Mix Of The Day

Ok, I’m going to really try to update this every day with a good mix that I think is worth checking out.  But let’s be realistic; it might end up being every two or three days.  Anyway, I’ll do my best, so check back regularly.  Mainly, I’m doing this for posterity and to raise awareness of sets that I think need to be heard, whether it be for historical context or because it’s just something that rocks.

Artists or labels, if there are any objections to anything I put up here, just let me know and I will remove it with no questions asked.  Anything that is or has been commercially available I will only put up if it has been a safe amount of time and the item is no longer available, as the last thing I would try to do is to cut into any sales.  If I’m out of line, just let me know.

What you find here may be old or new, from a known or unknown artist.  I’ll run a weekly blog post with the rundown for the previous week in addition to keeping the master list here.  This way, you can get an update by subscribing to my RSS feed, rather than have to check back on this page to see when I’ve edited it.

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1-21-10 Traffic Cone – Neo Rave Explosion     Download

And we’re back, thanks to this great mix that gave me the kick in the ass I needed to get things going again.  Some serious upbeat party music on this one and well mixed.  Kind of jealous actually, because a “ravecore”  mix is something I’ve been collecting tunes for  for a while now, only I haven’t actually gotten off my ass to put it together yet.   😛   Anyway, the diverse selection on this one while still keeping a sort of theme going wins a whole bunch of points from me and, as I said, the mixing is on point.  Thank you Mr. Cone for the great listen and for giving me the bit of inspiration I needed.  🙂

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12-7-09 Hadji – Live @ D-Gen     Part 1 / Part 2

A nice live mix of dark drum & bass and bits of early breakcore.

Relevant links:  Couldn’t find any

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12-4-09 Cenkakyol – Breakcore Politics     Download

A mix with an idea behind it, which I always like.  In the DJ’s words:

“While 4/4 hardcore was growing stale and “breakcore” was still in its infancy, I managed to hear/love some epic tunes (such as E-De-Cologne’s “Excalibur” or Jackal & Hide’s “In Bed With Hanin”) back in the mid 90’s and stick to that landmark, since then. So here are mostly those classics that sets the standards and few new ones which are original and interesting!”

Relevant links:  Cenkakyol

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12-3-09 FFF – Live @ Elevate Festival 2009 in Graz     Download

I’ve really been on a rave and ragga kick lately and been listening to this guy’s stuff a ton.  Here’s a spanking new set he put up on his Soundcloud page.  Rave it up fuckers!

Relevant links:  FFF, Elevate Festival

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12-1-09 DJ /rupture – Gold Teeth Thief     Part 1 / Part 2

Originally surfacing as a tape in 2001 and then put out as a CD on Violent Turd in 2002, this mix is a tour de force of hard broken beats, underground hip hop, clubby hip hop and basically anything that Rupture felt like throwing down.  Mixed aggressively on 3 turntables, you could not hope for more in the skills department.  An all around classic.

Relevant links:  DJ /rupture, Soot, Nettle, Violent Turd

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11-30-09 Christoph Fringeli – Live @ Crystal Breaks     Download

Live DJ set of broken beat madness by none other than the Praxis head honcho himself.  There aren’t too many sets by him floating around, and this one from 2006 is the best one I’ve heard so far.  Everybody knows him for Praxis, Datacide, C8, etc., but I think he is really overlooked as a DJ.  He’s got great mixing skills and has had his ear to the ground from the very beginning right up until the present, always on the cutting edge of experimental and hard breaks.  I know I say this a lot, but seriously, you have to check out this awesome set.

