Yes, I’m still listening to mixes from last year! Of course this is simply due to the sheer quality of the best mixes, many of which require a few spins to fully absorb. Don’t worry though, I’m keeping up with new mixes too, and 2011 has already produced some classics. As mentioned in my last post, FACT is quickly becoming best place to discover electronic music on the internet; recent highlights of their bi-weekly mix series include:
- Hercules and Love Affair (classic house)
- Blawan (post-dubstep, acid house)
- Ame (deep house)
- Rockwell (experimental drum and bass)
- Optimo (ambient)
- Pangaea (post-dubstep, techno)
- Hype Williams (dub, Steely Dan)
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| HOLY OTHER |
Holy Other get seriously hypnotic on their Dummy mix, combining trippy house with slowed-down R&B. This style may sound dated in a year or so, but even then I think it’ll be difficult to deny that this has music has real atmosphere, and it will surely never sound familiar… it’s too weird.
As you might expect, Mount Kimbie’s XLR8R mix is focused on bass music. It’s interesting to compare this excellent mix with one of the more recent post-dubstep mixes mentioned above. Since this was made last September, Ramadanman has become one of the most influential producers in the UK, and James Blake has become, like, famous. (Tracklist here.)
Another side of bass music is featured in Girl Unit’s XLR8R mix. In contrast with the heavily-percussive and often glitchy music showcased by Mount Kimbie, Girl Unit focus on the sound that made the Night Slugs 2010 releases so popular: colourful, squelchy synths and 808s, influenced by hip-hop and R&B as much as dubstep. (Tracklist here.)