Over the past week or so I listened to every Essential Mix from 1999. At least all the parts I could find. It was brutal at times, but really fun at others.
I ranked them with a few criteria in mind. What sounds good today - what’s aged well - but also what must’ve been a blast in 1999. Mixing matters but not too fussed as long as the mix flows well and some good tracks are played. Those with a higher reputation are judged a bit more harshly. Some of the links posted can be a bit spotty in parts and some might be incomplete.
Instead of parsing out garbage from shit, I grouped them together in general categories to help me organize and to create some sense of cohesion. For example, the Frankie Knuckles mix is probably better than a few of the Oakenfold/Cox efforts, but it just made more sense to group his mix with the other not-great House mixes.
THREE FACTS!
Carl Cox, Pete Tong, and Paul Oakenfold were featured a staggering 31 times (60%).
Basement Jaxx won Essential Mix of the Year which must be a joke.
The End and Twilo had two live mixes each - RIP
Going to post them in separate posts to make any necessary edits (like busted links or formatting issues) easier to manage.
The YouTube clip actually cuts off the last 30 minutes which is the only good thing I have to say about this “essential” mix. Twat.
Favorite 3 Track Mix
The last unheard 30 minutes
VA (Rampling, Tong, Jules) @ Pacha, Ibiza - 8/8/1999
Zero effort put in here. Four hours and a complete disgrace from beginning to end. Sound quality is terrible. Jules is hopeless. Tong and Rampling should know better. Twats.
Favorite 3 Track Mix
Pete Heller - Big Love [Essential]
Michael Moog - That Sound
Lenny Fontana & DJ Shorty - Chocolate Sensation [FFRR]
Judge Jules - 5/12/1999
Plays some decent tracks at the start but the whole thing unravels quickly because he’s a twat.
Favorite 3 Track Mix
Kaltsch - Baby Come On [Psst]
Samuel L Session - Nody - Headz [Cycle]
Novy V Eniac - Pumpin (Timo Maas Remix) [Additive]
Scott Bond - 3/1/1999
“Here comes the rain again.”
“Falling on my head like a memory.”
“Falling on my head like a new emotion”
“I want to walk in the open wind”
“I want to talk like lovers do”
“I want to dive into your ocean”
“Is it raining with you?”
Twat.
Bond also used the Flanger “effect” throughout and called this mix “timeless” on his Soundcloud page. “Pleased to say this mix defined a generation” is an exact quote.
TWAT.
Favorite 3 Track Mix (I could only find 2)
Humate - Love Stimulation [Deviant]
Evolver - ?
Tall Paul - 9/5/1999*
Been a defender of this massive fucking oaf but this is just not good. It’s all over the place, zero flow, and the tracks sound terrible by today’s standards. To call them “dated” is offensive to “time”. Giant twat.
Favorite 3 Track Mix (do I have to?)
Yomanda - Synth & Strings [Manifesto]
Tall Paul - Be There [Duty Free]
Laurent Garnier - Crispy Bacon [F. Comm]
That this abortion beat out Tall Paul really speaks volumes as to how bad his mix really is. In back to back weeks, no less. This first half is okay I guess. The second half is inexcusable.
Favorite 3 Track Mix
Banana Kru - My Name Is Start
Basement Jaxx - Rendez-Vu [XL]
Teddy Douglas & Luis Radio - The Violin [Basement Boys]
Norman Jay - 21/11/1999
Boring handbag house. The only people who liked this stuff are all dead from AIDS.
Favorite 3 Track Mix
3 Fierce Divaz - Sweet Love
TDN - Why [United]
Count Basic vs 7th District Inc - Licence To Kill (7th District Club Mix) [Spray]
Cassius - 31/1/1999
Should’ve fallen out that window before he put this out. It’s just not good. Points for the “This Is Donald Trump” sample at the 33:15 mark and played some good, albeit overplayed, tunes. Still bad in aggregate.
