Tag Archives: music

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.

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.

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.