Synkro

Oval Space Warm Up Set 20150305

Oval Space Warm Up Set 20150305 by Djmachv on Mixcloud

A lot can happen in a week.

Last Friday, whilst my wife and I were having afternoon tea at Ruben's in Victoria, my phone chirpred it's merry little sms chirp and there was a simple message from my friend Grant at Agency X saying "Would you like to do warmup for (Max Cooper's) Emergence? Has to stay not banging". Naturally  I jumped at the chance - this is Max Cooper's new AV one man show in a prime venue in London, under the auspicious gaze of LWE - a superb event promoter making deep impressions in the night club scene with uber hot DJs and dance music acts and as part of their London Electronic Arts Festival . "Sure, I'd love to" I replied. I was already getting excited.

I'd not been really thinking about DJing; I lost my Concrete residency last year and had turned my hand to doing weddings which is a completely different mindset to this - still fun, still rewarding, but you are playing what the couple and the audience want to hear - this would be different: I could play what I wanted within reason, I understood what a Warm Up slot means and there was the helpful remit of "Has to stay not banging".

Has to stay not banging. Not banging. HAS TO STAY.

NOT.

BANGING.

Hmmm. The words echoed around my dusty and cavernous brain, like a Deep House looping vocal hook. Why would Grant say this? He knows that I'm not really that up for the banging tunes, why would he feel he needed to stress this? After a few more texts back and forth it made sense, because Max's set would start ambient and to give it the best opportunity to grow from that point you don't want the act before to be slamming out BIG TUNES building up the audience's expectation to think that whatever follows would be EVEN BIGGER. Fair enough. This was the remit and it was a remit I was happy with. I had two hours to play with and so I set myself to quietly build for an hour and a half and then half an hour to break it down.

So... why am I telling you all of this? Well... here's the thing: This set isn't two hours long; its 2 hours 20 minutes long. That might not mean anything to you but it might go to help you understand why, from 1h 35 the mix descends into an ambient wash out for 20 minutes and then starts to pick up again at 1hr 55... which might correspond to the moment I got told that Max wouldn't be starting at 9:00 but at 9:20.

:D

This isn't a criticism nor a whinge. Far from it. At most it's an explanation of the flow of the set you're about to listen to, and more of a reminder to me (and to anyone else who cares to listen) not to plan too rigidly, not to be too prescriptive and to remind oneself that no matter what you think the plan is, it's not.

Hope you enjoy it

Tracklisting

BvDub - Strength Underworld - M.E. Speedy J - DeOrbit Trentemøller - Always Something Better Pye Corner Audio - Electronic Rhythm Number 3 Deft - One Eye Open Opal Tapes - Coffee Aphex Twin - Xtal Deft - Vapid pt1 Fybe One - Harmonic Curve Luke Hess - Evidence Everywhere Vermont - Dynamik (Prins Thomas Version 1) Eagles for Hands - Glass Hands (Slow it Down Remix) Jamie XX - Far/Nearer The Slow Revolt - Farther Deft - A Little Kiss Shadow Child - Border Town (Synkro rmx) LostLojic/Innex - Last Goodbye Datassette - Cagney XOR Lacey (Pt 2) Echaskech - Form Function (Epic Washout mix) Mountains - Choral Synkro - Memories of Love Synkro - Why Don’t You Taso & Wolfbitch - Tria Seba - Painted Sky (DFRNT remix) Taso - Exi The Village Orchestra - Lo Pencil (The Village Orchestra remix)

E2A:

I forgot to say: thanks to the numerous people who took time out to let me know how much they enjoyed my set - I know you don't have to do that, and it really makes a huge difference to my well being. Thank you, you're lovely, you are.

Also - thanks to the staff at Oval Spaces, LWE and LEAF for all the help (high 5 to Soundman Josh) as well as Hugs eternal for Grant at Agency X and of course Max for letting me do this.

I Love You/You Won't Let Me - New Nightbus/Drum and Bass/Ambient Techno mix - Free mp3 download 320Kbps

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If I manage to do one "proper" mix a year I'll be happy. To define what a "proper" mix is - to separate it from any other mix I upload - a "proper" mix is one that takes planning and meticulous execution. Last year's mix was "Send in the Drones" and that took a year from planning to execution and I'm still happy with it; this has taken around 6 months of working out. It started with a Guardian article about new musical genres which defined the music by the amazing Joe Synkro as "Nightbus" a term I'd not heard before but one I was happy to adopt, even if I couldn't be sure that the article was being entirely serious. What I was aware was of a new way of looking at drum and bass, a genre which I'd spent a lot of my dj career playing and one I'd pretty much given up on. Listening to tracks from artists like Synkro, Submerge, Lapalux and the amazing new releases from Apollo (R & S records "ambient" side label) it became clear that a new wave of producers were taking lessons learned from Dubstep and applying them to Ambient Techno, R 'n B, Garage and Atmospheric Drum and Bass. I was fascinated. The result of that fascination is this mix. The first 30 minutes or so of it came together pretty easily, but then I couldn't work out where to turn next and it sat on my hard drive for 4 months, taunting me as all unfinished projects do. I almost released it as a mini mix, just to get the "monkey off my back" but I'm glad I waited and am able to release something more substantial, something worth listening to, hopefully again and again.