Favorite 3 Track Mix
Mike Delgado - Byrd’s Man Revenge [Henry Street - HS-510]
Boris Dlugosch Presents Booom! - Keep Pushin’ (Disciple Hard Mix) [MAW]
Armand Van Helden - Psychic Bounty Killaz [Armed - DJAH002]
Frankie Knuckles - 5/9/1999
Out of respect I bumped him to the top of a dumpster fire of a House Division. Gotta say this was a right chore to get through. But the end picks up a bit and the mixing is pretty good.
Favorite 3 Track Mix
Innervision - Don’t You Ever Give Up [Acetate]
Pete Heller’s Big Love - Atlanta [Junior / London]
Ralphi Rosario With Linda Clifford - Wanna Give It Up [After Hours]
Favorite 3 Track Mix
Christian Smith & John Selway - Move [Intec - 18]
Mario Piu - Communication (Move Mix) [Incentive - CENT 2]
Trevor Rockliffe - Wildcard [Bush]
Jim Masters & Carl Cox - 28/2/1999
By the time I got to this I’d had it with that fatass. 14 mixes in one year BANG BANG BANG BANG. Sorry, Jim, but you’re collateral damage here - your mix isn’t any good anyway. The worst remix of “Movin’ Through Your System” (Dave Clarke’s) is also somehow played twice. It’s not Timo’s mix of Moby. You pair of berks.
Favorite 3 Track Mix
Christian Smith & John Selway - Boogie Woogie [Rotation]
Jeff Mills - L8 [Purpose Maker]
Lock Jaw - Stikker [Pattern Play #02]
Pete Tong & Seb Fontaine - 24/10/1999
Nary a single song worth remembering. The Peace Division mix of Katcha is fine, but already played to death. Tong’s mixing is as bad as expected with zero cohesion. Seb’s tedium is par for the course. Tong yells, “a brilliant bunch of people in the house!” at one point. Yeah, sure, maybe, except for you two bores.
Favorite 3 Track Mix
Power Dove - Sonic
DJ Remy - Home Again
Paragliders - Lithium
Todd Terry - 18/4/1999
Cor, he makes house and drum and bass? That’s really fasci….*forgets this forgettable mix ever happened.
THE ARE CARL COX & PAUL OAKENFOLD EVEN GOOD? DIVISION
Carl Cox - 10/10/1999
Poorly recorded racket that was, according to Tong, performed on the filming location of “Popeye” which speaks volumes to how terrible this is. I’m shocked that Radio One was like, yeah, cool, this sounds good for our flagship, late night DJ mix show. It’s unlistenable, irrespective of the records played.
Favorite 3 Track Mix
The guy blasting the air horn every 90 seconds? Or maybe the audible fireworks? Honestly, the quality is so beyond poor I cannot believe they ever aired it. An embarrassment.
Paul Oakenfold - 26/9/1999
He plays the fucking Venga Boys, for one. And the Amanda Ghost track is just awful.
“I’m drowning”
“So come inside”
“Welcome to”
“My filthy mind”
When you make the “Gamemaster” lyrics seem reasonable it’s probably time to bin it.
Terrible mix. Recorded in Dave’s backyard of Shanghai so I suppose it’s fitting.
Favorite 3 Track Mix
The Blackmaster - Solid Tube
Christian West - Eterna [Bonzai]
? [Bonzai]
Paul Oakenfold - 31/10/1999
This mix sucks.
Favorite 3 Track Mix (mostly because it’s the end)
L-Vee - Look Inside (Fire & Ice Mix) [Bonzai]
Space Manoeuvres - Stage One (Orkidea Remix) [Hooj]
Christopher Lawrence - Rush Hour [Hook]
Gets off to a good start but becomes like the wave in “Interstellar” where you’re like just crash and burn already.
Favorite 3 Track Mix (more like the, “how could you fuck these three up?”)