Relevant links:  Praxis Myspace, Praxis Shop, C8, Datacide

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11-29-09 Luna C – Supaset     Part 1 / Part 2

Something a little different today from one of the realest cats in the game.  This two part mix is comprised mainly of Kniteforce style breakbeat hardcore but ventures into drum and bass, jungle and gabber in some spots.  I normally can’t stand happy hardcore anymore but Luna C and the rest of the Kniteforce crew with their breakbeat style are always an exception to that rule.  Even though the genre they produce is about twenty years old and not many do it anymore, they continue to hammer away at it, staying true to their music and somehow always keeping it fresh.  And if anyone was ever truly about the music, it is definitely Luna-C.  Linked below, you’ll find the entire back catalogue of the original Kniteforce label that he put up himself, when he could have easily made a ton of money in today’s MP3 feeding frenzy.  Massive respect for that and also for being such a proponent of vinyl.  Anyway, I enjoyed the shit out of this mix and I hope you do too.

Relevant links: Luna-C, Kniteforce

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11-28-09 Arkova – Arkives X     Download

So I was crawling around on Discogs and followed a link on user Arkivalist’s page that led me to this gem of a mix showcasing plate after plate of bomb ass jungle.  There are some super rare tracks in here, including some by Krinjah, Enduser, Soundmurder and many others.  Oldschool and the new school ragga style side by side in one killer mix.  This man knows his jungle, for sure.

Relevant links:  Arkova, Arkivalist

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11-27-09 Diskore – Hardcore Is Dead     Download

Thanks to skids34 over at ush.net for upping this early Diskore mix from 1999.  It has a very impressive tracklisting consisting mainly of Bloody Fist and some other bits of Aussie hardcore.  Badass.

Relevant links: Diskore, Darkmatter Soundsystem

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11-26-09 Caedes – Restroom Records Mix and Hirntrust Grind Media Mix

I know he was just featured a couple of posts ago, but Caedes provides a great service here with two mixes featuring records only from the respective labels.  Dig in and enjoy!

Relevant links:  Caedes, Restroom Records, Hirntrust Grind Media

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11-24-09 Prometheus Burning – Live @ Schizophrenia 3     Download

Not a mix today, but something that definitely falls into the “needs to be heard” category.  Prometheus Burning’s live act is known for it’s intense energy and floor destroying beats n bass.  They have a very unique sound that combines breakcore, industrial and straight noise.  Check it out, and get yourself some of their releases as well, as they are some of the most cohesive and well structured albums in the electronic realm.

Relevant links:  Prometheus Burning, Schizophrenia

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11-23-09 Caedes – We’re Still Alive     Download

Today, a mix from a guy with a several great mixes online.  I picked this one because I found the mixing to be particularly aggressive and in good taste.  No time to say much more than that, but I definitely advise digging into his other efforts if you like breakcore, IDM, noise, etc.  A good sampling of them can be found in the mix archive.

Relevant links:  Caedes, AK-47

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11-21-09 S.Y.D. – Twenty Five     Download

Another great mix from the Bruits de Fond series, this time from way back in 2001.  The mixing is decent but it’s the track selection that I really like here.  Like many “breakcore” mixes from back then, there is a little more variation than you’ll usually find these days, just because the style wasn’t written in stone yet and it was more a case of finding tracks that worked together (as opposed to setting out to make a breakcore mix).  Anyway, I can’t stress enough how good the mixes on this label are, and this is probably one of the better ones.

Relevant links:  Bruits de Fond

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11-19-09 Istari Lasterfahrer – Live @ Clash Of The Titans     Download

One of the great things about this set is that it encompasses all of the different sounds that Istari has been known for over the years, rather than just focusing on one thing.  Influenced equally by ravecore, raggacore and chiptune, he concocts a killer set here that I’m sure blew up the spot.  The cheers from the crowd that can be heard throughout the recording seem to support this.  Lots of tracks you may have heard on various releases and some unreleased material as well.  If you like this set, check out his new album “The System Works Because You Work.”  Ravey ragga goodness through and through.

Relevant links:  Istari Lasterfahrer, Sozialistischer Plattenbau, Raggacore.com

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11-17-09 Distorted Panda – Distorted Times     Download

Today’s mix comes from a DJ I’ve never heard of before, but I’ll definitely be checking his other mixes in the near future.  This one is punishing, stuttering drum & bass, along the lines of the angrier stuff I:gor or DJ Hidden would make.  So if you’re into that style, definitely check it out.  The mixing is good and it flows very nicely.

