I heard some talk the other day of Alabaster planning another studio mix, so in the meantime why not check out his Cradle to Grave promo set from last year? The tunes are all pretty familiar by now, but it’s always nice to hear a new angle on them. Head to the C2G mix page for the tracklist and download link.
I’m hoping to get a couple of other Japanese mixes posted on here in the not-too-distant future, too…
Betwixt & Between has recently been experimenting with USTREAM, and now I’ve signed up too. After a quick test last night, I managed to stream my audio while mixing, so if anyone happens to be online around 10pm Japanese time (2pm BST) and is the mood for some freeform, take a look at my USTREAM channel and let’s see if it works well or not…
Seems like it’s possible to chat while in there, so feel free to stop in and say hello – if there’s any interest I’ll play a version of my last NRGetic Romancer set and a few other bits and pieces.
edit: It all went really well…not too many problems with the sound from what I could tell, and it was really nice talking to everyone while fumbling through my mixes. Thanks to BerN, Epyx, Jiipez, Labraska, Alchemiist, J-Mx and Decion for dropping into the room, especially at such short notice.
The massive time difference between here and Europe means that this will only be workable at weekends, so I’ll try to do something similar next Saturday (maybe starting an hour or so later). I’ll also be sure to give plenty of notice next time!
Make sure you’re sitting down before you open this link, as seeing this many tracks at once might be too much for a lot of Alek Szahala fans. After all the recent requests for old material, Alek has put together an amazingly comprehensive list of releases from the earliest tracker days to current work-in-progress tunes. I can’t imagine how much time this must have taken – all we can do is thank him for making such an effort.
I’m a big fan of his old Goa style, so I’ve been checking a lot of that out, as well as listening to his older trancy .xm tunes. As you’d expect, there are also some real gems in the freeform section, with tracks like Phobos, Jinnaya and Luna online for the first time, and his truly amazing edit of Vengeance is up there too. Talking of Vengeance, check out Glacier Queen for a lovely jazz lounge version of the piano melody. The one main regret is that Freezing Clouds has been lost, as that was really a special tune…
Congratulations to Alek too for the release of Crystal Thunder on the Spacesynth Revolution compilation. It’s got a really nice MOD feel to it, and from the preview it sounds like there are some other good tunes on the CD.
If you’re in the mood for some Hard NRG, then this mix is definitely worth checking out. I finally gave it a listen the other day, and Kohl’s selection is really good, with older classics like the still amazing Groove Overdrive alongside some rarer (and newer) tracks. The bpm’s a bit slow for me, but picks up towards the end with some nice hardcore/gabber.
Intro
1. Nish – Dying For You (Wragg & Log:One remix)
2. Lab 4 – Groove Overdrive (Turbo Charge 2005)
3. IK – XBass (Yoji Biomehanika Remix / Kohl Short Re-Edit)
4. Lab 4 – Requiem (DJ X Lab4 Heart of Darkness remix)
5. Crypsis – Dust in your eyes
6. Lab 4 – Hellboy
7. Dark by Design – Death Approaching
8. Dark by Design – Candyman
9. Dj Thera – One Year 4 Years
10. The Beholder meets DJ Zany – Euphoria
11. Zany – Overcome
12. Crypsis feat. Dana – Transmission
Labraska-Lite Freeform by Labraska
Seems like almost everybody commented in the Never Forget/Solar Hive post, so you might already have the SoundCloud link for Labraska’s Lite Freeform set. I gave it a full listen on the way back from Yokohama today, and it’s more than worth its own post – we’ve obviously got another up-and-coming DJ here.
You’ll see from the tracklist that it’s a mix of mostly UK and Finnish freeform, and it reminded me quite a bit of some the Full Circle DJ sets we hear at NRGetic Romancer. It’s heavy on the acid and hands-in-the-air breakdowns, with some nice Finnish style at the start and end. Mixing wise it’s very impressive, Utopia>You Are (Not) Alone is a great mix to start things off. Personally I didn’t like Gunfire much, but the idea was obviously to suddenly change up the style, and the progression through the next four or five tracks is really well thought out (ending up with One World and Voices of Babylon’s twisty synths). Finally, massive kudos for the selection of Eternal Cannon>Three Or Three. It’s extremely tricky to find a tune that can follow either version of Eternal Cannon, but TOT is an inspired pick. I’ve heard it here in Tokyo before but didn’t have a clue what it was – always nice to learn something from a set.