Lil’ Louis - French Kiss [FFRR]
Orbital - Chime [London]
Green Velvet - Flash (Danny Tenaglia’s Nitrous Oxide Mix) [F-111 Records]
Carl Cox - 4/7/1999
Inane interviews about the history of House in Chicago, which comes across as trite and unnecessary given I don’t think the DJ of record, no pun intended, plays a single House track - it’s techno front to back. Same Cox (and same tracks) we’ve already heard to death this year. But the set has a good flow to it. Again, poor sound quality.
Favorite 3 Track Mix
Couldn’t do it ‘cause of the incessant talking.
Carl Cox - 22/8/1999
Carl Cox - 15/8/1999
Had a hard time figuring out what mix was what here - recordings seemed to confuse the two - so just gonna bunch them together. They were a week apart. I’m sure the same records were played anyway.
Same as it ever was. I give Cox credit for making boring records sound somewhat interesting through his amazing mixing ability but at the end of the day the records are still boring.
The Rule - I Need Your Love (The Dronez Dub) [Subliminal]
Halo - Mi’casa (Onionz & Master D’s Electric Soul Remix) [Moody]
Trevor Rockliffe - Move That Body [Dark House]
Carl Cox - 27/6/1999
Okay mix that gets docked for poor sound quality (pull it together, Pete). It also made me tired for some reason.
Favorite 3 Track Mix
Christian Smith - The Bush Chant [Tronic]
DJ Dan Needle Damage - That Zipper Track (Needle Dubbage) [Worldwide Ultimatum Breaks]
Crazy Bacon - Crazy Bacon [Bootleg]
That ape (yes, Hugo, I mean Oakenfold) sure loves his cheesedick vocals.
Favorite 3 Track Mix
Antidote - Eclipse (Kamasutra’s Old School Mix) [Glow]
Karen Ramirez - Lies (Tilt’s Trinity Mix) [Manifesto]
Tilt - Invisible (Tilt’s Human Mix) [Hooj Choons]
Carl Cox - 6/6/1999
I don’t really have much to say. Just Carl Cox, again. Again.
Favorite 3 Track Mix
Zero Zero - Paradisco [Lychee Sounds]
Kagami - Hyper Wheels [Frogman]
The Vectif vs. The M. Experience - The Tunnel (The Vectif Remix) [Spectron Records]
Paul Oakenfold - 28/3/1999
Usual stupid vocals and poor mixing here. Maybe if he wore his headphone correctly he wouldn’t have such a problem beatmatching? But, more importantly, there’s not much of a flow here. Some good tracks including some fun breaks so 27 seems fair.
Favorite 3 Track Mix
J Jax - Perfect State
Man With No Name - First Day (Remix) [Perfecto]
Chicane - Red Skies (Remix) [Yeti]
Honestly don’t know what to do with this so gonna stick it right in the middle. It doesn’t fit in with any other mix from the year and I can’t tell if it’s good or not. It just exists (barely, as I couldn’t find a complete recording).
Just too much going on here to evaluate properly. Sasha’s mix is alright. Hamilton’s is a nice surprise. Cox gets TWO(!) sets because we just didn’t quite hear enough from him in 1999. And then there’s the “LOL c’mon, Pete, Dave Pearce could really use a break here - do him a kindness” inclusion. No chance Vasquez had his shirt on.
Favorite 3 Track Mix
Maria Nayler - Angry Skies (Quivver Remix) [Deconstruction]
Saints & Sinners - Pushin Too Hard [Bedrock]
Luzon - The Baguio Track (Bedrock Remix) [Yoshitoshi]
THE CARL COX AND PAUL OAKENFOLD ARE PRETTY GOOD! DIVISION
Paul Oakenfold - 25/4/1999
Somehow missed that WOW mix of Orbital. Damn good tune that would totally work today and, dare I say it, better than the Breeder mix. But as with often with Oakenfold, good first hour, plot lost in the second.
