I’ve got a 1hr 40min commute at the moment so this is an ideally sized mix.

Here’s a detailed review produced by a man that can’t take another spreadsheet or steer co pack in a single day without bursting into tears

I’ll go blow by blow so I know which ones to shamelessly steal

01. Bliss Inc. - Radiant Reality [MAGICWIRE].

Great tune obviously, but quite a strange choice to open this mix. My initial ‘intellctuaisation’ is that the acid line that ramps from the start is what makes this tune belong alongside Guy Contact etc al rather than the other players in this tracklist, but the reality is it probably fits fine in just and I’m just way too over familiar with it. It does serve as a nice intro before the 4x4 beats make an appearance of course, which I do find surprisingly rare in a lot of modern melodic proggy stuff

02. Mihai Popoviciu - Puzzle Box [Bondage]
Nice track, but does feel a little flat after Bliss Inc. you can feel the great change slightly in the transition

03. Di After - No Water [Shelf]
That was a very seemless blend. I like the samples in this track that almost resemble laughter - gives me a bit of a feeling of being in a jungle
Breakdown is delightful too and all the elements come together perfectly after that

04. Underground City Loop - Sunsoaked Strut [Daisy]
Another good blend there keeping the energy exactly where it needs to be. I did enjoy the acid line coming in on this. This is a really great early doors tune


05. DP-6 - Aguas Blancas [DP-6]
I’m think this track just passed me by quite suddenly as I searched for my train ticket and retypes my thoughts on Bliss Inc


06. Pambouk & Miraval - Canyon Beauty [Melody Of The Soul]
Definitely seem to have taken things down and made them a little more tracky and similar to track #2. Not a bad thing (very good for the journey indeed) but difficult to say much about it


07. Molac - Gilgamesh [Amulanga]
Enjoyed the transition here with the vocal moan marking the switch over point. Felt like a good move to bring in a bit of wailing at this point in the set. Right up my street too with the twinkly melody - don’t be surprised to see that in my set lists!

08. Nathan Katz & Anonimat - Sunrise [Songuara]
This one keeps the theme of the slightly faster, twinkly melodies going.
At first I thought this was a massively stripped back remix of BCT tune I’ve been hammering lots (name escaping me) - solid track all round and keeping the momentum moving towards

09. Ilias Katelanos & Plecta - Plakianos [Melody Of The Soul]
Same vain melody wise but introducing variety with the housey grooves in the breakdown and a slightly more epic climax, with a warm pad doing more heavy lifting.. this is actually quite a journey of a track - it seems to build up and change many times throughout. Certainly the fist proper climax. The set is flowing excellently at this point

10. Janeret - Cosmic Travel [Haws]
Surprised this is on Haws - not similar to anything I’ve picked up from them! I think the only giveaway is a slightly punchier kick and some of the almost acid that comes post breakdown. I think parts of this are inspired by American Dream - works very well though! Gone up a gear again

11. Jackie Mayden - Raver Crystals (Kastis Torrau Remix) [90watts]
The transition is ever so slightly less seemless heading into this one. Nothing I’d usually notice if I wasn’t nerding out on the train but I think the EQing is just a little bit more blatant and less deliberate.

Seems to be a bit of a pallet cleanser this tune which works fine for where it’s placed

12. Nicolas Giordano - Lust [Sommersville]
In with the slightly more driving baseline - nice work.

13. Breezy S - Just Joy [Liquid Palms]
A different type of melody introduced in this track which brings some due diversity.. I’m eyeballing the next artist up and anticipating a bit of a climax in the set so I’m kind of expecting this to almost be the signtpost. “Big tune ahead” type of thing

14. Nikko.Z - Sungazing (Blood Groove & Kikis Remix) [Soundteller]
This appears to be exactly what was forecasted - we’ve gone in to a proper nice progressive tune, complete with acid, ecstasy, melody you can properly hum, and a black dude saying “check this out”.

15. Loxxe - Gigi's Theme [Belters 4 U]
This track keeps the vibe going nicely without trying to top the predecessor, which feels like a smart move

16. Hardy Heller & Alex Connors - Ever Growing (Dilby Remix) [Ohral]
Vocal moans and interesting baseline are welcome gear changes here, mellowing things out a little bit. Best Dilby tune I’ve heard since ‘Heart of the Jungle’

17. South Bloom - Let Me In (Volen Sentir Secret Technique) [Forestrip]
Nice to hear something from Volen Sentir with a little more bite than some of their other stuff though you are still clearly stepping the mix down now rather than up in terms of energy. Great vocal

18. Molac - Sacred Hoop (Nathan Katz Remix) [Alquimia]
This track has a vocal that says “let me in” which means I’m obviously on the wrong track, and some of my review commentary above is nonsense

Is that your flanger work on the breakdown?

