Best of 2015: Top 12 mixes

The past year in podcasts, online radio mixes, cassette mixtapes is chewed upon as James Manning, Oli Warwick, and Tony Poland pick out their favourites from 2015.

Looking back over the current state of DJ mixes in 2015 it is clear the medium couldn’t be any stronger. The daily process of scrolling through SoundCloud brings up all manner of freely available studio mixes or live sets from full time DJs and lesser well-knowns, whilst labels have joined online platforms in adding regular podcasts to their remit. How quickly did Dekmantel’s mix series become fully established? Online radio stations such as NTS, Balamii and Berlin Community Radio provide further intrigue thanks to some truly engaging programming and off the cuff mixing; the Powell-hosted Melon Magic show encapsulates everything that is exciting and unpredictable about online radio right now.

Whilst the CD format that truly helped catapult DJ mixes into the wider consciousness remains an ever-decreasing power, the revival of cassettes has brought us many physical mixtapes to enjoy this year. It’s impossible to state how many mixes we have listened to in their various forms this year, but the following 12 which encompass live sets, label and site podcasts, cassette mixes and so much more, are those that truly left a mark on our affections.

Beautiful Swimmers – Untitled (The Trilogy Tapes) (listen here)

The tape format offered plenty of fine mixes this year for those seduced by the spools. Mix Mup’s wonderfully DIY MIX MUP CARCASETTE, dubbed over randomly acquired cassettes purchased on eBay and sold via Facebook, was a killer selection of house and techno that had us wondering why he’s not been tapped for a podcast by anyone? MBE’s debut tape came from Beatrice Dillon, and showcased a wonderful array of African funk music, the KMOS and Ondo Fudd mixes for CAV EMPT lived up to the hype, whilst Chris Farrell dug deep into his collection of dub and reggae for the excellent No Vampires mix on Krokodilo Tapes.

However, few tape mixes inspired so much fervent ID requesting and MixesDB updating as the Beautiful Swimmers cassette for The Trilogy Tapes which was the summer soundtrack of the Juno Plus office. Music From Memory’s Tako Reyenga summed up the appeal of this tape in a chat with RA, saying “what I like so much about DJs like Beautiful Swimmers is they play killer house records, but they’re often $2 house records.” A timeless mix captured in ferric form.

DJ Sotofett – GGHQ Mix #10 (Going Good) (listen here)

As anyone who has witnessed the Sex Tags main man on the decks will attest, you can never be sure where DJ Sotofett will take you when he DJs. Best suited to all-night soirees with ample space to stretch out, the man from Moss is about as eclectic a spinner as you could ever hope for. In the case of this podcast for the ever-reliable Going Good mix series however, the self-imposed remit and resulting recording was a much more focused affair.

Sticking strictly to 45s and clocking in just 42 minutes, this is as condensed an experience from Sotofett as you’re likely to hear, but it makes it no less sweet. Of course such limitations don’t stop the twists and turns flying at you from all angles, but there is an emphasis on organic content floating around in this mix. Delightfully off-key jazz, stumbling funk, lopsided reggae and other such esoteric delights gel into a set you can just about get away with playing to less musically adventurous friends, while freaking them out a little in the process. Cool and deadly from start to finish, this is a session that soundtracked many wine-soaked evenings throughout the year.

Edward – RA458 (Resident Advisor) (listen here)

To have a mix published on RA is something of a milestone many artists strive for, while conversely it’s become a platform fans celebrate when seeing their favourite artists appear there each Monday. When Gilles Aiken, aka Edward, donned the website’s front page in March it elicited more of a ‘oh cool’ reaction from members of our editorial than ‘about time’ or ‘well deserved’. Edward’s music over the past few years has stylistically shifted from what he first made his name making on the White label and it was here that Aiken’s spiritual, atmospheric and subtly tribal sound of late really shone through.

Not too long but not too short, Aiken’s 45-minutes submission to the RA podcast canon is a delightful introduction to his music should you not know where to start, and the perfect travel companion for your next commute.