Though I still don't know if Nightbus is the right term for it.

Tracklisting

Mario - Let Me Love You (Lapalux remix) (free download - http://www.xlr8r.com/mp3/2012/04/let-me-love-you-lapalux-bootleg Synkro - Open Arms ASC - Glass Walls Submerse - Cluster Jack Dixon - You won't let me (Synkro mix) Bop - Song about my Dog dBridge - 5th Floor Grimes - Genesis Bulb - Lonely Gravity Om Unit - Ulysses VIP (free download http://www.xlr8r.com/mp3/2012/09/ulysses-vip) ASC + Ulrich Schnauss - 77 Lapalux - Guuurl Holy Other - Know Where dBridge - Cornered Yumi & The Weather - Not Again (Manni Dee remix) (free download http://www.xlr8r.com/mp3/2012/12/not-again-manni-dee-remix) Marley Caroll -Woodwork (free download http://www.xlr8r.com/mp3/2012/10/woodwork) Ital Tek - Pixel Haze Fybe:one - Harmonic Curve (Deft's footwork remix) (free download http://www.xlr8r.com/mp3/2012/10/harmonic-curve-defts-footwork-re) Bering Strait - Apart Synkro - Reflection Reso - Aegis (free download http://www.xlr8r.com/mp3/2012/09/aegis) Eagles for Hands - Glitterall (free download http://www.xlr8r.com/mp3/2012/10/glitterall) [soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/85882133" params="" width=" 100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]

here is a soundcloud link (for iThings)

Now on mixcloud: http://www.mixcloud.com/djmachv/i-love-youyou-wont-let-me/

Artwork shamefully stolen from the Internet - "Untitled" (1985) by Moebius aka Jean Giraud

 

Live At Monday Hates You, 20111017

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MHY Falling Down

Yes, it's that time again. Another fun packed journey out to the Garage and back, peformed/mixed live on Monday 17th Oct 2011, down at Back To Mine, in Second Life. We now have a Monday Hates You facebook site - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Monday-Hates-You/147540402011527 - all to help you get through the week by vigourously rubbing you down with a restorative sonic shower, specifically designed to aid and combat Mondayitis, which is something we at MHY International HQ (floating 2000 miles above sea level) take very seriously indeed.

Talking of facebook (yes, that thing is still going) as my old Musical Appreciation Group seems to be heading off to the great facebook group heaven, I've now started a facebook page for Mach V - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mach-V/145657268832564 - which I hope you'll take some time out of your busy day and go and click "like". My ego and hopefully your ears will be eternally grateful. :) Oh but now i really need to tell you the

Tracklisting

Sepalcure - Love Pressure (Lando Kal remix) 
Q-Tip - Work It Out (Disclosure Booty Call Edit) (Free DL Work It Out - Q-Tip (Disclosure Booty Call Edit) FREE D/L by Disclosure.
Geeneus - Get Low ft Ms Dynamite (Free DL http://www.xlr8r.com/mp3/2011/10/get-low-feat-ms-dynamite
George Fitzgerald - Reset (original mix) 
XXXY - Kerpow (Free DL http://www.adultswim.com/promos/201109_unclassified/) 
Zed Bias - Yagga featuring Serocee 
Arkist - Reflex Blast (Free DL http://www.xlr8r.com/news/2011/09/download-free-ep-arkist
Martyn - Right?Star! 
Trevino - Chip 
Zed Bias - Neighbourhood featuring MC Rumpus, Micky Prince (Biasonic Version) 
Geeneus - Knife and Gun ft. Riko, Wiley and Breeze (Dusk & Blackdown 2step mix) (Free DL http://www.adultswim.com/promos/201109_unclassified/) 
Zed Bias - Badness feat. Skream 
Synkro - Reservior 
Grizzly J - Crux 
Rustie - Ultra Thizz 
Buraka Som Sistema - Restless (Julio Bashmore remix) 
Martin Buttrich - Cruise Control 
SCB - Loss 
Untold - Gonna work out fine 
Grizzly J - Mr Wiggles

Live At Monday Hates You, 20111017 by machv