Gave DK's mix a spin yesterday. I don't think I ever got to visit a pub that had 6Music on while I lived in England, but if I had, I imagine that it'd sound just like this mix. Loved that this was really tightly sequenced and flowed effortlessly even with no mixing to speak of, and how it seemed to end just as quickly as described in the initial post, too.

The only criticism I can think of is that the second half wind down doesn't go quite as smoothly as the first half peak with Breakdown Brass, and that I can't really seem to get into Floating Points' longer tracks (they always seem to drag on for a bit too long). These are minor complaints, though, and do little to detract from the particular situation you tried to recreate with music here. Well done, sir.

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"Wenn du dich zum Untergrund zählst, reicht es nicht, es nur zu sagen. Du musst auch viel graben, um es zu werden."

My schedule got thrown off by the 18th Brumaire, sorry =/

Mix up on Tuesday, I promise!

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Quarantine Classics Brunello di Montalcino (In Transit) Edition [Progressive Classics] (August 2020)
Quarantine Classics - Puligny-Montrachet Edition [Progressive Classics] (April 2020)
What Is Progressive Anyways? [Progressive House Classics] (November 2019)

quote:

Originally posted by RebeL9 Better late than never. And since it happens to be Sunday afternoon here it is. Far from my best mix but I hope the vibe lives up to the theme. 01. Susumu Yokota - Symbol of Life, Love and Aesthetics 02. Bliss - The Return 03. Loop Guru - Sus-San (Whirling Spirits) 04. Terra Nine - Dawn 05. L.S.G. - Into Deep 06. Transmission - Beyond Light 07. Ohm-G - Akasha 08. Moby - Swear 09. Aural Imbalance - Cold Room 10. Dreadzone - Dream Within A Dream

I had a listen to this one earlier. A nice little ambient house set with plenty of ethnic wailing to go around. The mixing was pretty smooth - better than I've heard from you in the past - and the flow was even smoother. A couple of moments sounded a bit too close to something you'd hear coming out of the speakers at a new age apothecary, but overall a pleasant 57 minutes of Sunday listening.

Just Dave's mix to go for me now. A lot of participants still owe a lot of other people reviews though. There's a danger of the whole thing petering out a little.

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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/

I'm right on time, right?

While only now completed and uploaded, this mix was conceived during late August, early September, when I was thinking about the late August/early Septembers of my past. At my undergraduate, the Autumn term didn't begin until the very end of September, and in Seattle late August/early September is the most beautiful of times. This combination leads to a lot of long weekend parties at the end of the summer, where the party continues on Sunday afternoon after everyone has woken up again, still a bit hungover, often at the location of the party the night before or at a park, a beach, or on someone's boat. This is the soundtrack to one of those parties.

You wake up, slightly disoriented and very much in pain, and stumble out into the light, where you find old and new friends around the pool, offering more beverages: with some slight hesitation on your part, the party begins again (although a bit more relaxed and chilled out than the night before ).

[PM for link]

