Music Monday - Electronica Classics Recorded In New Orleans

Since yesterday's Katrina Retrospective post deviated from my traditional Set Sunday series, I'm reappropriating this week's Music Monday post with a hand-picked selection of four electronica performances recorded in New Orleans over the past 15 years.

The first two are drum & bass mixes from events I had the pleasure of attending at the State Palace Theatre.  Shy FX performed at "Caffeine Mean Joe Greene" in August of 2001, and Ed Rush & Optical performed at "Zoolu 8" during Mardi Gras 2002.

The final two mixes represent the oldest and newest recordings I have of electronica events in New Orleans.  One is a recording of legendary electronica duo Orbital's performance at the French Quarter House of Blues during November of 1996.  While it's only encoded at 96kbps, the 1.5 hour recording is still quite listenable, and a personal favorite in my collection.  The final mix is a pristine recording at 320kbps from Mark Farina during his performance at the Moloko Lounge last fall.

As the world waxes nostalgic about the Crescent City this week, take these sets as examples of what made New Orleans special for me.

Shy FX - Live at Caffeine Mean Joe Greene, New Orleans 2001-08-04

Ed Rush & Optical - Live at Zoolu 8 New Orleans 2002-02-09

Orbital - Live at House of Blues New Orleans 1996-11-28

Mark Farina - Live at Moloko Lounge New Orleans 2009-09-26 (Right Click, Save As)

JW's Favorite Essential Mixes Of 2009

2009 was my favorite of the decade when it came to excellent music gracing the weekly Essential Mix show. As Pete Tong put it during last weekend's rebroadcast of Sharam's Essential Mix of the Year, 2009 truly was a "vintage year."

Below I've compiled my top 10 list of the mixes I thought were best over the past 12 months. For your listening pleasure, I've also included Megaupload download links. If you weren't able to listen in weekly, here's your chance to catch up on the best-in-class electronica from the past year.

1 - Blame - Essential Mix 2009-02-28
Genre: Drum & Bass
Download

One of the most blinding drum & bass mixes ever to grace this Radio 1 time slot. Even people who don't like drum & bass love this one. I listened to the mix 20+ times this year. Great at volume set to 11.

2 - The Twelves - Essential Mix 2009-12-19
Genre: House
Download

Definitely the most fun mix of the year. Very housey, and lots of remixes of classic tracks you'll undoubtedly recognize. It's like having a party in your head.

3 - Eric Prydz - Essential Mix 2009-08-08
Genre: Progressive House
Download

Ironically, this took place at Radio 1's weekend in Ibiza, which also saw 2008's most aggressive set: John Digweed's hour-long monster at Amnesia. Keeping in theme, Prydz drops big room track after big room track. This is what an Ibiza set should be.

4 - Gui Boratto - Essential Mix 2009-03-27
Genre: Electronica
Download

Mr. Boratto makes some absolutely beautiful music. This two hour offering was heavy on his own production work, and thankfully so. Instant classic.

5 - Tiga - Essential Mix 2009-04-04
Genre: Electroclash
Download

A set that was sometimes confusing, sometimes eclectic, but always brilliant. I preferred this mix to his Ciao! album released around the same time.

6 - Laurent Garnier - Essential Mix 2009-05-23
Genre: Techno
Download

This guy is a legend for a reason. Hour 1 is driving techno, hour 2 is a mish mash of 100 different genres…and pulled off masterfully.

7 - Simon Patterson - Essential Mix 2009-11-21
Genre: Trance
Download

This was perhaps my sleeper hit of the year. I'd never heard any of the gentleman's work prior to this mix, but it proved to be my favorite heads-down working music of 2009. If trance starts moving in this direction, count me in.

8 - Erick Morillo - Essential Mix 2009-07-04
Genre: House
Download

Soulful house for 4th of July weekend. Best played in the warm sun with an icy beverage in hand.

9 - Caspa - Essential Mix 2009-07-11
Genre: Dubstep
Download

This mix hit me at just the right time. I'd seen some great dubstep DJs at Future Fest two weeks prior, and Caspa's mix continued the head bobbing. Love listening to this one in the car.