Orbital - Nothing Left (Way Out West Mix) [FFRR]
Underworld - Jumbo (Francois K & Rob Rives Remix) [Junior Boys Own]
Utah Saints - Love Song (12″ Mix) [Echo]
Carl Cox - 11/4/1999
Sound quality is terrible but that’s not Cox’s fault and he really brings it here.The mix into “King Of Snake” is proper head-down-we’re-going-for-it-now dance music.Can’t imagine there was a steady head in the place.
Favorite 3 Track Mix
Underworld - King Of Snake [JBO]
Envoy - Rundown (Funk D’Void Remix) [Soma]
Ben Sims Pres. - The Loops (B2) [Hardgroove]
Paul Oakenfold - 17/1/1999
Again, first hour is okay (sans “Silence” and Jans) but the second hour just doesn’t work very well. It’s too obvious or something. But, still, one of the better Oakenfold solo mixes.
Favorite 3 Track Mix
Slacker - Goddam Noize [Jukebox In The Sky]
Garbage - When I Grow Up (Danny Tenaglia’s Club Mix) [Mushroom]
Stoneproof - Everything’s Not You (Quivver’s Space Mix) [VC]
Paul Oakenfold - 25/7/1999
Strong Oakenfold mix but gets a docking for “Bullet In The Gun” which is just a terrible, terrible song. “Open Your Eyes” really does have a good piano hook. I’ll give it that. Weird that half of Nalin & Kane is now knocking out odd low tempo kraut-electronica under the Die Wilde Jagd moniker. Anyway, enjoyable mix with a strong flow to it.
Nalin & Kane - Open Your Eyes (El Barco Para Es Vedra Mix)
The Auranaut - Yo Yo
Brainchild - Symmetry C (Lange Breakbeat Mix)
VA (Tong, Oakenfold, Jules) - Gatecrasher - 20/6/1999***
Excellent mix here from Oakenfold. Borderline powerprog in parts. Keeps the silly “You hold my heart!” vocals to a minimum. Tong is all over the place but the tracks are good so I’ll give him a pass. A real testament to Oakenfold’s mix that he dragged it into the top 20 given Judge Jules predictably creates his own personal auditory Chernobyl. Y’all bag on Kravitz, but how this numpty made solid coin playing torture trance makes me question everything England.
Favorite 3 Track Mix
Space Manoeuvres - Space Manoeuvres (Tilt’s Apollo 11 Mix) [Hooj Choons]
Ambassador - The Fade (Fade Mix) [Smash Trax - ST002]
Mara - One (Hamel Implant Remix) [Choo Choo - CHCH07]
Sharp Boys - 4/7/1999
Really enjoyable house mix. This is the mix Tall Paul should’ve done. The Morales remix of Pet Shop Boys is nothing short of immense. Would do wonders in a mix today, 21 odd years later.
Favorite 3 Track Mix
Sneaker Pimps - Live Five (Dronez Dub) [Clean Up]
Junior Cartier - Women Beat Their Men
Ron Carrol - Soundz [Afterhours]
VA (Tong, Fontaine, Oakenfold) - 29/8/1999
Sound quality is poor but Oakenfold’s set is very good, Fontaine’s plays the Timo Maas mix of Green Court which, in my opinion, is one of his best tracks and one of his least played. Tong plays Twilo Thunder which just feels wrong but, hey, a great slab of wax is a great slab of wax. All in all, enjoyed it.
Favorite 3 Track Mix
Red Sign - Wonderland
Velvet Girl - Velvet
Miro - By Your Side
Jim Masters - 19/12/1999
REALLY good mix. But you can’t just play “Now! That’s What I Call Detroit Techno!” classics from beginning to end and break into the upper echelon. We’d already heard them all in 1999.