I do feel the set is winding down a little more than I’d have liked it to. Appreciate the intention wasn’t for the set to carry on ramping but I’d enjoyed the build up thoroughly and wanted it to stay there

19. Guy J - Candyland (King Unique Remix) [Bedrock]
Clearly this isn’t Candyland. It is however a tune that’s clearly being used to set the grand finale up, and does so nicely. We’re back in the same gear the mix starts out in now, and I suppose like Bliss Inc we’re going to get another bookmark that stands out a bit (through familiarity and a slightly distinct epicness compared with the rest of the set)


Which by the way works nicely at the end. I don’t need to say anything else about candyland but the transition into it was great


All in all a solid 9/10

Last edited by Jon_DC on Apr-29-2026 at 19:56

I can tell this review was written on your phone on a train! You go "out of sync" with the tracklist at the DP-6 track, so all your comments after that are actually for the track before. Anyway, appreciate the detailed review mate. I could have tore the arse out of it in the second half but that's not what these mixes are about. It's the deeper and more panoramic tracks that sound great up there, so I deliberately held back towards the end.

___________________
Mixes:
> Maximum Elevation [Progressive House]
> DI.FM 26th Anniversary Guest Mix [Progressive House]
> Live @ Dance:Love:Hub London, 11.10.2025
> Higher Peaks [Progressive House]
> Dance:Love:Hub Afterparty (The Return) 23.11.24

Like these sets? Come see me play live at Kibosh in Manchester: https://www.instagram.com/kibosh.mcr/

I know I have been quite lax with actually giving you much in the way of feedback of late, so to make sure I actually did a review of this one I set a rule that I wouldn’t listen to any other mixes till I had written it. So I’ve been through it about 6 or 7 times in different contexts, the last one being Sunday morning walking the dog around the battlefield at Waterloo in glorious sunshine. While not quite the Peak District, it’s about as close as I could get to the intended environment around here.

I have to say I really enjoyed this, and that enjoyment did not diminish at all with multiple listens. I think it really captured that sense of being on a hike through beautiful and dramatic countryside. Track choice and placement on the whole is excellent, with everything fitting the intended vibe & sharing a similar sonic palette (with one exception, which I will come to in a minute). While the tracks spanned different sub genres of the overall progressive umbrella, they all seemed to serve a specific purpose in the flow. It was as rolling as the landscape it’s intended to accompany, while not lingering in any one spot too long, or indeed too short. There are no jagged edges here, no really big moments, and no tracks that are particularly stand out, but the whole is like being in a warm bath of groove & melody. I was very much reminded of one of my favourite times seeing Sasha on a sunny bank holiday afternoon on Clapham Common. I don’t remember any particular moments, but I do know the hours whizzed by in a blur of twinkling melody.

The mixing is your usually flawless, smooth style. In some ways I think of it as functional, not in a derogatory way but it is not the main event, which I think was your intention. You don’t really notice it, apart from a couple of satisfying gear changes (the mix into Just Joy being a particularly nice one).


And so on to the exception I mentioned earlier. The one track that I thought didn’t quite fit was Candyland. The two issues I have, which are admittedly very subjective, are thus:

1. To me it’s not a closer. Sure it’s a great track and a good "moment", but it doesn’t give me a satisfying sense of closure or arrival, like there’s still more to come.

2. To my mind it doesn’t quite fit with the same sonic vibe as the rest of the mix. What I mean by that is that all the other tracks sound like sunlight reflecting warm from an azure blue pool somewhere in the Med (I dont generally have synaesthesia, but with Nikko.Z - Sungazing I could literally see the reflections in my mind) and Candyland sounds more like sunlight peaking through leafless trees on a clear winter morning.

With those two factors together it’s kind of like at the end of the mix its not like weve reached the peak but a sudden chill has blown across the hills and we still have a way to climb into cloud. I can see how you might see things differently however.

So all in all a great mix, which would have been a 10/10 if not for that choice of closer, but a solid 9

___________________

Dave King - Tales Of The Future [Trance]
Dave King - Personal Classics
MIX ARCHIVE!!!

Cheers for the detailed review, Dave. I must admit I'm surprised you don't think Candyland is a closer. For me it's such an archetypal closing track I almost thought "Am I being a bit obvious by finishing with this?" It definitely suited the drama of the landscape in the moment.

___________________
Mixes:
> Maximum Elevation [Progressive House]
> DI.FM 26th Anniversary Guest Mix [Progressive House]
> Live @ Dance:Love:Hub London, 11.10.2025
> Higher Peaks [Progressive House]
> Dance:Love:Hub Afterparty (The Return) 23.11.24

Like these sets? Come see me play live at Kibosh in Manchester: https://www.instagram.com/kibosh.mcr/