Solarstone. Pure Trance. 💫

Solarstone. Pure Trance. 💫

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Lasers. Disco Ball. 🎉

Lasers. Disco Ball. 🎉

A video posted by Juston Western (@justonwestern) on Jan 6, 2017 at 7:49pm PST

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Classic Progressive House, Trance & Jazz Albums I Scored At Record Stores In Seattle

Classic Progressive House, Trance & Jazz Albums I Scored At Record Stores In Seattle

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Tunes To Read By

Tunes To Read By

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JW / Electronica Classics 033: All 12 Sets of Oakenfold's 1999 Essential Mix World Tour

Regrettably my weekly updates to the Electronica Classics series took a hiatus in November & December, but I'm hopeful this music-packed post can make amends.

While I showcased one of these mixes in September, Oakenfold's entire body of work from that tour a decade ago is really quite remarkable. Clocking in at nearly 22 hours of audio, you truly get a sense of where electronic music was at the time, and why Mr. Oakenfold rose to the status of most popular DJ in the world.

I encourage you to download each of these and then listen to them back-t0-back over the course of a few days. While you'll hear a few songs repeated over the course of the 12 mixes, the majority of the tracks stay surprisingly diverse. It's also interesting to see how Oakenfold tailored his track selection to each locale, especially the performances in Miami & Buenos Aires.

As we begin a new decade, enjoy these selections reminiscent of how we rang in the last.

Paul Oakenfold - Live at Home, Sydney, Australia 1999-01-17
Paul Oakenfold - Live at Jonis, Havana, Cuba 1999-02-21
Paul Oakenfold - Live at Shadow Lounge, Miami, FL 1999-03-28
Paul Oakenfold - Live at Museum, Buenos Aires, Argentina 1999-04-25
Paul Oakenfold - Live at Homelands, Winchester, UK 1999-05-30
Paul Oakenfold - Live at Gatecrasher, Leeds, UK 1999-06-20
Paul Oakenfold - Live at Home, Space, Ibiza 1999-07-25
Paul Oakenfold - Live at Creamfields, Liverpool 1999-08-29
Paul Oakenfold - Live at Rojam, Shanghai, China 1999-09-26
Paul Oakenfold - Live at Home, Leicester Square, London 1999-10-31
Paul Oakenfold - Live at Liverpool University, Liverpool, UK 1999-11-28
Paul Oakenfold - Live at Home, London 1999-12-31

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 027: Paul Oakenfold Live in Shanghai 1999

This week's selection was an old standby whenever I needed to put in a few solid hours of studying at college. Recorded in late 1999 in Shanghai, China, it was part of the Essential Mix World Tour 12 part series that Paul Oakenfold anchored that year.

There are several tracks to love in this two hour mix, although track 3, "Symphonic Music", was always the one that kept me coming back to this MP3 over the years. The performance as a whole still stands as perhaps my favorite Oakenfold recording, in close competition with his Global Underground 002 New York compilation.

For those of you disenchanted with his current musical direction, or curious as to why he gained such international stardom, this mix is an excellent example of why he's assured his place in electronic music history.

Paul Oakenfold - Essential Mix Live from Rojam Shanghai, China 1999-09-26

Megaupload Link / Rapidshare Link

01. TasteXperience - Highlander (Original Mix)

02. Everything But The Girl - Five Fathoms (Club 69 Future Club Mix)

03. Team Progress - Symphonic Music (Sunrise Mix)

04. Vengaboys - Paradise (Album Mix)

05. Desyfer - 831 (Original Mix)

06. Eve - Riser (Christian West Remix)

07. The Blackmaster - Solid Tube

08. Amanda Ghost - Filthy Mind (Boy George & Kinky Roland's Trancesexual Mix)

09. ID (Sample)

10. Moogwai - Viola (Original Mix)

11. Space Manoeuvres - Stage One (Orkidea Remix)

12. Mobile Bitch - Sex For Pleasure

13. Planet Perfecto - Bullet In The Gun (Saturday Mix)

14. Skip Raiders - Another Day (Perfecto Trance Mix)

15. Amoeba Assassin - Speedway Revisited

16. Georgio Moroder - The Chase (Perfecto Remix)

JW / Electronica Classics 026: Ferry Corsten Live at Partynight 2000

This week's selection was the mix that made me a fan of Ferry Corsten. When I originally found it on Napster back in late 2000, it was labeled simply "Ferry Corsten - The Partynight Mix". That's how I've referred to it for the past nine years.

