(mis)representing

ok, few bits and pieces to cover in this post. first of all, get ready for the fengler ssg mix to drop at the end of this week. we've just got it, and all i can say is 'wow'. and to top it off, next week mx15 will be from the lovely ms eli verveine.

next up, pete is too modest, so i'll have to do it: if you haven't already seen it, i strongly recommend heading over to RA and reading his interview with move d. i think RA has had some really excellent features this year, and in my completely biased opinion, this is definitely ranks among the very best.

while on the topic of RA, i have to say something about their latest podcast from some dude called emerson todd. to be honest, i have been participating and involved in the melbourne/australian dance scene since around 1997 and i've never heard of the guy (admittedly he is from sydney, but i thought i knew most of the main djs/crews there, obviously not). he might be a nice guy, he might be a nice dj, but the feeling amongst the ssgs is that this was a disappointing choice as the first australian to do an RA'cast. in our opinion, there are a host of djs from down under that would have been much more appropriate. with our ssg mixes, we've made an effort not to be the slightest bit parochial. our aim, though, is that at some stage in the near future is to get a mix or two from australian artists that we think are really worth listening to.

speaking of (mis)representing, i am really quite dissatisfied with fact magazine's list of the supposedly best 20 mixes of 2008. i've got two issues with it. first, it strikes me as attempting to present itself as a list which goes across genres and is reasonably inclusive of different styles. i cannot comment on the quality of all the mixes mentioned, as i have not heard many of them, but i do not think it is a particularly broad cross-section. some genres are rather over-represented, while techno has only one clear inclusion, and there are no exemplars of the deep house sound that has been so pervasive this year (the closest they get with house are the metro area and prins thomas mixes, but neither of these fit with the deep house sound of '08). my second problem comes down to there being only representative of techno (yeah, optimo is in there but they only 1/2 count) and the inclusion is deetron. if you are going to put a mix in there, you could do much, much better with that. there are so many possibly candidates, but logical places to start would be with the dozzy labyrinth set, the cio d'or modyfier mix, or the berghain 2 cd by herr dettmann. this has been a fantastic year for techno in my books and it is a shame not to see that reflected. anyway, enough complaining. you'll be getting my list at some stage in the coming weeks.

as for good mixes, i've been absolutely drowning in them recently. here is just a small sample:

santiago salazar september 08 mix: santiago is part of the UR crew and lately has a new label, historia y violencia, with ssg favourite silent servant. you can read an interview with them about it here. anyway, like anyone associated with UR, the man can spin.

01. Mad Mike Banks Interview
02. Silent Servant - Violencia (Function Remix) - Sandwell District
03. Silent Servant - Lo Profundo - Historia y Violencia
04. 2 Noisy Heads - String Factory(Noirdegout remix) - Exit Audio
05. Matt Chester - Cut Adrift - Sula Muse
06. Lil Tony - Cosmic Afro Pan - Versatile Records
07. D.P.O.M.B. - VERSION 1 - Innervisions (Ame, Henrik Schwarz, Dixon)
08. Paul Mac - Raw Basics 3 - Stimulus
09. Rolando - Where Were You? - Delsin
10. Underground Resistance - Unreleased
11. M5 - Celestial Highways(the Plan remix) - Unreleased
12. Aroy Dee - Life Of Raw - MOS Recordings
13. Lee Holman - Depart - -Mowar
14. Nomadico - Night Walker - UR
15. C2 - untitled - CDR
16. Stefan Goldmann - Prefecture - Macro
17. Drewsky - Night Games - Nite Life
18. Seldom Seen - Arcade - Macro Promo
19. Scuba - The Upside (Martyn's down mix) - Hotflush
20. Mad Mike Banks Interview
21. Underground Resistance - Blaxplotation - Unreleased

eric cloutier @ down 20/11/08: it burns! it burns! this is one seriously slow burning affair. eric keeps a close lock on the bpms and builds a very cohesive and consistent vibe throughout the set. i love long sets like these. they can really carry you through a day when need be.

01. kris wadsworth - at 11 [static records]
02. adultnapper - tewa (nick chacona remix) [ransom note footnote]
03. joachim spieth - abi '99 b1 [kompakt]
04. round two - new day (dub) [main street records]
05. move.d - lush summer rain [shanti records]
06. edit select - need for more [edit select]
07. samuel l. session - choose one [be as one]
08. lee jones - soon (the mole remix) [aus music]
09. martin landsky - he's gone [pokerflat recordings]
10. holy ghost - hold on (mock's mod mix) [dfa records]
11. dj koze - i want to sleep [international records]
12. submania + ekmoah - funkfahrt [background]
13. peace division - in my mind [tsuba records]
14. andy toth - linwood [people mover productions]
15. alex picone - furby [cadenza]
16. superlova - something on my mind [stir15 recordings]
17. sascha dive - midnight blues [love letters from oslo]
18. guillaume & the coutu dumonts - halleluyah yeah [oslo]
19. melchior productions ltd. - different places [perlon]
20. stephane attias - distant planet [neroli]
21. cobblestone jazz - b2 [itiswhatitis]
22. oleg poliakov - midnight vultures [circus company]
23. 2000 and one - bang bang [bang bang]
24. chaton - catch the beat (agnes remix) [sthlmaudio recordings]
25. hans thalau - lassur [moonpool]
26. iron curtis - ass & cash [unreleased]
27. lil' mark - nonsense [disco 45]
28. sebo k - moved (prosumer stob dub) [mobilee]
29. steve bug - loverboy (reworked by cassy) [pokerflat recordings]
30. arto mwambe - ombala mbembo [brontosaurus]
31. alex picone - floppy [cadenza]
32. johnny d - pako mana [love letters from oslo]
33. seth troxler - love never sleeps (adam marshall's sedition mix) [crosstown rebels]
34. dj t. - before light [pokerflat recordings]
35. dorian paic + chupacabra - dub 17 [raum...musik]
36. david labiej - choose red [sushitech purple]
37. spencer parker - e lucia (federico molinari mix) [tsuba records]
38. martin madhatter - get in time [mighty rider records]
39. a guy called gerald - voodoo ray [warlock records]
40. tomoki tamura + nono - 3 years (manuel tur remix) [four:twenty recordings]
41. willie graff + tuccillo - when the sun goes down [drumpoet community]
42. gipsy family - strangers in all lands [contexterrior]
43. rhythm plate - lean [mantis recordings]
44. swayzak - so cheap [swayzak]
45. snooze - quiet alone (swag's hp dub) [ssr records]
46. africanism - les enfants du bled [yellow productions]
47. dj marley marl - beyond [west end records]
48. franck roger - dub life [real tone records]
49. roland clark - family (nick holder vocal mix) [home recordings]
50. slutbox - backseat driver (jason emsley remix) [siteholder]
51. frankie - hunt (mike shannon's let the hunt begin mix) [frankie]
52. polder - bold orange [intacto]
53. kenlou - the bounce [maw recordings]
54. slam - positive education [soma quality recordings]
55. green velvet - answering machine [music man records]
56. fingers inc. - i'm strong (instrumental mix) [r&s records]

mike huckaby @ betalounge 08/11/08: there are very few things better than a proper betalounge set. unsurprisingly huckaby steps up to the plate and delivers the goods.

i'd also strongly advise paying a visit to infinitestatemachine for their latest guest mix from m50. it's a beauty.

and last, but most certainly not least, pete was a guest on 'to and fro', a show on melbourne's triple r radio station (yes, these still exist it seems). head over here for the tracklisting and download link. as you'd expect, a quality selection from one of the ssgs. go team!

ok, more links will have to come another night. this ssg has to sleep.