10 - Felix Da Housecat - Essential Mix 2009-08-22
Genre: House
Download

I actually didn't like this mix the first two times I listened to it. But upon replay, I realized it's a fantastic snapshot of many styles of house. As you'll be reminded throughout the mix, he's got house in his DNA with heritage in the Electronica Holy Trinity of Detroit, Chicago, & London.

JW / Electronica Classics 006: Pendulum's 2005 Essential Mix

It's funny how a certain song or album will hit you at just the right time to make you take notice. In this case, it was a two hour mix set.

I've never been a huge drum & bass fan, aside from a strong preference for most of LTJ Bukem's work.  However, in the fall of 2005, I happened to load this Essential Mix on my iPod before a road trip from Delaware to Alabama and was instantly hooked.

Perhaps the sincerest praise I can give this mix is that it practically kept a smile on my face throughout its entirety.  It's aggressive from the outset and never tapers off.  Some drum & bass mixes strike me as needlessly tedious, but this one comes off with an air of playful darkness.  It doesn't take itself too seriously and just hammers tune after tune without letting you come up to breathe.

The timing seemed right to include this as one of the classics, as these guys will be in Houston next Sunday for a show at the recently-opened House of Blues.  It will be my first time inside the venue.  I'm aware their style has evolved over the past 4 years into a slightly more mainstream sound, but listening to this 2005 mix again still has me pretty excited for the show.

Pendulum - Essential Mix 2005-09-18

Megaupload Link / Rapidshare Link

Pendulum 'Blood Sugar'

Pendulum 'The Program (ft. $pyda)'

Coldcut 'Qenist (Remix)'

Gridlok 'Hard As Fuck'

Muffler 'The Iron Tune'

Chase & Status 'The Druids'

TC ft. Jakes 'Deep'

Pendulum 'Vault VIP'

Tactile 'Posers'

Pendulum 'The Terminal (Essential Mix Version)'

Gridlok 'Fifth Dimension'

Shimon & Andy C 'Nightflight'

Mickey Finn 'Unknown'

Bcee & Lomax 'Can't Say No (Cyantific Remix)'

Billy Corgan 'The Camera Eye'

Baron 'At The Drive In'

Zinc & Jenna G 'Don't Bury'

Pendulum 'Plasticworld (Essential Mix Version)'

Fresh & Pendulum 'Babylon Rising'

Zinc 'Stepping Stones (Friction Remix)'

Future Prophecies 'Control The Beast'

Friction 'Let Loose (TC Remix)'

Hazard 'Use Your Brain'

State Of Mind 'Hold Down (Remix)'

DJ Vapour 'Jazzamatazz'

Noisia 'Brain Stitch'

The Prodigy 'Voodoo People (Pendulum Remix)'

TC 'Robots'

Subfocus 'Citizen Kane'

Pendulum & Freestylers 'Fasten Your Seatbelt (1992 Edit)'

Christian J 'Alter Ego'

Frizz 'Fearless Funk (Enser Noisia Edit)'

Ragga Twins 'Ready For This'

Plump DJ's 'Bullet Train'

Freestylers & Pendulum 'Painkiller'

Roughcut Flex 'Nemesis'

Digital Nation 'Aisle 13'

Hochi & Infiltrata 'Hit 'Em Hard'

Mayhem & Evol Intent 'Broken Sword'

Chase & Status 'Duppy Man VIP'

Shy FX 'Feelings'

Pendulum 'Slam (Before The Tantrum Mix)'

Pendulum 'Slam (Essential Mix Version)'

ShockOne 'The Riddler'

Fresh 'The Immortal'

Pendulum 'Girl In The Fire (Essential Mix Version)'

Sin & Muffler 'Bad Bwoy Sound'

Ed Rush & Optical 'Flute'

DJ Hype 'Look To The Future (TC Remix)'

Psidream 'Cypher'

Unknown Error 'Struggle'

Baron 'Decade'

Pendulum 'Still Grey'

Tactile 'Changing Slowly'

Pendulum 'Hold Your Colour (Essential Mix Version)'