Midweek Mixes (22/12/21)
A run-down of some of the mixes and radio shows that have been soundtracking my existence – from the box-fresh to the tried-and-tested – all guaranteed to brighten up your week.
After a one-off show earlier this year (read about it here) I’m now back on EOS Radio for a residency, every two months for the next half a year. Last week’s show was an ode to all things wintry, as the tracklist below demonstrates:
Jordan Fields - I Put A Chill On You [SSR, 1997]
Daniel Herskedal - Snowfall [Edition, 2015]
Tribes Of Krom - Out Of Sunshine [Urban Sound Of Amsterdam, 1997]
01Cerulean - Icy [Intellitronic Bubble, 2020]
Duran Duran - Winter Marches On [EMI, 1986]
Yaz - Winter Kills [Mute, 1982]
16B - Too Cold [Alola, 1997]
Sterac - Darkness [100% Pure, 1995]
The Memory Foundation - While The Light Stays [Mosaic, 1999]
LFO - Freeze [Warp, 1991]
Super Collider - Darn (Cold Way O' Lovin') [Loaded, 1998]
Steve "Silk" Hurley feat. Jamie Principle - Cold World [Atlantic, 1989]
Danielle Dax - Cold Sweat [Awesome, 1989]
East Wall - Ice Of Fire [Elettrica Dischi, 1991]
Brian Eno - Drift [Virgin, 1983]
Jennifer Rush - Ring Of Ice [CBS, 1985]
The first part is a sort of collage of records and CDs old and new, then there’s a mixed section featuring some suitably chilly breaks, bleep and acid house, before Jennifer Rush sings us home with words that pretty much sum up my solo Covid Christmas this year:
I walk alone searching for a sign
Someone else must be alive
With warmth behind their eyesRing of ice, ring of ice, round your heart
Ring of ice, ring of ice, break apart
I hope you enjoy the show - the next one will be in February, which if previous years are anything to go by will be even icier than December. Can’t wait.
Joe - Junction 2 Mix Series 023
The other, better, Joe has been on my mind recently because two of his tunes - ‘Claptrap’ and ‘Get Centred’ - feature in the soundtrack for the contemporary dance performance Dança Sem Vergonha by David Marques, which we performed again a few weeks ago in Bilbao. The same magpie delight in rhythm and timbre that can be heard in all of his productions comes through just as strongly in his DJing - if not more so, as he takes the opportunity to stretch out across genres, geographies and tempos.
This kaleidoscopic mix for Junction 2 is full of moments illustrating this, all manner of drums and sound effects pinwheeling off each other as the BPM creeps up dramatically yet almost imperceptibly. There are many tracks that sound like Joe even though they’re not him, and then there are others that don’t sound like him but sound like they are ‘his’ somehow.
Highlights - other than the general imposing craft of it all - include a Belgian europop version of ‘Beats Of Love’ and, best of all, that pumping mix about 27 minutes in, when some current Dominican reggaeton suddenly switches into the fat bassline of a Mark Imperial classic (in its Spanish remix, of course). Pure joy.