Favorite 3 Track Mix
Knights Of The Jaguar - Jaguar [UR]
69 - Desire [Planet E]
Galaxy To Galaxy - Hi Tech Jazz [UR]
DJ Harvey - 26/12/1999
Like #17, a lot of classics here. But with more variety. Harvey 1. Jim 0.
Favorite 3 Track Mix
Orbital - Chime [Ozone]
Leftfield - Not Forgotten [Outer Rhythm]
Earth People - Reach Up To Mars [Underworld]
VA (Sasha, Tong, Oakenfold) - 30/5/1999*
This would be way lower if it wasn’t for Sasha’s excellent set.Tong plays “The Launch” and “9PM (“till I Come)” back to back which is grounds for a shoeing. Not even “Stage One” can save that disaster.
Solid House mix from The Rapist. Far better than the efforts from Basement Jaxx and Cassius. But if we’re doing filtered house, not close to what came in at #5.
Favorite 3 Track Mix
Junior Sanchez - B With U [R-Senal]
Rick Garcia - Fly Away [After Hours]
Thomas Bangalter - Colossus [Roulé]
Dave Angel - 21/3/1999
Solid tracky tech house. Knows what it is and doesn’t try to be anything but that.
Favorite 3 Track Mix
Johnny Fiasco - Chicago [Palmplemouse Prod]
Ignacio - Re-Humama [Music Man]
Morgan Reno - Respect To Bass
Darren Emerson - 11/7/1999
Wasn’t able to find a complete version so it gets knocked down a few. But based off of the bit I could find and the tracklist, it deserves a high spot.
Favorite 3 Track Mix
Incomplete
Nick Warren - 3/10/1999
I’m sure many of you would rate this higher, but it just felt flat. Like he was playing records that would be made much better in two years time. It’s one thing to be dated, it’s another to just be boring. “Much Betta Man” is also stupid.
Favorite 3 Track Mix
Ashtrax - Helsinki [PMI Dance]
Way Out West - Spike
County & Western - Positive Energy (Deep Cover Mix) [Caged]
Pleasantly surprised by this. Mixing is pretty good once he gets going. Solid variety of house, trance, prog, and techno. Of its time and that’s okay.
Favorite 3 Track Mix
Interzone - Let’s Get It On [Nervous]
Mirror Ball - Given Up [Multiply]
Wildlife - Crystal Rush [UG]
Paul Oakenfold - 28/11/1999
Cheesy woman-wailing-over-top aside, good set here from Oakenfold. I can picture him now - headphones on the wrong way, Jesus pose, pointing at the crowd. Moron. Still, highly enjoyable mix here.
Only DnB mix of the year (Todd Terry’s doesn’t count because I already forgot about it) and it’s a proper roller; just before the genre got too formulaic. People might say it all sounds the same, but so did Dave Angel’s mix so whatever.
One that’s aged really well even if it goes a bit heavy on the vocals. Sounds like who the Martinez Brothers think they are but are not. Sound like Steve Lawler but not four feet tall and less predictable.The 3 track mix (16:00-28:00, or thereabouts) I chose below is absolutely beyond reproach.
Favorite 3 Track Mix
Upsilon - India [Red]
Rob Rivera - Your Body [Sneak Tip]
Adam Beyer - Drumcode [Hybrid]
Layo & Bushwacka! - 19/9/1999
Thought of putting Murk above this, but so many 1999 mixes were all in and full throttle. L&B’s mix is so different from pretty much all other mixes this year. Smokey downtempo, wonky breaks, and an off-kilter vibe. Sounds of its time but also timeless. Excellent mix either way. And one of the few I’ll probably listen to again (I’m never listening to most of these EVER AGAIN after this arduous process).
Favorite 3 Track Mix
Aquarhythms - Ether’s Whisper (Deep Dish Remix) [Aquarhythms]
Pepe Braddock - Burning
me Strong - Tout Est Bleu (François K. Remix) [Airtight]
DJ Dan - 12/12/1999**
Not quite as great as his 1998 effort, but a good variety of solid tunes, mixed really well. Disco house to filtered house to techno to west coast house to breaks. Flows perfectly with some borderline classics from Eddie Amador, King Unique, and H-Foundation.
