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This is the pumping' jumpin' set designed with only one thing in mind. Dance! I start things off here with techno tune THE RIGHT MENTALITY (FOUNDERS REMIX) by DJ ROY WILSON. At 146 bpm this is a stomper. It reminds me of a Red Jerry mix and for those of you who do not know what I mean just take my word for it that ROY's mix is just as good!!
I recommend warming up by clapping your hands, letting the beat enter your soul and you will be transported!! This is surely the best opener I could find for this techno & trance themed set, all 3 ˝ minutes of it.

Listen for the upbeat about 2 minutes in when I overlay on the cymbals to bring in JON TYRES: SHOCKWAVE. Again, this is one of those tunes I could imagine being played over in places like Ibiza and it has plenty of lift. It certainly carries the same vibe as THE RIGHT MENTALITY, and the transition between the two is as smooth as silk. SHOCKWAVE is, if you like, classical dance music in the way it builds upon the initial theme, bringing in other threads and beats until imperceptibly, the energy is humming....


Notching up the tempo slightly now to 150 bpm, I introduce the second of ROY WILSON'S tracks called MDMA (REVVED-UP MIX). This time I've opted to use a much lengthier mix timed at nearly 6 mins long. I've created my own 'lull' hear by a quick change from one track to the other using the cross fader. Not exactly what we call a chop-mix, but still, a fairly quick transition between the two. This track has relentless energy, essential for dancing.....

Now as I've said, originally, I was asked to make sure that at least one track got included from each member, and although I did this, tried to go one step further by playing where I could two tunes and in some cases even three. PARADISE DECAY was one of the lucky few who got 3 tunes included, and 90 DEGREES is in my opinion the best of the rest. It was certainly one of the most popular tracks at the Fest!

I have said before that I rarely play records with vocals but when I do, it's because I have  a message to impart. Well, this is THE one. 'I bet I can get you, I bet you I can sweat you!' is the message here and I feel this is what I'm achieving so far! It is so evocative of gigs in the long, hot summer evenings that you can close your eyes and be transported there. It has a seriously smooth and sexy sound and he uses a great vox sample with good use of swishy samples to let the dancers know a something good is around the corner

*** NEW TRACKS TO BE INSERTED HERE ***

MR MYSTERY: PAINLESS comes next and I'm beginning to get set for a drum'n'bass section. I'm certainly laying the ground work for it and over the next couple of tunes, some of the mixing is quite lengthy. It does help when you've got a few long mixes to start off with as this allows you to play around for a while before having to change records. Although I've only used barely 2 minutes of this track a good portion of it is mixed with PEPPY'S: I'VE SLEPT ENOUGH.

This is another track that builds to a crescendo and causes the hairs on my neck to stand up straight. 'Don't cha feel a little soul?' the female vocal goes and I certainly do. We're given the opportunity to chill out for a little while, as it's not long before things are going to build up again for a lengthy 7 ˝ mix which gets us set for some drum 'n' bass as mentioned earlier. The title vocal 'I'VE SLEPT ENOUGH' kicks in, marking this phase and whilst the feeling is one of melodic ambience, it's not long before the feet start moving again. Check out the deep base section 3 minutes in. This had me moving irresistbly! Then 4 minutes passes and you can hear the deep trance like vibe coming in from beneath, gradually raising the temperature some more.

One reason why I used so much of this track was to make sure I got the euphoric lift near the end before mixing in STEVE BRISCOE'S: GOOD LOVE. These two tracks sound perfect for each other. Plenty of energy here that's for sure and as far as I was concerned it was indeed, good enough! Check this out my friends, if it doesn't do anything for ya, nothing will.
Both tracks contain some stringed samples which helps the flow of things and STEVE'S track is mesmerising. Drum 'n' Bass is definitely the theme now!

By the time we get to BOSS HOG'S: LATER, we are in drum 'n' bass chill out zone. Since I'm privy to know what's in store for you later, I can afford to keep some anticipation going for even better things to come. Not that you can get much better than this track. We are still riding with a moderate 150 bpm. Well moderate for Drum 'n' Bass anyway since most D & B is around the 160 mark!
Again, some of the tracks within this set get a long play and this one is no exception either at around 5 min 20 secs. It's another of those quiet before the storm tracks and a definite build-up for what lies ahead.

Next in line comes DJ AM's offering, called TROPICA. The actual fusion between these two tracks takes 1 ˝ minutes. This is the beginning of the storm, as one begins to fade out into the other and end's the Drum & Bass section in favour of some more stringed electronica. Notched up a little to 152 bpm, this sure does sound much faster. The rhythm section is flowing and you can easily pick up on one or two commonly used samples.

JIGSAW'S: THE OTHER PATH TO BEATDOM strides in, taking over where DJ AM left off but with a slight change in tempo. Although I've kept most of this set at the same 150 bpm, this plays or at least sounds slightly slower, but I guess that's because there's plenty of kick drum in the background. JIGSAW uses some nice electro guitar samples that gives this tune and ambience of it's own.
This is what I call a 'filler' track It was one of those tunes that I had difficulty pairing, but was the perfect bridge to bring in a little more Drum 'n' Bass in the form of THE DELIVERY SYSTEM'S: BITTER HERBS.

It also gave me the chance to raise the tempo for the first time in this set to 165 bpm which may sound a little extreme but was necessary for the inclusion of the next track and subsequent 'finale' to the remainder of this set.