Relevant links:  Distorted Panda

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11-16-09 Hoonboy – Nightmare Before Christmas     Download

A little something different today, in that this mix is of the newer style “caffeine rush” breakcore (as I like to think of it).  By this I mean high bpms, fairly non-technical drum mashing and an overall more ravey feel.  Definitely something that would work best in a live party setting where people want to just go nuts.  It’s not all ravey stuff, as there is a fair bit of sped up ragga in it as well.  At any rate, even if you’re not usually a fan of this style, the mixing is fast and aggressive enough for it to be interesting so it may be worth a listen for you.  It actually seems more like a live PA, as I understand Hoonboy does quite a bit of live software stuff with the tunes.  And that is another reason I’ve chosen this mix for this page: I always like to see people using digital tools to their potential instead of just using them as a shortcut to mediocore mixing.  I think this mix and many of Hoonboy’s other mixes fit the bill.

Relevant links:  Hoonboy

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11-15-09 Baseck – Live @ Hardcore Birthday Bash     Download

Another great Baseck live mix and one of his older ones, actually.  All the links I could find for it seem to be dead, so I’ve upped this to a permanent online home.  This was the first mix of his I ever heard and I couldn’t believe how mashed up and crazy it was.  At the time, breakcore mixes in general were pretty few and far between online (by my recollection, anyway), so this hour and a half set was a godsend for finding new records to seek out.  Still don’t know what record the opening bit is from (not the Noize Creator track, the little segment before that), so if you know, a comment would be much appreciated.  🙂

Relevant links:  Baseck, Darkmatter Soundsystem, Sonic Death Rabbit

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11-14-09 Hellfish & Producer – No Mistakes Allowed (51 Minutes Of Fury)     Download

Included in the Deathchant tin from back in 2000, this mix consists of the biggest Deathchant tunes from the first six years of the label’s existence.  These are classics, the tracks that defined the label and took gabber to a place beyond just a distorted 909 kick, incorporating breaks, filtered bass drums and hip hop samples aplenty.  I really miss this sound and still dust this mix off every few months or so.  As it is, Deathchant took a turn toward the Frenchcore side of things not too long after this came out and only recently came back to a more break oriented sound.  But it’s still not the same and, for that reason, this mix is pure gold.

Relevant links:  Hellfish, Producer, Audio Sickness (distro)

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11-13-09 Soundmurderer – Wired For Sound     Download

You may know of Soundmurderer from his Rewind releases with SK-1.  Or maybe his Ghostly International releases.  Or maybe his Starski and Clutch ghettotech project.  Or his Jared Wilson acid workouts.  Or…. and so on and on and on.  At any rate, if you’ve got your ear anywhere near the ground, you’ve probably heard some of his work.  He is, in my opinion, one of the greatest musicians of our time, regardless of genre, as it seems like he can do any style and do it with the best.  Well, in this mix he is paying homage to his jungle roots and offering up a flawless mix of the biggest tracks from the early days of amen mashing.  If you or anyone you know needs a crash course on jungle or if you just want to revisit the golden age, this is the mix you want need.  This originally came out on Kid606’s Violent Turd label on a CD in three parts, but it’s been ripped as one long file for convenience.  Enjoy!

Relevant links:  Soundmurderer, Violent Turd

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11-11-09 Don Daka – History Lesson Vol. 1     Download

Mix CD from 2003 or so, oldschool jungle, loaded with rare dubplates from back in the day.  If you wanna see how it’s done, don’t miss this one!

Relevant links:  Couldn’t find any

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11-10-09 Spankbass – Monster Rodeo     Download

Ok, so I’m not really a fan of dubstep.  I actually quite dislike about 98% of it.  But this is a good mix that finds parts of the genre that (imo) are worth listening too.  Being that this mix is part of the Peace Off Free Mix series, I would expect nothing less, to be honest.  Glad to hear something like this because even though I hate most of the dubstep I hear, I know there are some gems out there and I just don’t have the time or desire to wade through all of it  So if you’re like me (or are a fan of dubstep), check this one out.

