Registered: Feb 2007
Location: Hugging Whales And Saving Trees
Here it is folks: the May Mix. It's a little early, but it's finished so what the hell.
1. Lolo (Intro) - Dr. Dre [ Aftermath Entertainment 1999]
Ah, my classics mix. Where to start? So much music, yet so little genre variety. I'm known for my love of prog and trance and this mix is no exception. Little known fact, I'm also a big fan of rap and hip-hop, so I tried to throw in a few tracks. The last year or so I've been actually listening to more varied music, but since this is supposed to be a classics mix I decided to keep it to some of the most influential songs for me, as well as some just absolute favorites. Hopefully some of you will still give it a listen, even though it's not the most varied; I'm still pretty happy with it showing my biggest influences and favorite songs.
This mix definitely could have been two-parts or several hours long, and I had a damn hard time getting it down this short. My first draft (which was already only 1/5 of the songs I wanted), was about 120 minutes, but after cutting out four songs and re-doing a transition I made these 16 fit. Oh, I decided to start off with the intro to 2001 because I'm a big fan of Dre's past work and I'm a huge fan of Star Wars.
2. Guerilla Radio - Rage Against The Machine [Epic 1999]
I bought my first CD, The Battle For Los Angeles, in 2002 (yes, I'm young). I had gotten the game Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 and it introduced me to music besides the stuff my parents listened to and the stuff they thought I might like. My father said no to getting the Naughty By Nature album, but apparently this was alright. Funnily enough I actually can't remember the last time I listened to anything like this, but since this was the song responsible for my first purchase, I had to include it.
3. The Maestro - Beastie Boys [Capitol Records/Grand Royal 1992]
Once I discovered some music I actually liked, I started listening to the radio. The station I listened to the most was a combination of rock, rap, and metal, but every night they would play old school classic rap and I eventually got introduced to the Beastie Boys. I've always loved them and their mixture of bravado and ridiculousness with lines like, "How can he be so skinny and live so phat?"
4. Hate It Or Love It - The Game feat. 50 Cent [Aftermath Entertainment 2005]
Maybe it's because I live in America, maybe it's because I'm a white upper-middle class male, but I've always had a thing for rap (as you can see by the few non-electronic songs here). This song always surprised me since it's a song with 50 Cent that I just can't help but like. Also, I needed to represent the occasional mainstream rap I listen to, but Jack already played 99 Problems and I didn't want to play something already played
5. Daydreamin' - Lupe Fiasco feat. Jill Scott [Atlantic 2006]
It's a fucking rap song about robots. Add that with Jill Scott's great voice and social commentary about the nature of the rap industry and you've got me hooked. Big fan of Lupe, but this is definitely my favorite of his.
6. Invisible Man In A Fluorescent Suit - Shpongle [Twisted Records 2009]
Yeah, Stu, it's from 2009. But considering that's only 7 years after the first album I bought, I'm going to excuse myself This song was extremely influential in getting me to start trying to get more into music beyond the prog and trance I normally listen to. This got me into the rest of Shpongle's discography as well as getting me to try out Autechre and a few other stuff outside my normal comfort zone. I've been too busy the last few months to go crate digging, but looking forward to looking deeper into music once summer hits. Anyways, re: this song, I don't think I need to explain why I think it's so great.
7. Solina - Evolution [Fluid Recordings/Nettwerk America 1999/2002]
One of the most beautiful prog tracks of all time, imo, and from one extremely prolific duo. Listening to Bedrock by John Digweed I loved Baba, but when this song came in I was in love. The ascending and descending melody is just beautiful. Great bassline, percussion, vocal pads, etc, too.
8. Stage One (Pariah's Shadow Lounging Mix) - Space Manoeuvres [Hooj Choons 1999]
John Graham has put out a lot of great stuff in his days, but Stage One gets my (and many other people's) vote for number one and Naughty G and Rowan Blades' remix is just perfect. I suck at describing music, but this song would have many positive adjectives involved in its description. If I ever am rich enough to go into outer space I want this song playing as I take off.