Inga Mauer – Bon Voyage 01 (Radio Cómeme) (listen here)

The good thing about online radio is the freedom of expression it allows as a platform. Radio Cómeme has really grown into a refreshing outlet, expanding much further on the sound established by the associated label, whilst also becoming a breeding ground for some excellent female DJs. The Sentimental Flashback show by Lena Willikens is well established of course, and its been joined on our list of personal Radio Cómeme favourites by Inga Mauer’s Bon Voyage show. The Russian DJ was a new addition to the station this year, and her debut Bon Voyage show has become a mix that has been revisited so many times over.

Now regarded in the Juno Plus office as “the mix that made Tony Poland like Traumprinz,” Bon Voyage 01 eschewed forensic beat matching in favour of outright vibes, though subsequent mixes have proved the Russian to be a fine DJ of techno and electro. This mixtape feel is what makes Bon Voyage 01 so memorable, and it really offered some insight into Mauer’s tastes, veering from Strange Life curios to The Last Poets via plenty of Conrad Schnitzler and ending on a Chris and Cosey classic.

Ishan Sound – Ishan Sound Live featuring Ossia & Rider Shafique (listen here)

This has been a fine year for Ishan Sound reaching a wider audience as part of the Young Echo / Peng Sound! collective, bringing an authentic, rootsy approach to steppers laden with playful melodics and powerful soundsystem dynamics. As has always been the case with such corners of the UK reggae scene the live experience is the fundamental one, and so this recording caught our attention as soon as it crept online.

Recorded in the garden of the Trinity Centre in Bristol (one of the regular haunts for the city’s dub, roots and reggae scene) just as summer was taking hold, this recording is as authentic as it gets. The levels are fruity to say the least when the bass lets rip, the nattering of the crowd drifts in and out of earshot, and so the atmosphere is felt in its entirety. Fellow Young Echo brethren Ossia is on hand with a stack of tape delay and spring reverb effects, while Rider Shafique delivers a perfect lesson in patient toasting, and the exclusives come bounding out of the gravelly system in a perfect document of a quintessentially Bristolian evening out.

Yves De Mey – Weather Festival Set (listen here)

Earlier this year the Juno Plus team travelled to Paris to check out Weather Festival. All the big names were checked; Klock, Dettmann, Kraviz and Villalobos etc., but naturally what interested us most was a smaller stage toward the back of the festival grounds. It doubled as Weather’s modular and ambient stage, with live acts to perform including In Aeternam Vale, Blawan (as Ternescan Chambers) Steevio & Suzybee and London Modular Alliance, while DJ sets came from Cio D’Or and Yves De Mey.

It was the latter’s set on a wildly crisp Saturday night that stole the show only a few hardened souls or lost revellers witnessed, with Bee Mask’s “Vaporware” and Biosphere’s “Birds Fly By Flapping Their Wings” two personal highlights from an empowered set heightened by blissful sonics and diverse selection.

Brian Not Brian – Fabriclive Promo Mix (Fabric) (listen here)

There have been plenty of interesting entrants into the Going Good HQ Mix Series this year, with Sotofett’s 7” set featuring elsewhere in this list. However it was the Fabriclive promo mix from Brian Not Brian that really stood the test of time to this pair of ears. What is it about this mix that stands out so much? Anyone with rudimentary mixing skills and the right technology can slam together an hour of house or techno music that will keep you entertained momentarily, and there are plenty of these clogging up the internet.

Brian’s mix however was a masterful hour-long selection of artfully layered electronic music that took in current tracks from CC Not and Robert Turman along with forgotten B-side gems from days gone by. Type ‘the art of warm up DJing’ into your favourite search engine and there should be a link to this mix.

Don’t DJ – Exoticism Mix for Berceuse Heroique (listen here)

As part of The Durian Brothers, Florian ‘Don’t DJ’ Meyer is known for his work with unique prepared turntable set ups and a disregard for western rhythmic conventions. Having been picked up by Berceuse Heroique and Emotional Response, the Salon Des Amateurs regular reached a wider audience this year, and thus proved to be a most intriguing proposition on his own records and with his performances.