Relevant links:  Spankbass, Peace Off, Switch Distro

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11-9-09 Mark N – Under Sufferance     Download

This is hands downs my favorite hardcore mix of all time. The track selection is the perfect balance between what was new at the time and what was already classic. He’s got breakcore, gabber and drum & bass in the mix, all done with a nice touch of hip hop flavor. The mixing is seamless and his scratching is on par with all those big name turntablist DJ’s the hip hop kiddies idolize. The difference here is that he does it over music that is way more complex and he can actually mix. Timing, tension, release, skills and track selection… everything about this mix is perfection.

Relevant links:  Bloody Fist, Noise Exchange, Noise Exchange MP3

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11-6-09 Deadly Buda – Reverse Engineered     Download

No mix yesterday and need to be quick today, so I’ll just drop this one here.  This is a classic mix from one of the guys who has been involved in the U.S. hardcore scene from the very start.  Great tracks on here and a nice snapshot of what was going on as the breakcore scene was emerging.

Relevant links:  Deadly Systems

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11-04-09 Tykal – Classicore     Part 1 / Part 2

This was done in two parts and the theme is breakcore that samples or is influenced by classical (from what I understand).  But let’s just say breakcore that is a little more musical than your run of the mill stuff.  At any rate, I like both of these mixes and I think that, technically, a very skilled DJ put these together.  While something like this could easily lead to pretentious wankery, it doesn’t in this case.  Thank god, because pretention is always lame and can ruin good music in a hurry.  Many mixes that try to take on a complex theme end up seeming cobbled together with whatever pieces may be close at hand, but these tracks are thoughtfully chosen and I get the feeling that the process of putting these together was a very patient one.  The real genius in all of this that Tykal is able to cast aside any notions of “breakcore should be this” or “breakcore has to be that” and find the common thread in these very different pieces of music.  Two thumbs up from me!

Relevant links:  Tykal, Tykal’s Vinyl Rips

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11-3-09 Ron D. Core – Dr. Freecloud’s Psychedelic Drugstore     Download

This is hands down the best acid mix I’ve ever heard.  It contains classic after classic, spanning Djungle style hard acid, floaty trance and hard percussive techno from back in the day.  The mixing is good for the most part, though there are a few parts that are a little sloppy.  Still though, the flow of the mix is great and is not really affected by any technical imperfections.  If anything, they add to the authenticity of the experience.  I really wish this kind of techno could see a comeback because I wasn’t there the first time around and I’d love to have the chance to hear somebody spin this stuff on a good soundsystem.  Highlights for me include “Helixcoid”, “Everything Was Legal”, “Pain” and “The Big Deal.”  I’ve actually been collecting the tracks that are featured on here for the past several years and am working towards getting all of them, as I don’t really think there’s a weak link in this mix.  This was originally a CD that was released in 1993, but was re-pressed in a limited run of 100 copies in 2005 or so.  I was lucky enough to grab one of them and I hope I can bring a smile to a few faces by posting this up.

Relevant links:  Ron D. Core, Dr. Freecloud’s

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11-2-09 Mark H – Breakbeat Ammunition     Download

Back when Ebay was the prime spot to buy rare records and people were getting crazy money for early breakcore and old school jungle stuff, I remember being outbid by this guy on way too many occasions.  He has impeccable taste when it comes to anything break oriented, whether it be jungle, drum and bass or breakcore and I always look forward to hearing his mixes.  This particular mix is jungle and D&B with a lot of atmospheric sounds and intelligent break programming.  The mixing is on point and it seems like a lot of thought went into the tracks used so that it would be a cohesive listening experience, and it is.

