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-- Heart Of Darkness: A literary concept mix (!) [Trance/Prog]
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Heart Of Darkness: A literary concept mix (!) [Trance/Prog]
...At night sometimes the roll of drums behind the curtain of trees would run up the river and remain sustained faintly, as if hovering in the air high above our heads, till the first break of day.
This is a literary concept mix. I don't know what anyone will make of it- I expect it to sink like a concrete turd but I'll share it anyway, because it's a little bit different. It's based on Joseph Conrad's classic novella (upon which was based Apocalypse Now) Heart of Darkness. You don't have to have read HOD to listen to this mix, but I think it would help. On one level I simply wanted to recapture the mood of the story in music, but I also tried to represent the narrative in the music. Every track title has meaning and I'd like to think each track represents a particular part of the story.
So that's what this mix is all about : atmosphere and a narrative. None of these tracks are cutting edge- the newest are from 2006 and the oldest 1993 (or thereabouts) and mostly it's stuff from the early '00s. A couple of tracks are well known classics, a couple more should be familiar and a few might not be. I would have liked to have made a mix with totally new music or with completely unknown obscurities, but this is mainly about the concept. I've never seen it done before, I thought I'd try. So... enjoy.
The Heart of Darkness [Literary Concept Mix]
1. Mike Oldfield - Angelique
2. Way Out West - Intensify (Part 1)
3. Atlas - Compass Error (Fluke Remix)
4. Vibrasphere - Landmark
5. Andres S & Armando V - Dark Jungle
6. Aquilia - Voodoo (Praha Remix)
7. Mezz - Cubism (Praha Remix)
8. Fu Man Choo - Outlaw (Praha Remix)
9. Schiller - Das Glockenspiel (Humate Remix)
10.Sister Bliss - Sister Sister
11.Sven Vath - Drifting Like Whales In The Dark
[[ LINK REMOVED ]]
If anyone wants it uploading somewhere else, I will do.
Wtf is up with everyone deciding to post interesting sets today? I don't have time to listen to all of this. 
The idea behind the set is pretty interesting but it's as you say - I doubt I'll be able to understand everything properly, not having read the book.
interesting concept. i really enjoyed your previous 3 mixes so it'll be interesting to hear what you did mixing in a few semi-recent productions
Very interesting idea, gonna take a listen even though I'm not familiar with the work it's related to. I've been toying with the idea of doing something similar myself but I've not found the right concept for me yet...
Edit:
Should you need a solid host, give me a shout.
Have no real experience with the book, but I've enjoyed all your other sets immensely. I'm in.
bump!
Really enjoyed the mix. As I said I have no experience with the work you modeled it after, but that didn't prevent it from being a really quality set. I'm assuming it was your intent to go "somewhere" and I think you really pulled it off nicely.
Bro, have you sendspace? Perhaps I'm a noob, but I was lost on that page preceded by the link.
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| Originally posted by enydo bump! Really enjoyed the mix. As I said I have no experience with the work you modeled it after, but that didn't prevent it from being a really quality set. I'm assuming it was your intent to go "somewhere" and I think you really pulled it off nicely. |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by TheArchangel Bro, have you sendspace? Perhaps I'm a noob, but I was lost on that page preceded by the link. |
Hmmmmm, just seeing this one now and really don't know what to make of it on the looks of the tracklist alone.
Your overall prowess with "concept" mixes (well, "era" mixes I guess) has definitely built faith, will be having a listen and sure to let you know what I think.
Wow! This looks really cool. "Heart of Darkness" is one of my favorite books, so I am most definitely checking this out.
<3 Joseph Conrad
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| Originally posted by Lebezniatnikov Wow! This looks really cool. "Heart of Darkness" is one of my favorite books, so I am most definitely checking this out. <3 Joseph Conrad |
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| Originally posted by SYSTEM-J Hurrah! Someone who has read the book! |
Just a little feedback to let you know that I liked this set. It's already displaying 6 plays in my iTunes counter and it doesn't include the ipod plays
Never heard these praha remixes before 
Any similar tracks recommendations?