Favorite 3 Track Mix
Christian Smith & John Selway - Move [In-Tec]
Studio 45 - I Like The Sounds (The Unabomber Disco Tech Mix) [Azuli]
Intexor vs Sinesweeper - Physical [Traction]
Pete Tong & Paul Van Dyk - The Tallery @ Gurnmills - 4/4/1999
Actually pretty decent set from Tong, but it’s all Van Dyk here. He goes full scorched earth with the capital “T” Trance. The tempo is ludicrous and it dips its entire foot in cheese. Don’t care. It’s no-holds-barred relentless and an absolute blast.
Favorite 3 Track Mix
2 Digital - Because Of My Dreams
Paul van Dyk - Tell Me Why (The Riddle)
Floorplay - One More Time [Bitch]
Sasha & Darren Emerson - 14/2/1999***
Crowd noise is usually a complete racket but it works here. Place went bananas and hearing it actually adds to the mix. Sasha’s set, like Van Dyk at #4, really pushes the limits of what’s tolerable by today’s standards…but the energy of it…the nostalgia is palpable. Without a doubt the third most enjoyable mix of the year.
Favorite 3 Track Mix
The Altruistics - For Her [Liquid State]
Technique - Sun Is Shining [Brothers In Rhythm Dub Mix] [Creation]
Jark Prongo - Movin Thru Your System (Slacker Software Remix) [Hooj Choons]
THE ALL TIMER ESSENTIAL MIX DIVISION
Terry Farley & THE Pete Heller - 10/1/1999
So, so good. A classic in the E.Mix series. Really took a tremendous mix to top this.
Favorite 3 Track Mix (entire thing is great)
Little Green Men - Time Changes - [Forensic]
Dr. Gary Henry - Faith (Dennis F Dub) - [Sfere]
Scuba - Untitled [Ovum]
THE BEST ESSENTIAL MIX OF 1999
John Digweed - Live @ Twilo, NYC - 16/5/1999***
Tremendous mix. Not quite a facsimile of the first Bedrock CD but not far off, and pretty damn close to perfect.
Favorite Mix of 1999
Raff N Freddy - Listen [Pschent]
Tiny Trendies - The Sky Is Not Crying [Pink Music]
BPT Feat. DM Binxter - Moody [Kult]
C12 Feat. Jole - Judy [Kult]
Los Diablos Loos - El Locomotion [Oboro]
Science Department - Persuasion [Bedrock]
Morel - True (DD Dub)
Morel - True (DD Vocal)
Jondi & Spesh - We Are Connected [Trip N Spin]
ABA Structure - Illusion [Fungus]
Sasha - Xpander [Deconstruction]
Escape - Cascade Pt 2 [Fluid]
Escape - Cascade Pt 2 [Fluid]
Medway - The Baseline Track
Mark Bell - Revolution (Evolution Mix)
Voyager - Panic
Farley & Heller - The Rising Sun (Digweed & Muir Remix) [Junior]
*DJ Jean “The Launch” is played
**Smith & Selway “Move” is played
***Sasha “Xpander” is played
Give it a couple of listens and this will be way closer to your top ten, it’s like DJ Shadow got into techno/electro/breaks or the like. He’s amazing live too.
Re Van Dyk at Turnmills, was there, Hardy Heller is a great opener and his mix Blank & Jones Cream is stellar. Destructive at the time and still like it every now and then
Parts of it were really tedious. But there were some nostalgic moments. I know this much, if I pick another year, it’ll be something with more variety. The Cox/Oakenfold mixes might’ve featured different actual songs, but from a genre/vibe perspective they were all carbon copies of each other. Those were rough. And then there’s Judge Jules. He’s just a terrible DJ. There’s nothing else that can be said.
