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Yeah, the mastering on this album isn't fantastic. I was wondering if it was a deliberate attempt to recreate that early '90s sound, but I'm not so sure. On the intro to Jhana, which is a fantastic track actually, you can hear him leaning back in his chair in the studio or wherever just before he starts playing the guitar. Kinda undermines the widescreen atmospherics of the actual music when you can hear a squeaky office chair in the background. So I suspect it's just the label working on a budget.
The music itself is pretty nice. Like I said, the production and sound quality does have a slightly raw edge to it that feels authentic to the period being lovingly recreated, which could be deliberate or not. The second half is the stronger for me: Jhana, Sadhana, Samsara and Bhava are the highlights for me. As a DJing gripe, I do think some of the tracks are too fast at 140bpm. Even in the rave-y early '90s you wouldn't get ambient house at that tempo, which makes it difficult to mix these tracks in with the classics they pay homage to.
EDIT: Funnily enough, I saw System 7 live last weekend. They were performing under their Mirror System ambient alias, but the majority of the set was quite pumping "crusty tekno" style stuff that System 7 specialise in. I might have to make an ambient house tribute mix in light of all this throwback business, as this stuff is very close to my heart.
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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/
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