Mixes

I’m sure most people will have noticed this already, but I thought it’s worth drawing attention to what I think is one of the most exciting mix compilation-type things to have been released for an age.

Actually, shame on me – I should have mentioned volume 2 of Crush on Hardcore some time ago, but completely forgot, to be honest. Volume 2 is particularly notable for anyone who actually reads TYFTH regularly (well, that’s me, at least), as it includes two tracks by Buzzmasta, Lenny (quite a favourite of mine) and Shoreline – albeit the Orbit1 remix. Excitingly, I’m downloading the first of the four CDs as we speak, so I’ll give them all a listen before too long.

On to the actual topic in hand, volume 3 – and, well…the focus has obviously shifted towards freeform this time around, with four CDs mixed by Shanty, Invader, Addictive DJs and a timely mix from that man Entity. All four sets look great, but Shanty’s in particular has me salivating embarrassingly every time I look at the tracklist – not only for the remix of Cyrez & Annti S’s Never, but also the use of some old classics among the brand new tunes. It’s something I think DJs should do much more often (I know, I know, I didn’t last time, but it was my intention, honestly), and here Shanty uses perennial set-opener Tigris somewhere in the middle, as well as Cyclone at the end.

The mixes won’t be released until the 24th March, but all four will be free to download. As you’ve probably noticed from the photo up there, a physical version also exists, in very limited numbers. The design has quite a no-frills appeal, I reckon, and although the postage might be fairly hefty from the UK to Japan, I’m more than happy to be supporting this kind of ambitious project. I’ll do a bit of lazy copy/pasting of tracklists next, but click the ‘Read the rest of this entry’ down below, will you? This post is going to swamp the whole site otherwise.

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I couldn’t quite believe my eyes when I saw this last night, but if you hop briefly over to Epyx & Cyrez’s website you’ll find a news piece on NRG Monogatari 2! Cyrez has very kindly recommended it to one and all, and I’m pleasantly flabbergasted that the mix is proving so popular. Once again, thanks a million to him – this will ensure that a good few more people hear the kind of NRG sound that’s coming from Japan at the moment, which can only be a good thing, obviously.

Also, Epyx & Cyrez’s new album (Sleep Paralysis/EECD025) release is nearing completion, with a release date set for sometime in March. Given their pretty prodigious output lately, there’s sure to be a huge number of new tracks, and I’m looking forward to this one very much indeed.

Here’s a new release that I’ve been looking forward to for a while – the next installment of Munetica’s Energetic Trance series. The tracklist is fairly tasty by anyone’s standards, with a raft of Japanese tunes including Munetica and Buzzmasta’s Cross Water and a Nish & Rayieza Blassty remix of Munetica’s Ultimate Seduction. I’m sure you can guess what caught my eye – the original mix (rather than Arkitech’s somehow disturbingly bouncy remix) of Alek Szahala’s Alanamra, but the entire set looks very nice indeed. It’s out on Friday, for 2,200 yen, and – what’s this? – it can even be purchased without a trek to Shibuya’s Guhroovy, if you can navigate the Amazon.jp site, that is.

The tracklist:

  1. StripE – Fighting For Freedom
  2. Munetica & Buzzmasta – Cross Water [Original Mix]
  3. Nish – Listen to Me (StripE remix)
  4. Jason Cortez – No Other Way
  5. Nish & ataRai – This Program is Now Interrupted
  6. kors k – Higher [Schranz Mix]
  7. Kraut Meister – Play it Hard
  8. Dark By Design – Loops N Tings
  9. StripE – meta Dimension
  10. dexterpurpure – Do You Believe In Love
  11. Shohei Matsumoto – Black Angel [Original Mix]
  12. Munetica – Can You Over There [Original Mix]
  13. Nish – I’m Here to Stay [Original Mix]
  14. Munetica – The Ultimate Seduction (Nish & Rayieza Blassty Remix)
  15. Alek Szahala – Alanamra [Original Mix]

Has it really been 6 months since the last one? I’ve spent far too much time sorting out the tracklist for this, but the upside is that I’ve already got a mountain of tunes in the ‘possible’ pile for number 3. The original idea this time was to base the mix around Betwixt & Between’s Surendrajit, but given the variety of other tunes that I was coming across, it wasn’t really possible. Famous last words, but I might attempt that next time.

