Posts Tagged ‘John Digweed’

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What’s Your Favorite Mix in the RV Network?

Mixes | From the mind of | 12/20/2009

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The RV Network has been live now for over 8 months, and I think it’s slowly but surely turning into wonderful resource for the dance music community. As a true lover of dance music, I can say I’ve gotten countless hours of enjoyment from the music in our Network, particularly the mixes. At this point, we’ve accumulated some phenomenal sets – across all of the sub-genres of electronic music.
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As I sit here enjoying our Network mixes (hour after hour), I sometimes find myself wondering what mixes you’re enjoying the most. Of course, I can look at the download stats to see what’s popular, but that doesn’t really tell the whole story. So, I figured I’d write this post to ask you outright…
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In your opinion, what is the best mix in the RV Network?
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I’d like to hear back from you on this one. If you take a few minutes to share your favorites as a comment to this blog post, I’ll give you a free track ;)
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To get the conversation started, I will actually share my ten favorite mixes from the Network. Some of my picks are old (mixes that bonded with over the years); others are more recent.
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1. Adam Beyer’s Essential Mix – If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, then you’ve probably heard me rave about this mix. This is one of Eddie B’s all-time favorites! You can read my detailed thoughts about it here.
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2. John Digweed Live at Homelands – Another incredible mix! Words can’t do justice to the tightness. I’ve written about this mix before in a separate blog post.
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3. Jon Gaiser at 10 Days Off – Jon Gaiser is a seriously underrated DJ in my opinion, and this is a perfectly done mix. Some of the other M_Nus crew members, like Magda or Troy Pierce, seem to be much more visible, but Gaiser gets it done.
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Three Great Workout Mixes

Mixes | From the mind of | 08/01/2009

I’ve been on a serious fitness kick of late – running, hitting the weights, watching my diet, etc. – and I got the urge to write this post while I was at the gym. It’s occurred to me on many occasions that dance music – more so than any other genre (in my opinion) – can make you push yourself beyond your ordinary limits when you’re working out.
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I’ve actually been mocked on a few occasions because I often run while wearing a pair big Sony DJ headphones. I’m sure I look a bit strange, but I’ve gotta have my tunes sounding right when the going gets tough ;) …seriously, it usually shaves time off my runs and makes me lift heavier weight because pounding electronic music makes me push right through the pain.
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Anyway, what I wanted to do in this post was share three mixes that I’ve listened to countless times when I was working out. I’m sure at least some of you blog readers are also into fitness, so I figured you’d enjoy these tunes.
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Mix #1 – Adam Beyer’s 12-10-06 Essential Mix – This mix makes me go absolutely nuts when I’m running – especially from around 49-minute mark to about 68-minute mark. It’s relentless, pounding techno that almost makes you want the pain ;)
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Mix #2 – John Digweed Live at Homelands – I’ve listened to this mix countless times when exercising, and it always does the trick. It starts kind of slow (which is good for your warm up), and it builds into an all out, otherworldly monster.
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Mix #3 – Above and Beyond’s 8-14-05 Essential Mix – I’ve covered the techno and progressive house bases, so I have to throw in some trance. This is upbeat, vintage stuff from a great DJ act, and it will definitely keep you going.
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Try working out to these mixes, and post a comment here if they help you get better results too.
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Enjoy!
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Eddie B


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Nice Tracks on John Digweed’s Kiss 100…

Mixes | From the mind of | 01/16/2009

Here’s an episode from John Digweed’s Kiss 100 radio show for ya :D It was broadcast last month, and I’ve been getting into it of late.

I normally prefer the guest mixes on Digweed’s show, but he showcases some super tight tracks on this episode.

Don’t take my word for it though…play the file below, and needle drop to the 29:18 mark to get to a blazin’ hot track from Martinez!

Enjoy!

Eddie B


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Digweed and Chris Fortier and Pacha NYC, Friday, September 19!

General | From the mind of | 09/17/2008

John Digweed PachaAll right RV blog readers, I’ve got a rock solid event for you if you’re anywhere near New York City this weekend…John Digweed and Chris Fortier are going to be playing at Pacha on Friday, September 19th.

[Before you read the rest of this post, click the play icon below for a super-tight mix.]