9. I Have Put Out The Light - James Holden [Silver Planet Recordings 2002]
While I tried to avoid songs other people had played already, this song was going to get played no matter what. If I could choose only one song to listen to, this would probably be it. That sad little melody in the intro, the vocals, the bass, the ethereal atmosphere, the trumpets, the drums.. This song's only fault is that it's only 8:50 instead of 15:00+. One of the first EDM albums I got was Digweed's recently released MMII and this was definitely the highlight of the mix for me. It was responsible for me looking more into Digweed, James Holden, and prog in general. Probably my idea of a perfect song.
10. Easter Island (Cygnus X Mix) - Art Of Trance [Platipus 1999]
Yes, of course Platipus was going to get in here. After listening to a bunch of Digweed and Oakenfold mix CDs, I discovered the awesome power of the internet for downloading music that I couldn't get. Not sure what turned me towards Tiesto, but I ended up downloading all the Forbidden Paradise and Magik mixes. Fell in love with this song and eventually the rest of Simon Berry's discography, not to mention almost everything Platipus has released (leading to spending far too much money attempting to collect them all).
11. Lithium (Oliver Lieb Remix) - Paragliders [Phoolish Records/Platipus 2000]
On one of the Platipus volumes I discovered this little song from one of Oliver Lieb's many aliases. If someone asked for an example of a trance song, this is probably what I would play for them as to me this epitomizes trance. Perfection.
12. Twilo Thunder (Stoked Up Mix) - Breeder [Rythm Syndicate 1999]
Oh Breeder, how I love your basslines. Throw in an addicting vocal stab and one of the best melodies I've ever heard, make a song over 10 minutes long, and I think I'm in love. Breeder have made many great songs, but this was both the first one I heard and my favorite. That melody just combined with the bassline just makes me want to dance.
13. Words (For Love) - Paul Van Dyk [MFS 1996]
After listening to several Oakenfold and Digweed albums, I needed a place to start to dig. Both Tranceport and GU:006 Sydney had this great song called Words (For Love) by an artist named Paul Van Dyk, so I said fuck it and bought Seven Ways as my first EDM artist album. Paul has fallen a long fucking way from there, but Seven Ways is filled with a bunch of amazing trance and is one of the finest trance artist albums there is.
14. Cowgirl (Bedrock Mix) - Underworld [Junior Boy's Own 2000]
Of course Bedrock was going to make it in here somewhere. One of my favorite groups, they're responsible for some of the best progressive tunes and remixes there are and this is one of my favorites, from another fantastic group.
15. Bar None - Max Graham [Hope Recordings 2001]
Before Max Graham decided to make the same copy cutter shit 98.7% of trance producers make these days, he actually produced some fantastic progressive-trance tracks on Hope Recordings. This used to be a big Okie favorite and is still one of mine.
16. Tears In Rain - Vangelis [EastWest 1994]
To bookend the Sci Fi sounds of this mix comes Vangelis in one of his best songs and another Okie favorite. Vangelis has made some fantastic stuff and the Blade Runner sound track is no exception. Simply beautiful stuff.
I had a lot of fun mixing this. Thanks for listening
Airplay - Arctic Trance
X-Dream - Trancesylvania XPress
SP23 - Digital Acid II
Phrenetic System - Fantasy
Beach Buddha - Jarred the Mind
Nexus 6 - Tres Chic
Alien Race - Colossal Cave (Xyzzy Mix)
Spiral Tribe - Going all the Way
Curley & Cyberlogic - Junction C-32
Koenig Cylinders - 99.9
DJ Crack - Progressive Attack (GaryD.TTF Mix)
Well...
This got off to a bad start when my hard drive melted down on the the computer I usually used to do mixing and media on, so I had to scrounge around and eventually got back to fixing everything up.