1. Esteble - Feathers [Anjunadeep, 2016]
2. Fort Romeau – Jetée [Ghostly International, 2013]
3. Universal Solution – Agra [Anjunadeep, 2015]
4. Matthias Vogt Feat. Phil Fill – Matters (Tom Midleton Remix) [Anjunadeep, 2016]
5. John Belk – Silver Surfer [Bedrock Records, 2015]
6. John Digweed & Nick Muir vs Ian O’Donovan – Dawnbreaker [Bedrock Records, 2013]
7. Thievery Corporation Feat. David Byrne – The Heart’s A Lonely Hunter (Thievery Corporation Remix) [Eighteenth Street Lounge Music, 2005]
8. 2NDSun – Shimmer [Tessier-Ashpool Recordings, 2014]
9. Grum – Sunday Blue Sky (King Unique Remix) [Heartbeats, 2015]
10. Way Out West – Tuesday Maybe (I:Cube’s Sunrise Remix) [Anjunadeep, 2016]
11. Ashworth & Kiwi – Alaska [Sneaky Music, 2014]
12. Esteble Feat. BeatuniQue – Marlborough Sounds [Diynamic Music, 2014]
13. Yotto – Personal Space [Anjunadeep, 2015]
14. Alex Dolby – Long Beach [Hope Recordings, 2008]
15. Tom Glass – Madness Locked In A Bottle [Hope Recordings, 2011]
16. Nick Warren – La Fabrica (Warehouse Mix) [Hope Recordings, 2013]
17. Matthias Vogt – I Dreamed The Impossible (Simon Garcia’s Future Funk Remix) [Dieb Audi, 2010]
18. Nick Muir – Airtight (Kassey Voorn Remix) [Vapour Recordings, 2012]
19. Hernan Cattaneo & John Tonks – Sirocco [Renaissance, 2006]
20. Bedrock – Santiago (Dave Seaman’s Group Therapy Remix) [Audio Therapy, 2006]
21. Suicide Sports Club – The Last Ghost In Town (Redanka Remix) [B_Rock, 2005]
22. 16 Bit Lolitas – Sedna [Shinichi, 2006]
23. Tom Middleton – HEVA (Vincenzo Remix) [Anjunadeep, 2016]
24. Universal Solution – Kaleidoscope [Anjunadeep, 2016]


First mix since the last challenge, 2 years ago, so the mixing is definitely a bit rough - my apologies. But look at how many new tracks I used! Nothing from the 90s!

Hope you enjoy I'll be posting comments on everyone else's sets in the next day or so

___________________
Quarantine Classics Brunello di Montalcino (In Transit) Edition [Progressive Classics] (August 2020)
Quarantine Classics - Puligny-Montrachet Edition [Progressive Classics] (April 2020)
What Is Progressive Anyways? [Progressive House Classics] (November 2019)

Last edited by Lews on Sep-25-2019 at 09:32

And with that, I'm going to close the competition.

Floorfiller was the only person to not submit a mix or respond to any PM's. He will be banned from all future challenges.

As Jack mentioned, people owe each other reviews. Personally, I was waiting for all mixes to be submitted before I continued listening so that I didn't flood this thread with separate reviews. I will likely compile all my reviews in a text file and make a post when I have finished listening to all the mixes. Would keep spam reduced to a minimum.

Thanks to everyone for participating! We will do this again next year. If anyone has any other ideas besides Theme challenge and Genre challenge, please PM me with your idea and we will take the time to deliberate. Please remember to check out your fellow TA's mixes and leave reviews.

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Set Archive | TA DJ Challenge

possibly a year end challenge where we mix our favourite songs or most used songs this year ?

quote:

Originally posted by SYSTEM-J At any rate, I'll be amazed if you don't find my set too homogeneous for your liking.

I don't really have a problem with sticking to one style during a set, provided it isn't a four hours+ type set, of course. Considering you're trying to convey a specific mood or experience with this mix, sticking fairly rigidly to one end of the spectrum stylistically is a logical step to take. I just wanted to make my set a bit less predictable, since the experience or mood I was trying to convey was a fairly obvious one as far as this theme challenge goes.

Anyway, I really liked your mix, even if the second half isn't quite as interesting as the build to the two OOFT!-tracks to my ears. It relies a tad much on tunes using two or three chords as its main hook, whereas guys like Lawrence and Sven Weisemann in the first half provide a bit more texture, which is always welcome for mixes like these. A warmup DJ could really learn a thing or two from by taking a listen this set, also, as it really amps up the energy for the listener, but never to the point of peaking too hard, which is exactly what you want from 10 pm to round midnight.

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"Wenn du dich zum Untergrund zählst, reicht es nicht, es nur zu sagen. Du musst auch viel graben, um es zu werden."

Dave: As I told you in Brixton last week, or whenever, I really, really like your mix. Great vibe throughout; excellent programming and mixing. Cheers for turning me onto The Gene Dudley Band, as well - I really do love that cover of 'Inspector Norse.'

Hamid: I'm glad someone went the old-school ambient/downtempo route, as it's been a while since I've heard much of it. Only once or twice did it get a bit too 'new age apothecary,' as Jack put it, for me. And very nice mixing and flow throughout.