This mix, recorded to coincide with his Hexentrix release on BH, demonstrates the wilful eclecticism of the Salon posse as well as the particular traits of the Don’t DJ sound. It’s certainly not a safe world to enter into, but it is enthralling from start to finish. Glassy percussive tones falling in erratic configurations, intricate folky experiments, tough drum exercises and more overtly electronic workouts all sit comfortably together in a session that championed repetition and hypnosis as much as it kept us on our toes.

Marco Shuttle – Live at Terraforma (listen here)

Milan’s Terraforma is high on our list of a festivals we’d love to find ourselves at next year, and with a mini-pyramid stage enclosed by woodland as its setting the Italian event for many is a European alternative to Japan’s Labyrinth. With a super-refined line up of acts including Bochum Welt, Convextion and Rabih Beani to Aquaplano, Keith Fullerton Whitman and Mark Ernestus (plus many more worth investigating) the organisers, who promote sustainability, certainly have taste.

From the internet voyeurs’ point of view Marco Shuttle’s set sounded and looked to be a supreme highlight. Like sets at Labyrinth you’re given the floor, and this raw, live and direct three-hour recording of Marco Shuttle dominating a Milanese forest on two turntables and mixer proves he’s worthy of the recognition he gets for being a DJ.

Lukid – Tinkling The Old Ivories (Blowing Up The Workshop) (listen here)

Galcher Lustwerk’s all-conquering 100% Galcher undoubtedly brought Blowing up the Workshop a whole host of new listeners. Whether they’ve all remained tuned into the site’s mix series in the ensuing period is unclear, but those who did have been treated to some fine ‘projects’ this year. BUTW really does stand alone in terms of sheer musical diversity, and 2015 has been the platform’s most impressive to date, taking in selections from Kerry Leimer, Eugene Ward, strange Youtube entity Hurfyd, Call Super and more.

A great mix will prick your ears repeatedly and have you digging through the internet for more info on contents of the tracklist; the BUTW entry from M Ashworth enlightened me to the delights of David Toop’s General Strike project for example. A mix that truly stood out this year however was Lukid’s 40-minute session of classical piano pieces, named in typical fashion by the producer Tinkling The Old Ivories. As much as we enjoy being shrouded in the various strains of house, techno and whatever on a weekly basis, it’s nice to escape that sometimes and bask in calmer waters. This mix proved such welcome respite time and time again.

Idit Frenkel – Wake Up! Podcast #22 (listen here)

Representing the steady increase in talented DJs reaching out from Tel Aviv to the rest of the world, Idit Frenkel has started to build something of a profile in 2015, not least in her home town. One look at her gig schedule over the past few years highlights the fact that she’s rarely far from the more high profile house and techno bookings in the Israeli capital, as well as occasionally getting invited to play elsewhere (such as ://about blank in Berlin).

A sure sign of her rising status amongst international friends, Benjamin Brunn’s Wake Up! label invited Frenkel to serve up a mix that reflected but one aspect of her DJ style, and it proved to be one of the most satisfying sessions of the year. House and techno are the key ingredients, but within that remit lies an intoxicating blend of exotic sounds that touch on rough analogue textures, worldly percussion and downright addictive hooks. Subtly executed, smoothly programmed, and a joy from start to finish.

Shawn O’Sullivan – Secret Thirteen Mix 159 (listen here)

With the infinite hours of techno available to be heard in podcasts on the internet, one hour of 4/4 beats is nothing new, moreover, nothing desired. New York’s Shawn O’Sullivan however managed to sidestep this pitfall by delivering Secret Thirteen a mix described as “a powerful 150 BPM” with all but one track lifted from the genre’s halcyon 1990s period.

Should you be reading this in your worn Tresor/UR hoody it’s likely you’d be more than happy to send O’Sullivan a complimentary pint of your favourite ale down the bar for his inclusion of tracks by Woody McBride, The Mover and the Praxis label, and really can you deny him one when he self-effacingly imparts: “I wanted to revisit records that were favourites from my teenage years, so it’s actually a very personal mix, despite being hard, dumb techno.”