This event has some real meaning to me. Allow me to explain…

Let’s rewind the clock to the year 2000 when Eddie B was still in the early stages of his plunge down the rabbit hole of electronic music. I was enjoying Digweed’s Global Underground CDs and some of his other mixes, and I also started frequenting a club that will probably always be my favorite…I’m talking about the legendary Twilo…an enormous club with a sound system unlike anything I’ve ever heard since…if you were in the NYC house scene around this time, then you know where I’m going with this…   ….I’m talking about Sasha and Digweed holding down the epic residency at Twilo…I used to attend their gigs at Twilo on a regular basis, and words simply cannot describe the tightness…

…so anyway, why am I rambling about the good ol’ days? Well, it just so happens that Eddie B has not seen John Digweed in NYC since Twilo shut down in 2001! …and it just so happens that Eddie B will be up in NYC this weekend!

The only rub in this matter is that September 19th is my girlfriend’s birthday so I’ll have to do what she’s up for doing. …but she’s already confessed her willingness to check this out, and I must say I’m excited about the prospect of catching Diggers at Pacha on a solid sound system!

After years of listening to countless hours of electronic music, Digweed still has a special place in my mind. His music has taken me to some far off, unique places, and I think he’s re-surfaced with a great sound of late…it’s suggestive of the old school Diggers, but with a new school twist. If you haven’t already done so, click the play icon below, and you’ll hear a live mix he recorded back at Amnesia. It’s hot stuff; you won’t be disappointed!

Of course, I don’t mean to be irreverant to Chris Fortier. I’ve always like this guy’s sound too! I like the mixes I’ve grabbed over the years by him, and I really enjoyed hearing him live when Sam brought him to Louisville.

Bottom Line: This Friday’s shindig with Diggers and Chris Fortier at Pacha may literally be the hottest dance music ticket in the world this weekend! If you’re in town, I hope to see you there!

Eddie B


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Decline of the DJ Mix CD?

Musings | From the mind of | 10/03/2007

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I was just poking around on Resident Advisor to see what’s going on in the scene. I noticed that Global Underground is releasing the 33rd installment of their mix series. This one is by Layo and Bushwacka!, which I think is an interesting choice. The thing that struck me, however, was not the announcement of this release…the thing that struck me was that I haven’t purchased any of the GU installments since Nick Warren’s Shanghai (#28). This definitely made me stop and reflect for a minute…not so much about the Global Underground CD series, but rather about the apparent decline of electronic music mix CDs.

I take myself as somewhat of a proxy for the behavior of other electronic music lovers. There was a time when I would pick up the latest GU CD releases on the day they hit the store. I was a freak for electronic music DJ mix CDs! Many of them are still near and dear to me, veritable life changers ;) …but it’s been a really long time since I bought a mix CD…actually, now that I think about it, it’s been a long time since I bought any kind of CD!

So what’s happening…am I some sort of aberration?…after all, I am part of the management team of a music download store, so it’s possible that my preferences are not so reflective of those of the general electronic music fan. My guess is that I’m not alone here though…There are so many ways now to check out good mixes – Internet radio stations, podcasts, and sites that let you download DJ mixes – that my problem these days is that I don’t have time to listen to all of the free mixes that are available. I assume that most electronic music lovers are like me in that they’re taking far fewer trips to the CD store these days. …if this is the case, what does it mean for the future of DJ mix CDs?

In certain ways, I feel like I got more attached or bonded to the physical mix CDs I purchased…I think I engaged with them in a deeper way and spent more time listening to them. After all, if you pay 20 bucks for something, you’re going to get your money’s worth. This is a different model than one where by the time I’ve heard a mix once or twice, I’m presented with five or ten new ones that I could download and check out online. I guess there’s some part of me that’s concerned that the widespread availability of high quality electronic music will lead to a decreased appreciation for it…this comes from an awareness of that aspect of human nature that leads us to sometimes take for granted the things we can always have without putting forth too much effort.

In the grand scheme of things, I think electronic music will be better served by the fact that it’s highly accessible to people throuhout the world. In fact, I like the fact that this is much more the case for electronic music than for other genres because I think/hope it will allow more people to get exposed to it and to see how incredible it is. I’m all for embracing change, but I will certainly feel pangs of nostalgia if we look up at some point and mix CDs have completely lost favor.