Jan: I almost completely loved your set. In fact, I did love it, until Antwon - 100k. Not a bad track, but the bass kicked so heavy and the vocals were so whatever-they-were, that for me it kinda killed the wonderful melodic-floaty-afternoon vibe that was going on. I suppose you wanted to switch things up a bit? Anyways, still quite enjoyable, just not as perfect as I thought it was headed.

___________________
Quarantine Classics Brunello di Montalcino (In Transit) Edition [Progressive Classics] (August 2020)
Quarantine Classics - Puligny-Montrachet Edition [Progressive Classics] (April 2020)
What Is Progressive Anyways? [Progressive House Classics] (November 2019)

Hamid

This mix was interesting. The first half was absolutely gorgeous, programmed and mixed beautifully. Wonderful tracks and atmosphere. Your signature is all over it with the ethnic/tribal sound. However, in the second half you start to play some trance and it seems rather disjointed with the rest of the mix. Almost like they are two separate mixes. It would have been better if you carried the theme from the first half all the way through, in my opinion. Nice job, though, I enjoyed it.


Dave King

This was great, and I mowed the shit out of my lawn while I listened to it. It’s like what happens when a group of weathermen, elevator operators, and advert agency men from the 50’s get together and put on some suits and ball gowns and take a bunch of ecstasy. Just completely out of the ordinary for me, as I don’t ever listen to this type of music at all. Well done.


Lews

Your title & description match this set perfectly. This is a great early-mid afternoon mix that starts bleeding into the late afternoon where people are socializing and enjoying an end-of-summer type of party. I like how the opener is one of those sleepy house tracks that isn't even trying to wake anyone up, just letting the dream continue. The flow is a bit interesting too, there is somewhat of a lull in the middle as if people leave the pool area and go inside for a bit. It starts to pick back up again with the earlier house grooves, and then you change directions completely with some trance tunes. I guess the party has REALLY started now. Interesting programming with solid mixing. Good work! (Also quite funny that Jack predicted the Fort Romeau appearance )


Sand Leaper

One of the things I like about your mixes is that you pick such interesting tracks from all different times, places, genres, and moods. As Jack said, you mutated your flow wildly and went in all sorts of different directions. This mix manages to squeeze in deep house grooves, breaks, chillout, hip-hop, DNB, and those were just the obvious genres. If you wanted to break down each sound individually I'm sure you could come up with dozens of sub-genres that you experimented with here. Favorite track was Tropic of Capricorn, least favorite was Ice Chasm (813 Remix). Weird mix, dude. But awesome.


Luke Drelick

I can't seem to download more than about 20 minutes of your mix. Seems like your host is having trouble. I've enjoyed what I have heard though, is there any way you can upload this to a different host or something? I'll catch the rest of it when I can actually download it in full.

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Set Archive | TA DJ Challenge

Nick - I'll try to get this up on a different host. I use Bluehost for my personal webspace and they're seemingly reputable so I'm not sure what happened. Would you be able to try again? Maybe there was a temporary hiccup. Glad you liked the bit you heard though!

Anyways, I took a listen to Lews and Dave's mixes.

Lews - looks like you and I have very similar tastes in music, lots of warm melodic house, lots of Anjunadeep, and others that reminded me a good deal of Dave Seaman's Renaissance mix from 2006. Forgot how much I loved "Santiago", and hearing "Sedna" again brought back some great memories. The only thing I wasn't too crazy about was The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter, felt a bit out of place (even though I do like the track on its own merits). Definitely gonna be giving this a few more spins.

Dave - I really liked the ambient/downtempo bookends, the funky middle (not sure what genre this would be considered... broken beat? northern soul?) started off interesting and unique as far as TA challenges go, but since I'm not a huge fan of the genre, kinda wore on me a tad. But hearing the remix of Inspector Norse in this style was still interesting!

Still have to get around to Rebel and Sand Leaper's.