Relevant links:  Mark H

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11-1-09 Fexomat – Metalcore Extended     Download

In this age of digital DJing, you would expect the bar to be raised and, unfortunately, it is not in many cases.  Rather than take advantage of the software revolution to do things that traditional vinyl DJing wouldn’t allow, the majority of people (DJ’s, not producers) who have made the digital leap are simply using it as a shortcut to accomplish things that have been done for decades.  But there is at least one person I know of who is absolutely pushing the envelope and utilizing new technology to it’s fullest potential.  That person is Fexomat.  To be fair, his mixes are actually closer to remix projects, as he completely dissects and mangles metal, pop, hip-hop and hard edged electronics to create sound collages that are without equal.  Metalcore was, I believe, the first set he released to the public and it has been dropping jaws for a few years now.  Metal infused with breaks on such an epic scale is a match made in heaven, if you ask me.  This is a perfect example of technology put to good use and I wish more people would leave the DJing to us vinyl dinosaurs and use the new toys for next level stuff like this that we can’t do.  History and progress living happily, side by side?  Maybe some day, who knows.

Relevant links:  Fexomat, Darkstep.org

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10-31-09 Doormouse – Soft & Gentle     Side A / Side B

I got this tape back in 2000, I think, and it’s safe to say that it changed my life.  Funny that “retard beats and farting sounds” could change someone’s life, you say?  Well, it mainly changed my ideas about DJing because the mix on the B side had such an unpredictable range of sounds on it.  For one thing, it was the first time I ever heard a Bogdan Raczynski track (Checkers!).  The live PA side was equally great to me because it was the first time I heard Toxic Jungle and saw that drum and bass could be taken up a notch and didn’t have to stick to that 2 step beat that had taken over.  I had never heard anything that was so in your face and just balls out crazy and I immediately called up Massive and ordered all the Doormouse records I could get my hands on.  Whatever Doormouse is doing now, he will always have my respect because of this tape and because of the role he played back in those days.  He was one of the artists that changed the way I thought about music and I think I’m a much better person for it.

Relevant links:  Doormouse, Addict Records

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10-30-09 Cutups – Fortean Crimes     Download |     Cutups – Astral Flash     Download

OK, today we’re going to have a twofer, just because it’s mah birthday (31, Bitches! :)).  Cutups is the owner of Wrecked Distro and one hell of a DJ.  I was just going to link the Fortean Crimes mix today, but I’m also throwing up a link to his latest mix just because it kicks so much ass.  Fortean Crimes was originally included on CD in the Jagoff Uprising boxset and it showcases a ton of absolutely essential breakcore tracks and top notch mixing.  Astral Flash is a on a whole different wavelength but is equally awesome.  The focus for this one is BASS, and lots of it.  There are some great dubstep tracks here, but don’t expect a dubstep mix.  In true Cutups style, it’s just great music pulled from all over the place and mixed to perfection.

Relevant links:  Cutups, Wrecked, Thac0

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10-29-09 Martial Flaw – Urban Warfare 4     Download

This is the latest in the Urban Warfare series, which emphasizes the political side of many different genres.  At times deep and dubby, at times balls out beat fuckery, the two mixes I’ve heard in the series have been the epitome of the word eclectic.  I really don’t know much about Martialflaw, but I do know that he is a master at putting together sets that flow well and tell a story.  Also check out the Death Poetry series, where he adeptly explores death as a musical theme.

Relevant links:  Martial Flaw (only link I could find that resembles anything like an artist page for him)

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10-28-09 Ripley – Ich Bin Defekt     Download

This was a mix released on Death$ucker in 2005.  If you like DJ Rupture’s older mixes, you will absolutely love this one.  All things jungle can be found here, with several excursions into the harder side of things as well as some very soulful moments.  Ripley does an excellent job here of choosing break driven tracks that are unique and she mixes them aggressively and cohesively.  Props really are in order here for the ambitious and eclectic tracklisting.

Relevant links:  Ripley Blog, Ripley Soundcloud, Death$ucker

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10-27-09 DJ Zeitgeist – L’Invite Fantome     Download

Originally released as a tape, I somehow got a hold of a hand painted CD version of it several years ago.  DJ Zeitgeist is the founder of the now defunct System Corrupt label from Australia.  This mix starts off with an Abelcain track from Low Res 5, which really sets the tone.  From there, it’s all about dark industrial tinged sounds, gabber and speedcore.  The mixing is great and overall, this mix will take you on a nice ride.  Enjoy!