As for this mix, I eventually decided on a trancy-melodic opening, then a spot of evil in the middle, and a melodic hardcore/drum & bassy finish. Er, and shoehorning Surendrajit in at the end. I’ve been listening to these tunes for so long, I’m not really sure if the progression works or not any more….any opinions, do let me know, eh? It’ll be interesting to see what people think of the inclusion of DJ Entity’s Stargazer, a drum & bass tune with a hint of UK hardcore – it suddenly struck me as something that might sound nice mixed into the hugely unpronounceable Zusammengehorigkeit, and is followed by the breakbeaty Sadness and Sorrow remix. There are plenty of Betwixt tunes again, but this time I was hoping to draw attention to Hase and Zio too, both of whom might be coming out with some new stuff before long.

NRG Monogatari 2

  1. Hase – 法界 (Houkai)
  2. Substanced – Colombia
  3. Betwixt & Between – Skybreak
  4. Zio – Glacial
  5. DJ Rx – Code of Silence
  6. Guld vs Betwixt & Between – Hatral
  7. The Machinist & Rika – Love 2 Death
  8. Epyx & Cyrez – Polar Energy
  9. DJ Rx – Hellfire (Betwixt & Between remix)
  10. Rank 1 – Airwave (Betwixt & Between remix)
  11. Betwixt & Between – Zusammengehorigkeit
  12. DJ Entity feat. Amy – Stargazer
  13. Nightforce – Sadness and Sorrow [I Never Felt This Way] (Epyx & Cyrez remix)
  14. Betwixt & Between – Surendrajit

(Huge thanks for their help to: Cyrez, Betwixt & Between, Substanced, Zio, Guld, Cogi, and The Goat)

Oh dear. After sagely predicting that there would be no news of DJ Yousuke’s next mix compilation until after the upcoming clutch of events, I’ve been proven utterly wrong – it’s very much on the way! Have a rummage through the previous posts and you should find the rather lovely tracklists for the two CDs. So, coming soon, and costing 2500yen, apparently.

Continuing the Full Circle theme, it appears that Nu-Energy’s bouncy-hardcore-meister, Arkitech, will be joining DJ Yousuke, Buzzmasta and Cogi on a tour of sorts. No news of the venues(s?) yet, but it’s looking like sometime in March, from what I can gather.

Twisted Freq’s most recent mix has been downloadable for the last week or so, and it’s a real stormer, featuring a fair few tracks from the upcoming Kreatrix Evilution Vol 3 and Vol 4. Channel[l]er could be the best Micken track I’ve heard in a long while, and The Ghost of Jupiter is a great track (and a great name). The newest remix of Innocence (this time by Nu-Energy’s A.M.S) is very nicely done, and is far enough removed from the original to be listened to on its own terms, if you see what I mean (a problem I sometimes have with remixes). TF’s remix of Epyx & Cyrez’s Unohdetut is also an excellent tune.

Perhaps most interesting are the two inclusions from Betwixt & Between, Phaedra and Surendrajit. It turns out that I’ve heard both tracks before, although Surendrajit went by the name of Garuda back then. Both tracks have been Kreatrixed since I last heard them, and really fit nicely into the typical Twisted Freq atmosphere – while losing some of the Betwixt & Between uniqueness, it must be said. Anyway, Surendrajit in particular is an absolute belter of a track, and quite possibly the best that he’s managed so far (and definitely the most Szahala-like of his tunes). I’m definitely looking forward to the next few Kreatrix releases – with Epyx & Cyrez/Betwixt on board, things are going to be very interesting, for sure.

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これは今年の五月のミックスで、ちょっとダークな感じがあります。Betwixt & Between/Full Circle DJs/Alek Szahala/Lab 4などの曲がかけたから、ぜひ聞いてみて下さい!