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9-9-99 Never Forget

Quarantine Music Festival 2020

All My Mixes!

quote:

Originally posted by Lews https://hearthis.at/joseph-von-xant...heme-challenge/ 1. Esteble - Feathers [Anjunadeep, 2016] 2. Fort Romeau – Jetée [Ghostly International, 2013] 3. Universal Solution – Agra [Anjunadeep, 2015] 4. Matthias Vogt Feat. Phil Fill – Matters (Tom Midleton Remix) [Anjunadeep, 2016] 5. John Belk – Silver Surfer [Bedrock Records, 2015] 6. John Digweed & Nick Muir vs Ian O’Donovan – Dawnbreaker [Bedrock Records, 2013] 7. Thievery Corporation Feat. David Byrne – The Heart’s A Lonely Hunter (Thievery Corporation Remix) [Eighteenth Street Lounge Music, 2005] 8. 2NDSun – Shimmer [Tessier-Ashpool Recordings, 2014] 9. Grum – Sunday Blue Sky (King Unique Remix) [Heartbeats, 2015] 10. Way Out West – Tuesday Maybe (I:Cube’s Sunrise Remix) [Anjunadeep, 2016] 11. Ashworth & Kiwi – Alaska [Sneaky Music, 2014] 12. Esteble Feat. BeatuniQue – Marlborough Sounds [Diynamic Music, 2014] 13. Yotto – Personal Space [Anjunadeep, 2015] 14. Alex Dolby – Long Beach [Hope Recordings, 2008] 15. Tom Glass – Madness Locked In A Bottle [Hope Recordings, 2011] 16. Nick Warren – La Fabrica (Warehouse Mix) [Hope Recordings, 2013] 17. Matthias Vogt – I Dreamed The Impossible (Simon Garcia’s Future Funk Remix) [Dieb Audi, 2010] 18. Nick Muir – Airtight (Kassey Voorn Remix) [Vapour Recordings, 2012] 19. Hernan Cattaneo & John Tonks – Sirocco [Renaissance, 2006] 20. Bedrock – Santiago (Dave Seaman’s Group Therapy Remix) [Audio Therapy, 2006] 21. Suicide Sports Club – The Last Ghost In Town (Redanka Remix) [B_Rock, 2005] 22. 16 Bit Lolitas – Sedna [Shinichi, 2006] 23. Tom Middleton – HEVA (Vincenzo Remix) [Anjunadeep, 2016] 24. Universal Solution – Kaleidoscope [Anjunadeep, 2016] First mix since the last challenge, 2 years ago, so the mixing is definitely a bit rough - my apologies. But look at how many new tracks I used! Nothing from the 90s! Hope you enjoy I'll be posting comments on everyone else's sets in the next day or so

You really went all out on this one. I've never seen a tracklist from you with so much obvious digging behind it. The structure is also carefully thought-out and not lacking in ambition.

I did feel the opening section is a little busy, with a lot of tracks flying past and some slightly cluttered transitions. The mix really came into its own when it slowed down and became more languid in the mid-section. Things became smoother, well-paced, nicely flowing. Then the gear shift into more driving, yet still sun-kissed mid-00s prog was handled very well. I like it when a mix builds up a smooth head of steam until it's cruising, and by the time we get to that Redanka remix things are definitely cruising.

The mixing really wasn't bad at all. Some of the early transitions were a bit cluttered, as I said, but later on things became better paced. Unlike the last set of yours I heard, which opened with one extended key clash, here you clearly structured your tracklist around the key mixing. The only transition that sounded a bit wrong was (I think) the one into Tom Glass. I know those two keys are technically compatible, but it's one of those where you're dumping chords in Dmin onto a track in Amin and they don't sit that well. I find when mixing into "adjacent" keys on the circle of fifths it's still better to keep the harmonic meat of the tracks apart, unless you've done a test run and know they sit together nicely.

Anyway, I can see why this took so long to appear. It feels like you put more effort in than anyone else who took part. The effort paid off. Well done mate.

___________________
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 will come back with my reviews. Just have loads to do at job .

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My new oldskool TRANCE mix!