Thanks for the bump and the positive feedback. I actually found it very hard to find anyone who sounds like Praha- ethereal, tribal, energetic...
I've read the book twice. Will dl and listen later...
Finished the book on Sunday, this seems like a odd coincedence.
Will download it over lunch, probably finish listening to it once i get home.
Edit: Nevermind megaupload blocked at work, i guess it will wait till i get home
Finally got around to DLing this. The net connection in the new apartment sucks compared to what I had on campus. Will give feedback later.
Really nice mix, I also read the book and obviously saw Apocalypse now that has took inspiration from it. Loved the Praha tracks, but generally is difficult to find a weak track and the flow is really good.
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| Originally posted by Trancefxs Really nice mix, I also read the book and obviously saw Apocalypse now that has took inspiration from it. Loved the Praha tracks, but generally is difficult to find a weak track and the flow is really good. |
Well, I am ashamed to say that as a phil/comp. religions major I've never read Heart of Darkness, so I had no idea as to whether or not the concept of this mix mapped onto the book well.
As a mix standing on its own two feet, however, it's another bomb from you.
I'll say this much as far as criticism goes, the beginning felt like it wandered a bit. I'm not sure that I can really be more specific than that, but it just kind of felt a bit eclectic, and like you were really working hard to kind of lay a foundation for the end, but that in setting up the Praha section through the end, it was a bit all over the map. Taken in context of the set as a whole, it works, but to be honest when I first started to work my way through it I definitely had my doubts as to whether or not it was going to find direction (at least in my mind).
The Praha section really brought all that together, though it wasn't my favorite part of the set - the end was just madness. Utter fucking madness. It just felt like you spent the whole of the beginning of the set finding your way to that Schiller tune, and those last three just made me chair-rave, hard.
Nice work again, J. I've always enjoyed your work, and again, I'm happy to see you coming back with more and more this year. Keep it up.
Thanks for the praise. Two points:
1. With regards the wandering thing- check out the track titles- "Compass Error", "Landmark"- the first section of the book is where Marlow leaves England and ends up in the Belgian Congo, encountering a dizzying array of scenes of cruelty and madness on the way there. The feeling of displacement and not being on solid ground were the intention for the opening. Taken out of context that will lose its meaning though, which is fair enough.
2. I'm really happy you used the terming "finding your way" to the Schiller track, because that's exactly what the point was. That track was the part of the book where Marlow finally meets Kurtz and sits talking to him while Kurtz dies of malaria. The glockenspiel was the "bell tolling" as it were for Kurtz, and that really was the epiphanous moment of the novel, the event it all builds up to.
In short, I was really pleased to hear that from you. In other news, I promised you I'd listen to one of your mixes at least a month ago, but I got a huge backlog of stuff to listen to and now you've posted another mix and at some point I'm going to have to give you some reviews in return, which I've been telling myself I must get round to.
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| Originally posted by SYSTEM-J In other news, I promised you I'd listen to one of your mixes at least a month ago, but I got a huge backlog of stuff to listen to and now you've posted another mix and at some point I'm going to have to give you some reviews in return, which I've been telling myself I must get round to. |
I think Oakey did something similar like this. Downloading and I'll give it a listen later tonight!
(Google tells me Oakey did Alice in Wonderland and Oliver Twist.)
It seems he did a lot more than that: http://www.tranceaddict.com/forums/...153723-p-1.html. I'd never even heard of this "Urban Soundtracks" thing, but it seems he did a whole bunch of novels- including Heart Of Darkness, the immense bastard.
Well that's my thunder thoroughly stolen, although it seems Oakey's mixes are loosely themed sets with some narration and related tracks interspersed in a standard mix.
I'm listening now-sounding good thus far!
Seemed an interesting concept, well done for trying to implement the narrative structure of a story within the confines of a mix.
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