Eddie B


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John Digweed Live from Homelands – Probably My Favorite Recorded Live Mix

Mixes | From the mind of | 06/07/2007

I’ve been meaning to write this post for a long time now to share what is probably my favorite live mix ever recorded! This is vintage stuff…Digweed (in my humble opinion) operating at the peak of his creative genius, holding it down for the May 27, 2001 Essential Mix, broadcast live from Homelands. I’ve listened to this mix enough times to decrease my next hearing exam score by at least 5% ;)   …so if you’ve never heard it and you like vintage Diggers, do yourself a favor, and use our built-in podcast feature below to check it out!

Oh yeah…and if you have your own ideas about the best live recorded electronic music mix, do share by all means ;)


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Solid (Older) Mix from Hybrid

Mixes | From the mind of | 04/21/2007

HybridI was jogging and listening to tunes the other day, and I started thinking it would be cool to post more music on our blog…with our tight little podcasting feature built in now, there no excuse for us not to ;) If you’ve been reading the “Eddie B Upload Highlights” posts, you may have noticed that I’m a little biased in favor of the progressive and techy stuff…so I was thinking that I’d branch out a little bit with this post…

The mix I’m sharing in this post is a straight up breaks mix…just to show that my taste aren’t too narrow ;) The mix is actually the one Hybrid did for John Digweed’s Kiss 100 show in February of ’06.

I know it’s a little on the old side, but sometimes I really enjoy hearing a blast from the past ;) …plus if something’s good, it doesn’t really go bad.

Anyway, if you want to check out the mix, just click the play button below.

Enjoy!

Eddie B


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What is the Best Electronic Music Mix Ever Released on CD?

Musings | From the mind of | 10/24/2006

Well, you may be thinking that I’m getting ready to overstep my bounds in this post…I must admit that the question posed above is a pretty bold one for me to tackle, but I couldn’t resist ;)

Ok, so before I try to answer the question, "What is the best electronic music mix ever released on CD," I have to make a disclaimer and lay some ground rules…

Disclaimer: [This one should be obvious, but it's worth stating anyway.] We all know that the perceived quality of music is subjective…so ultimately, any person’s answer to our million-dollar question is going to be nothing more than his or her opinion.

Ground rules: I need to define the scope of the musical works I’m taking into consideration. I’m talking about electronic music mixes released for sale on CD…so I’m not considering albums that are groups of unmixed tracks, and I’m not considering individual tracks or remixes of tracks. Basically, we’re talking about recorded DJ sets here…not the ones that were played live or recorded for things like Essential Mixes but rather the ones that were released on CD for sale in stores. I should also mention that if a release included multiple discs, I’m considering each disc a separate "mix."

Now that we’re clear on the disclaimer and ground rule fronts, I’ll get on with it…

When I’m thinking about the question of the best electronic music mix ever released on CD, I’m not trying to figure out which mix I’m enjoying the most today. Rather, the question for me is which mix have I enjoyed the most throughout the course of my life. The most logical place for me to start is with what I believe is hands down the best electronic music CD series ever released – The Global Underground Series. As everyone reading this no doubt knows, the GU guys released an unbelievable string of DJ mixes in the late 90s and early part of this decade…so I think their mainline series of CDs is a good place to look for answers to the million-dollar question.

A number of phenomenal DJs had releases in the GU series – Danny T, Oakenfold [say what you want now, but Paul was the man back in the day!], Sasha, Deep Dish, Nick Warren, and so on…It’s almost painful to have to choose between them, but I’d have to say that one guy stands out: John Digweed. I’d also have to say that among the multiple mind-blowing GU mixes he did, one particular CD stands out above the rest…

…drumroll please…

In my humble opinion, I’d have to vote for disc 2 of John Digweed’s Sydney Global Underground release as the best electronic music mix ever released on CD. There are so many other CDs that re-wired my brain, but I can’t think of any that did the job like this one. It’s hard to say what sets this CD apart for me, but I think it comes down to an incomparable originality and sense of pure, unorthodox creativity. As Diggers builds his way through this mix – especially the first seven tracks – you don’t have the feeling that you’re listening to a sequence of songs…you feel like you’re listening to an organic electronic composition unfold.

If you have your own favorite mix, by all means, feel free to share ;)

Eddie B


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Posted in Musings | 7 Comments »