I am sitting in my home office, the winter sun warm through my window, gazing out on my yard and the neighborhood beyond. As lovely a scene as this is, I am not here to talk about Eastern Pa, but rather the soundtrack that is hissing and bubbling behind this 2023 afternoon - aye, I am here to talk about a Dj.
Grant McKay is no stranger to the world of mixed tapes. Coming up in the highly competitive London market, Grant has played such stages as his mate’s wedding, his other mate’s wedding, and his home studio (when the missus is out) without balking. His comfort between the ones and twos oozes through the speakers on this hour and ½ epic as he dances through his cache of warm melodic goodies. Poetic musings of the under privileged masses starts the ignition of our luxury prog yacht as we set sale for what will surely be a lift affirming cruise across a sea of rich baselines, soaring strings, cooing vocals, and muted 303s. As I listen to lyrics of days gone by and loves unrequited, backdropping this melodious novella, one thing becomes clear; at his core, our Grant is a romantic. Yet he doesn’t allow the ghosts of yesterday to linger over long before the rumbling sound of jet-boosters kick in as DAVI’s Mirage takes center stage. Suddenly my office has vanished, and I find myself aboard a space craft about to descend onto the surface of Pandora to live amongst the strange and beautiful Na’vi. Sadly, before I know it 20 minutes has melted away, like the waxy layer off of a fresh apple, and I find myself safely back at home as techno maestro Patrice Baumel leaves me wrapped in the warm embrace of an old friend who has come to spend the weekend after many years hiatus. I smile and wave goodbye.
In today’s market, mixed tapes are a dime a dozen. One becomes too used to playing and discarding mixes, at a pace that would rival Rhouses ransacking a fresh delivery of cheeky nandos, that we almost forget the magic of buying the latest prog mix at the local shop – until a mix like this comes along. For me, I will always look back on Jan,2,2023 the bank holiday in lieu of NYD with a fond smile; this was a day I know I truly lived. I wholeheartedly endorse this mix and rate it 9/10…
Although the mix out of the Quivver chewn nearly ruined the whole thing.