Rather than my usual terrorising TA's with industrial and electro I decided to go back to where it all began for me, living out in the proverbial sticks of south west England we would occasionally have the city kids set up a dance party in reserves, parks and basically wherever they could get away with it at least until the rozzers started slapping people around with good behaviour sticks. Tracks would blow in every now and then if the wind was right, of course there was no chance in hell I'd be allowed to go to one!
But on subsequent trips back to England and Europe after I moved to Australia I always made a point of trying to get hold of some of those little gems of electronic music from the early 90s and drag back to this godforsaken, poisonous hellhole of a country where I've lived on and off for close to 20 years when I wasn't travelling or working overseas.
Australia had its own comparatively decent electronic music scene all through the 90s as well, but for this particular mix I chose a lot of English and European artists. That era where people dragged out their music machines and made stuff you could go nuts too, a lot of this is fairly much as underground as electronic music could get and "things" like SP23/Spiraltribe and Curley I doubt we'll see the likes of again.
I put a couple of early trance tracks at the start just so that those of us old enough to remember what trance was like before all the Armins, PVD's, Tiesto's and other subsequent high profile wankers choked it to death. Dont get it in your head for a minute the rest of the set is like those two!
Oh no, the rest of this mix is a rolling barrage of floor smashing, sub-bass destroying old school goa and underground techno full of much abused drum machines, screaming raw 303s that only played in raves and nightclubs that didn't suck. No one else would touch it, no hits on Saturday morning TV or your friendly local top-40 radio went near it because it was listened and danced to by lunatics that took lots and lots... and lots of drugs!
I live vicariously off my memories as I get older and settle into suburban obscurity, it saddens me that EDM has become so commercialised to the point of stagnation, even if there is a second coming for this type of music I doubt I'd have anything to do with it because I'd just look silly at my age and probably on a walking stick.
May-10-2011 11:13
Echo of Silence
Supreme tranceaddict
Registered: Sep 2003
Location: corner of the garden
Yay, okay, I've inserted the link to the May 2011 Classics Mix into the first post. Thank you, Lews! Wow, I'm really looking forward to listening to your set.
Lilith, I think you meant to create a new thread for your mix. It looks interesting. I'll check it out after I listen to Lews set.
___________________
Nu skal jeg betro dig min hemmelighed. Den er ganske ligetil:
kun med hjertet kan man se rigtigt. Det vęsentlige er usynligt for ųjet.
May-10-2011 12:33
ziptnf
Programming your future
Registered: Jun 2008
Location: Louisville, KY
Haha Lilth, I'm pretty sure you gotta clear it with Chrissi before you post your classics mix but that's okay
Lews: Nice mix, man. I know that 50 Cent song by heart lol, and the Rage track always brings me back to my Tony Hawk days. I wasn't too familiar with the rest of them, but they definitely sounded like your type of music. Awesome work, all the way around.
I like your progression, Lily. You've opened with some good trancey stuff, and the acid on the track at about 28-30 mins is awesome. It's probably not to the softer tastes of some of the people who now post on this board who got into asot/gdjb from 2004 onwards though Definitely reminds me of '90s' both with the sounds and the tempos and the final track is one I'd heard before but didn't actually know the name of it, so thanks for that Makes me want to get out the mid 90s old hardtrance at 160bpm again & go nuts.
May-11-2011 07:50
Lilith
Meowsies!
Registered: Nov 2000
Location: Maximum Security twilight home for cats
quote:
Originally posted by Ian
Makes me want to get out the mid 90s old hardtrance at 160bpm again & go nuts.
Yes, but when you told me to chuck a mix in here you didn't say there was particular stipulations, so now I've caused a hassle
May-11-2011 08:22
Ian
Not dead yet.
Registered: Dec 2001
Location: UK
getting a mix from you is NEVER a hassle. getting me to review it often is
May-11-2011 08:44
Teezdalien
Supreme tranceaddict
Registered: Jul 2007
Location: Melbourne, Australia