I’m not the biggest fan of the UK style, but the tracks here work well together and the mix is never too far from some more nasty acid. Definitely recommended, and another chance to hear a fellow Horser’s (?) taste in freeform.
A slower set this time from Australia’s DJ Fez – it’s actually a re-recording of his FUNERAL set though, and well worth a listen. It starts off with hard trance, but you’ll notice how the tunes get harder towards the end as Fez sets up for ConfigSys PROJECT.
1] Hypernox – To The Moon
2] Lab 4 – Concept of Love (SQ Remix)
3] Manik & Future Resonance – Response (Rob.O.T.T. Remix)
4] Scott Genetik – Higher
5] Hypernox – Desire
6] Steve Hill & Technikal – Can You Dig It?
7] PSR & Scott Genetik – Turn the Heat Up (Jody 6 Remix)
8] Sebastien – Implosive State
9] Hypernox – Shock To The System
10] Hypernox – My Command
11] GULD – Hannya X (Android Lime Remix)
12] Psycho Keaton – Hell Night (Android Lime Remix)
ConfigSys PROJECT has just released an awesome promo video, with dark and moody semi-apocalyptic scenes segueing scarily well into footage from FUNERAL in Nagoya and other events. Playing in the background is one of my favourites from CFS, Pariahs Son.
Fans of ConfigSys should keep watching this space during the next day or two for more good news…
After a bit of a delay, the three mix album TATWCV is now online for free download. Head over to the Crush on Hardcore site for full tracklists and the links. I was lucky enough to get a sneak preview of the FINRG set a while back and there are some lovely tunes on there, as well as a nice contrast of styles between JNKS/Swoosh’s first half and Rx/Carbon Based’s second.
SonofSam – Freeform Mix March ’10 by MedusaForm
Always nice to come across a new set, and here’s a freeform mix from Son of Sam that’s heavy on the twisty synths. The selection is more than fine, but the main reason I’m giving it a shout is for the really well thought-out transition from Matt England’s Psiosis to Carbon Based’s Eye of the War. As well as that, the first half of the set manages the always tricky job of keeping the sound consistent while using tracks from a lot of different artists, and even if it doesn’t quite keep the same standards up in the second half it’s been way too long since we heard tunes like Darkstar and Noitavasara in a mix.
1. Matt England – Psiosis
2. Carbon Based – Eye of the War
3. Grimsoul – Kadotettu Todellisuus
4. Alek Szahala – Voices of Babylon
5. Nightforce – Raindrops
6. Alek Szahala – Darkstar
7. Alek Szahala – Noitavasara
Android lime – Cape town set by Android Lime
Another very good mix for everyone to check out, this time from Android Lime’s recent gig in Cape Town. If you’re into your Hard NRG, this will be perfect, running through a lot of scene classics and Android’s own production. He’s building up a really impressive catalogue now – check out the brand new remix of Sunray, as well as Hannya X. Massive kudos to Android for pushing Japanese tunes too, this time he came up with a great mix from Perfect Drug into Teranoid and Betwixt & Between’s CG25, plus old faithful almegiddo. All in all, a great set – it must have done a fair bit of damage live.
01 – Intro – Android Lime
02 – V for Vengeance – DJ-X (Lab4)
03 – Requiem (heart of darkness remix) – DJ-X (Lab4)
04 – Robot Noize (DJ-X Lab4 rmx) – Android Lime
05 – Sex and Violence (bonkerz) – Android Lime
06 – Neo London – DJ-X (Lab4) & Killa Kouture
07 – Hellnight (Android Lime rmx) – Psycho Keaton
08 – Sunray (Android Lime rmx) – Alek Szahala
09 – Perfect Drug – Lab4
10 – CG25 – Teranoid vs Betwixt & Between
11 – Hellboy – Lab4
12 – Hannya X (Android Lime rmx) – Guld
13 – al megiddo – Thermalforce
14 – The Human Flesh Engine – Alek Szahala