Relevant links:  DJ Zeitgeist, System Corrupt

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10-26-09 Baseck – Dodelijk In Detroit     Download

Very limited CDr Baseck put out in 2008 that came with a homemade wrestling mask (which doesn’t fit any normal human head, by the way).  Normally, a Baseck mix is very abstract, packed with tricks and basically splattered all to hell (in a good way).  But with this one, it’s more drum & bass flavored and steppy (in a good way).  A straight dancefloor killing mix like you always suspected Baseck was capable of but never really heard.  At least, this is the first I’ve heard of him in this mode.  There are still tricks and some hardcore moments, it’s just a different vibe.  After a few listens, I really have to say this is one of my favorites of his.

Relevant links:  Baseck, Darkmatter Soundsystem, Sonic Death Rabbit

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10-25-09 Leekid – H20     Download

This is one of the more recent mixes on the Bruits de Fond label and also one of my recent favorites.  Leekid creates the perfect balance of IDM flavor, funk and noise, all flawlessly mixed.  I had not heard of him before this, but further investigation revealed that this mix is just the tip of the iceberg.  His site (linked below) has a ton of mixes by him in every style you can imagine.  This guy has a versatility and impeccable taste in music that you really don’t find often.

Relevant links:  Bruits de Fond, Leekid

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10-24-09 C64 – Breakcore Jungle V.2     Download

This is a classic mix from the tail end of what I consider to be the best period for breakcore and it includes many key tracks.  There are a couple of the earliest Rotator tracks, one of the greatest raggacore tracks ever made IMO (Badman Time) and plenty of tracks that walk the fine line that used to exist between dark drum & bass and what would come to be known as breakcore.  Like some of the previous entries I’ve put up here, this is one of the most influentual mixes I can remember from when I got into this stuff.  Also, this marks the first release on C64’s Drosstik Records, which has since released three utterly essential compilation EP’s and a handful of CD’s.

Relevant links:  Dross:tik Records, C64

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10-23-09 Davros – Live @ Inferno, May 2005     Download

Not sure where I found this one, but I could no longer track down the link.  So I went ahead and uploaded it and here it is.  Recordings of his live sets tend to be few and far between, so be sure to check it out.  In my opinion, this is second only to his Schizophrenia 3 set (as far as recorded ones go).  Very dark, heavy and just straight up rockin.  Also, check Abelcain’s website (linked below) for some free downloads he’s put up for public consumption.

Relevant links:  Abelcain

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10-22-09 Diskore – Extreme Electronics And Splintered Beats     Download

From 2003 and not exactly a rarity, but one of my favorites and certainly worth mentioning here.  This was one disc of the first Darkmatter release, with the other disc being a collection of tracks by Minion and Resurrector (check out the track “La Muerte” for something truly beautiful).  This mix explores what I think of as “industrial breakcore” and, like any truly great mix, it puts classics right alongside the latest tracks.  Very heavy on Praxis and related stuff that is more on the breakcore side of things, as well as the Hymen and Ant Zen style that is closer to pure industrial.  The mixing is aggressive and, for the most part, well executed.  Definitely a mix that opened my eyes to a lot of new music at the time and the one I would first recommend to anyone who is interested in this style of music.

Relevant links:  Darkmatter Soundsystem, Diskore, Resurrector

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10-21-09 Destro – Zod Mix 1     Side A / Side B

Extremely hard to find tape from 2001.  This is one of my all time favorites and I haven’t seen it online elsewhere, so I thought it fitting that I should kick things off with this one.  Rarely will you hear breakcore mixed this flawlessly.  Every track he plays in this is a classic and the flow of the mix is just perfect.  Please keep in mind this was recorded from tape several years ago and encoded at 128k because I didn’t know any better.

Relevant links:  Zod Records