While trying to nail down a track listing (which Shazam + Google is awesome for, by the way), I discovered that this particular mix was broadcast on three different occasions in early 2000, and therefore goes by several names.

For those of you keeping score at home, this "Partynight Mix" is alternatively known as "Ferry Corsten - Live on Radio 1's Judge Jules Show 2000-01-14", "Ferry Corsten - Live at 538 Dance Department 2000-01-20", or "Ferry Corsten - Live at 538 Partynight 2000-02-05". Obviously my version was the last in that series, although the track list is consistent across each.

While I tend to post many recordings from BBC Radio 1's various broadcasts, this one is from the largest radio station in The Netherlands, Radio 538. If you see any live sets with names like "Live at Dance Department" or "Live at Partynight" from earlier in this decade, it was almost surely from this trance-friendly station in a trance-friendly country.

The picture above is from Ferry Corsten's first appearance in New Orleans on October 5, 2001, at Club 735 on Bourbon Street. I remember listening to this mix on the way to the club that evening, and then dancing more to his live performance that night than I have to any trance set since. Truly one of those Great Moments in Clubbing History (TM).

Ferry Corsten - Live at 538 Partynight 2000-02-05

Megaupload Link / Rapidshare Link

01 - Generation X - Lost Horizon

02 - Der Dritte Raum - Hale-Bopp (Jackdaw Mix)

03 - Saints & Sinners - Pushing Too Hard

04 - Zero Gravity - A New Sensorium (HH's Ohral Dub Mix)

05 - CFC - Rest In Hell (Timo Maas Remix)

06 - Da Hool - Wankers On Duty Duty (Hands Up-Wankers Mix)

07 - Transa - Transtar

08 - Insigma - Insigma

09 - Paul van Dyk - Another Way (Main Club Mix)

10 - Evolution - Phoenix (Breeder Remix)

11 - Nick K. - Fluctuation (Ferry Corsten Remix)

JW / Electronica Classics 024: Sasha & Digweed Live in Atlanta During 1996 Olympics

This week's selection is the kind that makes you wish you could've witnessed such an evening of music in person. It's a 3 hour monster from two musical legends right at the inflection point towards international prominence for both the artists and a city. And it might be one of the best Sasha & John Digweed performances I've ever heard.

I luckily ran across this set on the Mercury Server forum last month, and it's been a mainstay in my daily music routine ever since. For those of you who may have cut your teeth on their Northern Exposure Series of albums in the late 90's, this set will feel like a familiar friend.

At the time it was recorded in Atlanta, the city was in the final week of the Centennial Olympic games. I'd visited about 5 weeks earlier to watch a Braves vs Giants game at the now-demolished Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. I recall seeing the Michael Johnson Nike ads on the sides of city buses and just perceiving a general electricity in the city as it was about to become the focal point of the world. While this show wasn't directly affiliated with the Olympics (like Tiesto's performance at the 2004 Opening Ceremonies in Athens), I feel the timing is still notable.

What really strikes me about this thirteen year old Sasha & John Digweed set is just how fresh the music sounds even today. 1996 and my memories of the Atlanta Olympic Games seem like a distant time in the past. But 1996 in the context of this performance still seems relatively modern. Probably more of a cognitive disconnect on my part, but it's stuck with me and makes this set all the more personally special.

Sasha & John Digweed - Live in Atlanta Northern Exposure Tour 1996-08-02
Megaupload Link

01. Sasha - Arkham Asylum
02. ID 12
03. Apollo 440 - Krupa (Alcatraz Within The Joint Remix)
04. ID 26
05. ID Nootropic - Cant Stop
06. ID 38 The Music
07. ID 46
08. ID 50
09. ID 54
10. ID 60 Sounds Like A POB Or Origin Track Also On Simon's Set
11. Konya - Come On
12. ID 77 Male Chanting
13. SNS - You Do Me Wrong (Violator Mix)
14. Third Man - Solar Cycle
15. The Light - Panfried (Original / Mind Over Matter Mixes)
16. Third Man - Planet Hunters
17. Universal State of Mind - All Because Of You (Mindsweeper Mix)
18. Pop In Wonderland - Beautiful People
19. Stef, Pako & Frederik - Seaside Atmosphere
20. Paul Van Dyk - Words
21. Goldie vs. RITM - Inner City Life (RITM's Vocalic City Mix)
22. AGH - Yummy
23. LSG - Hidden Sun Of Venus
24. ID 165
25. ID 170
26. BBE - 7 Days & 1 Week

JW / Electronica Classics 022: Platipus Sound System Live Set

The Platipus Sound System is a collection of 3 trance producers on the Platipus Records label: Terra Ferma, Art of Trance, & POB. The duo of Terra Ferma & Art of Trance also produce under the moniker Union Jack. I had the pleasure of seeing these artists perform at an event in New Orleans during May of 2000. To this day it is still one of my favorite live electronic performances I've witnessed. Here are a few photographs & video clips from that performance.

