Ssg special - Valerio Gomez de Ayala (natural/electronic.system.)

I wouldn't be 'here' if it wasn't for great mixes: the Globus mixes from Herbert and Dan Bell; Juan Atkins' Master Mix; and, of course, Michael Mayer's Immer. These days it takes me about half an hour of clicking per week just to manage all the mixes, mixtapes and lectures that come to me by way all the podcasts I subscribe to. It's hard to swim in the datasea (first world problems...). With so much 'content' competing for our fickle attention, it's hard for any kind of mix to be recognised as special.

What Valerio has produced here is very fucking special indeed, as special as (and complementary to) Antonio's sublime mix for us from around a fortnight ago (which, if you haven't listened to, you must - pronto). In the comment box I suggested that Antonio's mix reminded me of Immer; Valerio's reminds me of Tyrant (though it's better than that). What I especially love in this case is the the 'sound' it manages to evoke and sustain, as well as the genuinely psychoactive nature of the mix. This is potent stuff: genuinely hypnotic, deep grooves with a beautiful momentum - a mix takes you and keeps you in that lovely 'somewhere' (you know where). Amazing...

Ssgs has been privileged in 2011 to have been able to share some of the best mixes we've ever hosted, in my view. The irony of a year when there appears to be so little exciting 'movement' in house/techno is that both DJing and compiling (with all the amazing mixtapes I've heard) appear to be the best they've ever been. Well, this mix is ample evidence of that. Antonio and Valerio remind us is that most DJs and their audiences are not looking close enough, or listening well enough. If you did both those things, you might come up with a mix this good. There's a beautiful future in here, for the close listener... Oh, and listen to it back to back with Antonio's - the mixes work perfectly as a pair.

For Chris and I, this mix, like Antonio's, is one of the thing that we *hope* ssgs can be about. Like Van Damme says in Bloodsport: 'I just want to be the best that *I* can be.' Well, this is as good as we can be... it's so much more than we could have hoped for when we started the blog. More than that: it excites me, it makes me want to DJ, to seek out new sounds, to push myself (just like all those classic mixes mentioned above did). I'm so proud to have this platform to share it with you. It deserves the widest possible audience.

For the trainspotters in our midst, rest assured, there will be a tracklist published. All in the fullness in time. In the meantime, to the mix....

Ssg special - Valerio Gomez de Ayala (natural/electronic.system.)

Many thanks to both the n/e.s boys for their love and care with these mixes. Respect!

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