like them just getting started. I love this album. Musical, catchy and mature.

6. Nils Frahm – Empty. Glad this got a vinyl release later in the year. A surprise arrival early in the year with no fanfare. Lovely piano work. His ‘Tripping’ gig on Mubi is amazing. It shows just how hard he works in a live setting.

5. Sonic Boom – All Things Being Equal. Really pleased to have Sonic back making the stuff i’ve always loved. Listening to this, it was like he was never away.

4. Goldmund – The Time It Takes. Keith Kenniff never disappoints. This grew on me over a period of time and still gets better with every listen.

3. Ghostpoet – I Grow Tired But Dare Not Fall Asleep. Lockdown will always be synonymous with this album. Lyrically clever and with loads of hooks.

2. Max Richter – Voices. Reminds me of the summer. As with all of Max Richters proper artist albums, it is full of emotion. I won’t lie, I prefer the voiceless version but I have made a point of listening to the human rights version a few times as I did buy the vinyl.

1. Bruce Brubaker and Max Cooper – Glassforms. Loved it from when I first heard it and love it now. The piano work of Brubaker and the electronics of Max Cooper is a beautiful combination. I’m playing it again now as I write this. I can only hope they collaborate again.

Notable others include Doves – The Universal Want, Motionfield – Always There, Jonas Munk – Minimum Resistance, Sigur Ros – Odin’s Raven Magic and Tineidae – Exo.

Already pre-ordered for Jan/Feb 2021:

Tripping with Nils Frahm (Jan)

As The Love Continues – Mogwai (Feb)

Invisible Cities – A Winged Victory For The Sullen (Feb)