Here’s the mix I finished in May of this year – the atmosphere is pretty dark in this one. I’m reasonably pleased with the progression from Re-form’s Sunstroke into RaverRose / ThermalForce synth madness, and it includes new(ish) tracks from the likes of Betwixt & Between, Full Circle DJs, Alek Szahala, and Lab 4 – so I hope it’s worth a listen.

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DJ Yousuke has recently released the tracklist for his upcoming mix CD, ‘Hardcore Baby’s Revenge’. It’s looking very tasty indeed, particularly the first of the two discs, including as it does The Awakening, Halcyon, Holocaust of Death and Pain on Creation’s Religion X, among plenty of other future classics.

Sadly for those of us with a hankering for any kind of freeform/hardcore release (particularly given the once-every-ice age release schedule at Finrg), the CDs have been delayed – but will hopefully see the light of day before the end of the year. No sign of the cover artwork yet, but fingers crossed for something as interestingly incongruous as Quiet Funky System’s sheep-themed effort. The tracklist’s set in stone though, and here it is:

(CD1)
01. New Rave – AC Slater
02. Halcyon – Full Circle DJs
03. Hatral – GULD Vs Betwixt&Between
04. Reign Of Terror – Oli G & Shanty
05. 2000 Miles – Dodgee
06. Alien Sonic – Ephexis
07. Enraptured Soulz (Luna-C Remix) – Invader
08. Danse Macabre – Invader & Shanty
09. Spiral Life – DJ Yousuke & Buzzmasta
10. X-10 – 21st Century Freeform Warriors
11. Time’s Trouble (The Panacea Remix) – Shanty
12. Unleashed – Twisted Freq
13. Holocaust Of Death – Level13
14. The Awakening (East Of Eden Pt.2) – Betwixt & Between
15. Religion X – Pain On Creation

(CD2)
01. Shorline (Orbit 1 Remix) – Buzzmasta
02. Mercury Rising (Reese Remix) – Blakestar
03. Sensory Vision Part 2 – CLSM feat. Ant Johnson
04. Stars Align – Chwhynny & Nu Foundation
05. Fresh Beats – Fracus
06. Intoxicate Me – Ruffage & Chwhynny feat. Ant Johnson
07. See 4 Eva (Cube::Hard Remix) – Petrol Heads feat. Kate, Dee & MC Chit Chat
08. Not Over (Buzzmasta’s “L” Channel Mix) – Joshka-Y!
09. Goodnight Tokyo – DJ Shimamura
10. Takes You Back – Darwin
11. Love Isn’t Easy – Fracus feat. Lisa Abbott
12. Everything’s Fine – Buzzmasta feat. Chwhynny
13. Hold On Tight (Darwin Remix) – Cynix feat. Kelly C
14. Wipe Away (Reese Remix) – The Acolyte feat. Amy
15. Neurotoxin – The Acolyte

これは八月に作ったミックスです。このミックスで、たいていの曲は日本のです。しっかりつなぎを選んだから、すごく長い時間かかりました。ミックスで、大好きな曲がいっぱいあって、特にBetwixt & BetweenのThe Awakening (East of Eden part 2)とHollowとEternal Cannonという有名な曲が入れています。Disturbed Mindという曲もすごくかっこいいと思います。もうすぐ新しいミックスを作りたいと思っていますが、今ちょっと忙しすぎるです。取り敢えず、よかったらこのミックスを聞いてみて下さい。いつか「山手の音」と「Freeform Introduction」というミックスもアップロードするつもりです 。

Here’s the mix that I completed this August – undoubtedly the best I’ve managed so far. The majority of the tunes here are Japanese, and I took a huge amount of time deliberating over which to include. There are a good few of my absolute favourites, like Betwixt & Between’s The Awakening (East of Eden part 2) , Hollow, and RaverRose / ThermalForce’s infamous Eternal Cannon, while Disturbed Mind is an incredible track too.

I’m hoping to come up with another mix before long, but I’m a bit too busy at the moment. Instead, I’m hoping to reupload the not-quite-as-good Yamanote no Oto and Freeform Introduction mixes sometime soon. For the time being, give this one a listen instead!

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