*** COMPILATION SET 4 STARTS HERE ***

The fusion between these two tracks proved a little difficult and tricky. Not because of the actual tracks themselves but because of the style of the mix. I've already mentioned the 'chop' mix earlier. This is where you literally kill one one tune and start the other. No mixing required, but timing essential!. Since I was going to start off BITTER HERBS by using his drum section things had to be pretty sharp. For one thing here, I was reliant on the ability of my CD equipment. I needed it to start immediately - as soon as I hit the play button. A lot of the time this is no problem, but on occasion you hit the play button and there's a split second pause before the tune kicks in. Many times after I had constructed the sets and was attempting to lay them to Mini Disk, this problem occurred which was really frustrating as it meant I had to start all over again. Not much fun when your halfway through! This is again, another reason why these sets had to be scripted. Since we are dealing with split second timing, reliant for the most part on the capabilities of the equipment, this was essential! Anyway, I got there in the end and if you listen closely, you'll pick up this split second delay.

BITTER HERBS concludes THE DELIVERY SYSTEMS 'Songs from the Ice Age' ep and is one cool uplifting track, using a mixture of male vocals and dark as well as uplifting samples. In fact, this toon is essentially two songs in one. It's a fusion of the original 'BITTER BERBS and the excellent 'Midnight Fantasy' by Scott Jones. 'HERBS' (in it's original form) contains no Ejay samples at all and is completely composed by THE DELIVERY SYSTEM, using his own instruments and editing software. There is a combination of some nice atmospheric effects created by the spheres and some  voices in the back which help create a meditative atmosphere. Along with some nice breaks and peaks, which are timed well, this helped me get one of my own tracks PUMPING EETHA (UVE REMIX) in.

Now a few have asked who EETHA is and I can only confess I do not remember! You know what sort of reputation us DJ's have for women and I do have a short memory sometimes!
Since EETHA is more hard house than anything, THE DELIVERY SYSTEMS tune did it great justice. Again, I only used half the track. Part of me was saying, don't include any of my work, since I was here to highlight your work, but hey, what the hell. To date this was my best tune so why not play a couple of minutes of it. Let the beat kick indeed!!
The 'mush' bass at the beginning works very well with solid and vibrantly panned stereo FX and spheres thoughout, and this is designed to not only keep your body groovin', but keep your ears tuned in the hope of lifting your soul! I've used a rolling bassline and a distorted type of synth sample which then leads me nicely to the following track INNATE by JAT UK.

This was another track where split precision was required. Firstly, the original tempo's were different. Secondly, for the last 6 minutes I had only been using a couple of minutes worth of each track, so speed was of the essence. When you think, you've got to cue things up to the millisecond, sometimes you are in danger of missing your cue. When that happens (as it did on a few occasions) your buggered. Unless there's another opening along the way, the mix is just gonna either sound messy or just pretty awful.

INNATE had to be slowed down considerably in order for it to fit and if you listen carefully to where EETHA finishes with the sample 'break down' you'll notice that although I've brought the tempo in line, it's still pumping along nicely at 168 bpm. I was sweating just listening to it!
Never fear though, because knowing that you'll also probably be sweating now, decided to insert at this point a little more chill out. The grand finale is just around the corner now and the last track from PEPPY called 5/6 enters the array. Back to a housey feel with this one, and it's again, hands in the air time!
It starts with a nice trickle of pianos and some male & female vocal samples, and before long this track is kicking ass! Some subtle strings in the background serve to keep things bubbling. Also, it's given me a rest, as it's one of those tunes where there's no mixing required. Well, not for 4 ˝ minutes anyway! This has kinda taken us back to the same point at the beginning of this set, as house is once again the main theme but more rave orientated in nature.

AFD'S: DON'T STOP is another of those 'messages in a bottle' trax. Don't stop the music indeed and since we've had a little stop & start motion courtesy of PEPPY, now it's time for that finale! With once more, some very nice use of pianos, some cool bongos and that same sexy female vocalist in the background, this again is a storming dance tune. It's vary much speeded up for the demo as I wanted to cram in as much as I could.

Interestingly enough, although it was pretty evident and expected that some of these tunes would contain the same samples, there were only two that were pretty much identical. DON'T STOP & CLUBBER UK's: RE-EMERGENCE are remixes of the same tune I reckon and gave me a good chance to mix 'em up. RE-EMERGENCE is much more techno influenced almost bordering on the acid trance level, with it's underlying acid beatz, and was perfect for the build up I had set out to achieve.

Crescendo time then with the last two tracks and now comes SLIPPY T'S: THE SHARP END (BLOOD MIX). Back down to 156 bpm, here we have 3 minutes of mesmerising techno trance and another chance to get some real mixing done. It starts nicely, the opening is a nice synth and the main hook is an unusual construct of a long, repeating acid bass. A nice layer of synthwork weaves itself into the mix and carries the whole thing along with a spring in its step. Between this track and the final track by CONKUSS called GRADIENT: CHROME which is a remix of a SEAN X original, this is one hell of a finale even if I do say so myself!
I just love the way these two blended so well with each other and I believe that even listening to it now as I write these lines, that you will not get any bigger buzz than this. Well, not for now anyway.

Now I did say somewhere that I like to keep the best to last, and it was suprising how I managed to keep patient for so long. I wanted to play this ages ago, several times but am glad I did'nt. This is the best and the biggest finalé I could work and I believe the wait is well worth it.
I've implemented quite a few tempo changes here to support those that CK's implanted himself anyway. This indeed is the finale of all finales and is designed to leave you wanting more!



So, what is the next project? Well, seems some have you have paired up and asked if I will mix your work on a smaller scale, which I will be happy to have a go at!

Watch this space....

MuzikAL

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