Most Enduring Commercial Mix Comps
depends on your definition of “enduring” I guess, which I understand to be “lasting over a period of time, durable”
I chose those mixes that I could go to time and time again and they still hit the spot as if they were fresh….I think I did well.
If we go back to your list then the Nick Warren mix is horribly dated and the mixing is terrible, it’s certainly not enduring but an OK mix at the time. The Dave Seaman mix from the series flowed better IMO
The coldcut mix whilst outstanding from a technical perspective isn’t particularly easy listening and is too much mismatch of styles and genres. I prefer the FSOL mixes from back in the day.
I suggest your critique has lost the intended spirit of your original post.
I thought the lack of prog mixes in Zackster’s top 5 was an absolute outrage if I’m being honest.
303abuser yeah and any professional that thinks that’s acceptable needs to give their head a shake. nick warren’s first few gu’s were mixed live too (with mixed quality) and were way ahead of this garbage
Whilst I am a big fan of Nick Warren, it’s not right to compare his early mixes with New York. That mix is an absolute masterpiece and is the perfect time capsule of Oakley at his absolute finest. Say what you want about his technical ability and how he went off the rails from 2001, that set along with the 1999 essential mix world tour was a man at the peak of his powers and no one was near him at that moment, not even Sasha and Diggers.
Matty argue oakey’s cultural/musical influences and how much you enjoy them and enjoy looking back at the time and place. that’s all perfectly reasonable. there are tons of old mixes that aren’t very good from a technical standpoint that i still love.
in the context of “enduring” though, 007 is a shit show of mixing and programming and doesn’t belong in the conversation. my first demo cd that i did after dj’ing for about a year is leaps and bounds above the quality of this mix (not saying it’s anywhere near as good or anything, just comparing technicals). i re-recorded it 3 times because of mixes i didn’t like and those were probably better than the best mix between any two records on this comp. from that perspective it’s awful, there’s no defending it.
cant say I agree, I love the big prog sound with loads of melody and highs and lows.
I don’t think he’s transitioned well onto the mix comp CD for some reason except for the Renaissance Masters Series 17 which was superb.
Over the past few years though including his sets from Forja and the absolutely stunning set with Nick Warren at ADE he’s been the only DJ I get genuinely exciting to hear.
303abuser in the context of “enduring” though, 007 is a shit show of mixing and programming and doesn’t belong in the conversation. my first demo cd that i did after dj’ing for about a year is leaps and bounds above the quality of this mix (not saying it’s anywhere near as good or anything, just comparing technicals). i re-recorded it 3 times because of mixes i didn’t like and those were probably better than the best mix between any two records on this comp. from that perspective it’s awful, there’s no defending it.
Were you there back in the day when it came
out or have you found it since. Excuse the question it’s just not easy to understand people’s age - background.
To your point when it came out it was just light years ahead of anything else at the time and seemed to carry its own magic in the same way Sasha San Fransisco did as if Sasha had returned from the wilderness. I think it’s that feeling for me that makes it so enduring as it takes me back to that moment, I imagine the same way it does for other appreciators.
There are a few mixes that have done that - I.e the other 9 mixes on my list.
I can’t comment on your own mixes having never heard them, but it you send me a link I’ll give you a whirl and let you know my thoughts.
I haven’t heard Digweed’s Choices for ages - just popped it on the CD player and it’s sounds mint as ever.
Matty i probably heard it the first time around 99ish (i’m sure i listened to it a dozen times then) and thought it was trash then (good records in places, but i just can’t enjoy good records mixed poorly). based on this thread, i went back to give it another shot, and it actually sounded worse than i remembered.
the magic you’re talking about is time and place though, not an objective look at the mix. like i said, enjoy it, but calling something that’s this badly mixed and programmed “enduring” just doesn’t make sense to me. maybe i’m in the minority on that one, i don’t know.
haha if i can dig up a cd from 20 years ago and upload it, i’ll let you know.
alistair As a far as me being a project reviewer goes, I am taking all of your (the board’s) work on a case by case basis. Using Matty as an example, I selected Tom Middleton’s Sound of The Cosmos as an instance of his having made a correct selection: I think it’s important to focus on the positive. Listing every single Sasha and Digweed mix is adorable in a “look dad I made dinner” which turns out to be pasta and chocolate sauce kinda way, but it doesn’t really work as an acceptable list. I hate to spoon feed everyone the guidelines, but I think it’s safe to say that submitting a 70 minute mix of tracks that doesn’t include a single 909 snare is probably a bad idea.
If you would like me to review your selections, I gladly will, but IDK how much insight I can offer, as I have not heard either. I think it’s safe to assume that they are both still relevant as they only a few years old. However, I would note that that is a rather safe maneuver, and yields a low score in the creativity category.
303abuser the magic you’re talking about is time and place though, not an objective look at the mix. like i said, enjoy it, but calling something that’s this badly mixed and programmed “enduring” just doesn’t make sense to me. maybe i’m in the minority on that one, i don’t know.
Comes back to your definition of enduring and the nature of why people listen to and enjoy (or don’t) music. I agree that the mixing is a little dodgy in places and I don’t like the first track on CD2, that aside that mix always takes me back to 1998 and hearing it for the first time and the numerous post club listens into the early hours, it holds such special memories for me and the moments it creates, much akin to how music “endures” for many other people.
I’ll take you up on your CD offer - especially now you’ve bigged yourself up. ;-)
zackster I realized that this term was problematic early on, and would have happily changed if if the board’s functionality allowed for that to happen. I thought you could, but was unable to do so.
What would you change it to ?
I might change my list and offer you some more of my earthly wisdoms.
A lot of Weatherall’s commercially released mixes still sound like they’re from the future. Live @ The Social. Hypercity. Fabric 019. From The Bunker. Masterpiece.