We’re indebted to Alderz again for this awesome find – 50 minutes of madness from a youthful Proteus and Lab 4 at FreckShow in Australia. While the Lab 4 second half definitely won’t disappoint, it’s fantastic to see Proteus in full flow (complete with dreads), building up a set of NRG before dropping the early FINRG/Proteus anthems.
Finnish
The biggest news this week has to be the free release of two Nomic tracks, hopefully marking the master’s return to action after Suicide Machine. Most will know that Chaos Maker has been a favourite of mine for years, and while an incredibly useful addition to a set is also a superb standalone track. Rift is newer (and might even be remastered here), featuring some of those wonderful, emotional sequences you’ll only find in Nomic’s productions.
Limited downloads here, so make sure to get over to Nomic’s own SoundCloud asap.
I’ve now had a chance to listen to both sets from last weekend’s SC podcast, and it’s a big recommend for anyone else who missed the live event. Wyrm’s set in particular is a fantastic hour that sets a new standard of mixing modern freeform with dark psy, obviously really well-considered with a nice consistent theme all the way through. This is helped by a couple of amazing Qygen tracks – 60Hz Power Rave has to be one of the most impressive tracks so far this year. As always, it’s hard to combine harder freeform with psy, but Wyrm does a fine job, and the trippy breakbeat of Funkin’ Jungle is a lovely selection.
Horzi’s set is more conventional, but maybe that’s no bad thing after the experimental sounds of Wyrm. Heavy on the brand-new FINRG releases, there’s also an interesting choice of the two Elementz Records releases towards the end, as well as a pitched up Fist of the North Star.
A great show then – wander along to the Smiling Corpse site for tracklists and download links.
Another release from Alek Szahala here – now we’re moving back up through the bpms with Commanche, a trance track that a few of us heard at 10 years of FINRG last year. Reminiscent of some of the Forgotten Tracks set, this is another of those relatively short, beautiful tunes that Alek does so well.
Just in time to quickly mention tonight’s (GMT) Smiling Corpse show, featuring Horzi alongside this edition’s host, Wyrm. Once again I probably won’t be able to make the live broadcast – those who can should head along to Krafty Radio for what’ll surely be an excellent couple of hours.
Epyx & Cyrez fans are having a right old week, finishing in fine style with the long-awaited release of All of Us. A very versatile tune, it’s been a fixture in Guld’s sets (and mine, come to think of it) for almost a couple of years, working nicely with freeform or NRG. This is one of those Facebook-related promotions though, so follow this link to the E&C page to get access to the tune.
Watchtower has just announced that Two Against the Void, Epyx & Cyrez’s new artist album, will be with us next month. The previews are already online and the mix of melodies and harder tunes is looking excellent, along with remixes from Endemic, Tyranoid & Strongstream and Pain on Creation & Substanced.
Congrats to Watchtower and E&C for what’s sure to be a blinding release – head over to the Watchtower site now to place a preorder.
The Top 3 Tracks post will be coming soon – it’s already a good one, but just waiting for responses from one or two more DJs. In the meantime then, here are my picks for the Top 3 mixes of 2012. There were plenty of excellent efforts last year, but the three here do an especially great job of creating their own atmosphere, finding exciting connections that add to the set, or pushing the sound that TYFTH was set up to promote (or sometimes all of the above). If you would have chosen differently (including any nice sets that didn’t appear on TYFTH, of course) feel free to give them a shout in the comments below.
First of all we have Pearsall’s stupendous tribute to FINRG, mixed to tie in with the 10th anniversary.
Next is really two mixes in one – the Freeformaniacs session between BEEZEE and Alderz.
Finally, I’ve gone for Tyranoid’s Elder Signs, a wonderful hour of darker music that pips the competition to third spot with some brilliant connections (mainly the 2023 – Engel combination that I’m still in love with).
Honourable mentions: Wyrm, Dyzphazia, Alchemiist, AT, Cuedy
For those who weren’t aware until now, there’s one heck of a freeform release on the way from one of the founders of the sound, Electronica Exposed. Following on from the excellent Freeform Exposed, this second edition will have two Shanty-mixed sets and 37 (!) unmixed tunes spread over 3 parts, set for release in February, March and April. No sign of tracklists just yet, but check out the release page for a very promising list of artists and a schedule for the promo clips (starting with the great Finfish remix).
Thanks to DJ Yediah I saw this incredible video for the first time this morning and couldn’t resist posting it up. Filmed at a massive-looking event in Moscow way back in 2010, this is classic Proteus and yet another lesson in feeling the music during a DJ performance.