This week's choice is a set I ran across in early 2002 purportedly from the trance production outfit. Sadly there was no date or other metadata that came along with the file. However, there are several recognizable Platipus tracks during the 2 hour long recording which at least lend some credence to its authenticity.

The Platipus Sound System - Live Set

Megaupload Link / Rapidshare Link

JW / Electronica Classics 018: John Digweed Live At Massive

I must admit I'm quite excited about this week's selection. That's because while researching the track listing for this set, I stumbled upon a longer version of the performance than the one I added to my collection nearly a decade ago. I also learned that this set had been distributed under an incorrect name, so it's also refreshing to learn its true identity.

Most fanatical John Digweed set collectors are familiar with the recording that was widely shared on Napster back in late 2000 under the name "John Digweed - Live at Massive Germany". This performance has the somewhat unique distinction of blasting out of the gate at 100 MPH. Digweed's typical approach to constructing a set is to build slowly, until by about hour two or three he's warping your mind in an un-Earthly vortex of sound. Conversely, this Live at Massive set is like a 40 foot tidal wave that you see approaching on the horizon for only 54 seconds before it crashes on top of you & sends you deep into an abyss of sound. (Of note, the only other Digweed set from the past decade that I've run across to follow a similar "destroy you from the outset" pattern is his Live from Amnesia performance recorded last August in Ibiza.)

Similar to last week's Parks & Wilson classic set, this Digweed performance sits neatly between the trance sounds of the late 90s and the progressive house sounds of late 2000 and early 2001. You'll notice in the track listing below that there are a few tracks in this performance that also found their way onto Sasha & John Digweed's "Communicate" album that was released later in 2000 & very indicative of their style honed during their monthly residency at Twilo in Manhattan during this period.

As I mentioned earlier, this set is widely known as "Live at Massive Germany", but upon further investigation, it was actually recorded in Holland. Perhaps the foreign-language announcer in the recording or the name "Jaarbeurs" in the accurate title confused the original uploader in those heady, turn-of-the-millenium days. Whatever the reason for the mis-titled ID3 tags, the quality of this set remains. The second hour is a new treat for me, since the version I had until yesterday was only an hour long. Be sure to keep this one in a safe place. It is exceedingly worthy of the label "Electronica Classic".


John Digweed - Live at Massive Jaarbeurs, Utrecht, Holland 2000-02-26

Megaupload Link / Rapidshare Link

Boyd Westerman - Loop Life (Escape Mix)

Novy v. Eniac - Pumpin? (Bluefish Mix)

Online - Automatic

POB - WAAH! (Seismix)

Killahurtz - West On 27th

DJ Gogo - Ajuna

Unknown

Unknown

Tsunami - Mode Confusion [System F Mix]

Salt Tank - The Energy

Bedrock - Voices (Dj Remy??/Slacker's Dumbstruck?? Mix) (unsure which)

Luzon - The Bagiou Track (Bedrock Mix)

Breeder - Tyrantanic (Slackers Kingdom Come Mix)

Berock - Heaven Scent (John Johnson Remix)

Timo Maas - Ubik (The Dance)

Unknown

JW / Electronica Classics 017: Parks & Wilson Essential Mix 2000

Today's choice really brings me back to my freshman year of college. I can't recall exactly how I stumbled across this duo's productions that year, but it didn't take me long to uncover their Radio 1 debut once I did.

Parks & Wilson are two-thirds of the production outfit Tilt, along with John Graham (also known as Quivver). These guys were really pushing the envelope of what the trance genre could be at a time when most producers and DJs were frankly basking in the trance glow at the height of its popularity. I find this mix most compelling if you approach it as the bridge between the anthemic trance that dominated in the late 90s and the darker progressive house sound that came into vogue in early 2001. At one end of the spectrum you have Paul Oakenfold's "Tranceport". At the other you have Deep Dish's "Global Underground 021: Moscow". This Essential Mix falls neatly in between.

Listening to this mix some 9 years later, I'm pleased to say it's aged quite gracefully. Check out the download links below to add it to your collection.

Parks & Wilson - Essential Mix 2000-04-09
Megaupload Link / Rapidshare Link

Jin Long Uen - "Bow To Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva"
Tilt - "The Dragon"
Science Department - "Persuasion [Domica Mix]"
Andy Ling - "Fixation [Tarrantella & Redanka Mix]"
Soul Drivers - "Innerspace"
Halo Vargo - "Future"
Innate - "Changes [Louise Strange Remix]"
Rue De Silver & Chris Coco - "Cossa Noisa"
Leftfield - "Snakeblood"
BT - "Fibonacci Sequence"
Steff, Pako & Fredrick - "Magic Shop [Voyager Mix]"
Souldrivers - "Narcotic"
Innate - "Changes [Tranzition Mix]"
Origin - "Wide Eyed Angel [Oliver Lieb Mix]"
Pete Lazonby - "Sacred Cycles [Quivver Mix]"
Odessi - "Moments Of Space"
Mr Flash - "Extreme Exhilaration [Ian Wilkie Dub]"
War Of The Worlds - "Eve Of The War [Tilt Remix]"

JW / Electronica Classics 012: Sasha's NYE 1999 Mix At Ally Pally

I've been doing a lot of writing this week for school, and for some reason late 90's trance music helps get me in a focused frame of mind. In that spirit, I offer up this classic set from Sasha recorded on New Year's Eve 1999 at Alexandra Palace in London.

It's notable that during the years of 1998 & 1999, you'd be hard pressed to differentiate a Sasha set from a Paul Oakenfold or Paul Van Dyk set. There seemed to be a convergence in the style of music during those years from many of the famous European DJs. By 2000 or 2001, each of those guys were pursuing noticeably distinct sounds.

As you listen to this performance, it's easy to remember the kind of pre-millenial, chaotic but hopeful exuberance that trance music really seemed to embody. This was at the height of popularity for super clubs in the United Kingdom, and truly for the trance genre as a whole. I think this set really captures that spirit.

Sasha - Essential Mix 1999-01-01 NYE Live at Alexandra Palace, London
Megaupload Link / Rapidshare Link

01. Nuclear Hyde - Contact
02. Orkidea - Unity
03. Libra Presents Taylor - Anomaly (Calling Your Name) (Albion Mix)
04. Tilt - Whats This? (Tilts Tunnel Mix)
05. Caspar Pound - Pioneers Of The Warped Groove (Starecase Mix)
06. Jan Driver - Drive By (Timo Maas Mix)
07. Robert Junior & Danny Polanco - See The Light
08. Silhouette - Silhouette Of Our Love (Dark Matter Mix)
09. Space Manoeuvres - Stage One (Space Manoeuvres Separation Mix)
10. Lucid - Crazy (Nalin & Kane's Down On A Sit Mix)
11. Ecano - Run (Z2 Mix)
12. Mono Culture - Free
13. Danny Tenaglia - Turn Me On (Bedrock Mix)
14. Red Devil - Gamelan
15. Humate - Love Stimulation (Paul Van Dyk`s Love Mix)
16. Armin - Virgo
17. Breeder - Twilo Thunder (Stoked Up Mix)
18. Laguna Seca - The Flow (Nalin & Kane Mix)
19. Arrakis - Aira Force
20. Nuclear Hyde - Contact
21. JX - Close To Your Heart (Immortals Mix)

JW / Electronica Classics 003: Chicane's 2000 Palladium Set

Perhaps my all time favorite live trance set. This is the style of music that really captured my imagination in 2000 and I still find it enjoyable to this day.

Apparently he still tours, too, although I've never seen him billed anywhere in the southeastern United States.

Chicane - Live from Palladium 2000-01-22

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VJZVPQRL

01 - Intro / Nagasaki Badger
02 - Halcyon
03 - Saltwater (Tomski vs. Disco Citizens Rmx)
04 - Don't Give Up (Tomski vs. Disco Citizens Instrumental)
05 - Offshore (Original/Disco Citizens Remix)
06 - Maharvey
07 - Saltwater (Original Mix)

Happy Mardi Gras everyone!