absolutemoron mix 003: absolutemoron - funked up vol. 4

We're dipping back into the archives for the first time on absolutemoron. So please excuse the awful mix title (as you can see you may have to endure it a few more times) and enjoy this brass-biased mix from the early 00s.

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Click read more for the full tracklisting and the story behind the mix!


This mix was put together in 2001, when I had really embraced house music as 'my style', rather than it being one of many styles that I followed. I'd moved on from the progressive house sound that had been my leaning in previous years and this is one of the earliest mixes that strongly hints at my sound in years to come.

The first 7 tracks I still feel would sit in one of my house sets to this day, as would the mixing style. I kick off at a rather faster tempo than I would today, but  it's still a nice, deep beginning (if I say so myself!). Cricco Castelli immortalised himself with the filtered disco-house classic 'Life Is Changing' but I love this track, 'Streetlife'. The vocalist (presumably the mysterious Deeply Light) has a very unusual voice, and the line "To breathe in New York City..." paints a nice picture at the start of the mix. I am a big fan of Chateau Flight and Versatile to this day, and the album 'Puzzle' is one of the foundations of this admiration.

This period, for me was NRK's heyday and Jamie Anderson, who I feel has been an unsung hero of UK house, was a big part of their success. Drop Music and Shaboom were similarly prolific during that period, though were possibly dominated more by their founding artists (Inland Knights and Mark 'Blakkat' Bell). Mark has the help of DJ Sneak on 'Bessie', and the big man delivers a quintessential Sneak bump with an almighty kick, teasing guitar lick and weird elastic bounce. Nice.

I was always very pleased with myself for the next mix. Not only do the vocals on DLC's 'A Hope' sit nicely over the DJ Q track, but the Scot's tracks is entitled 'A Dedication To Derrick Carter', so it's kinda like they were meant to go together!

I need to pause to catch my breath at this point, as I've smashed through 7 tracks in just over 21 minutes by this point! Aaaaah, that's better.

The next section really displays the main influence on my sound at this time. On the cusp of my twenties, developing a serious passion for house music, and living in Liverpool, Yousef was a huge figure in shaping my musical tastes. He'd won Muzik magazine's famed 'Bedroom Bedlam' competition, and actually made something of it, mixing one of the best covermount mix CDs of all time and getting gigs at Renaissance, Ministry, and most importantly a residency in the Cream Annexe. It was here that his penchant for latin horns and percussion, as well as his meteoric rise to success, made a mark on me, and I guess the next section of the CD is me biting his style of the time!

Mas-Pito and Horny Hustle (there's that man Jamie Anderson again) were cribbed straight out of Yousef's set lists, and I even had a crack at the style myself. 'Horn Ting' once again showed my willingness to pay 'tribute', being a blatant rip off of the Twisted Pair track that precedes it in this mix. In terms of structure and dynamic, it's not a bad effort, but the weedy reedy horn samples I used are appalling, and my choice of title is little better.

By the time I reach 'What A Sensation' I've stopped stealing Yousef's style (though I wouldn't be surprised if this was a big track for him too) and things start to go a bit more cosmic - not in the 'cosmic disco' sense, but tracks like Milton Jackson's and The Chems' feel to me like a laser-zapping battle through an asteroid belt. As it happens, a battle that results plunging turbulently through an alien atmosphere, as everything goes green.

A trip from New York, via a Liverpool nightclub institution, into space and back down to earth in greenest Manchester. Am I reading too much into this...? Yeah, very probably, but I hope you enjoy it nevertheless!


Tracklisting:
01. Cricco Castelli & Deeply Light – Streetlife [Hiptonic]
02. Chateau Flight – Prism [Versatile]
03. Jamie Anderson – Another Day [NRK]
04. Beats Pacific – Lo Key [Drop]
05. Shaboom – Bessie (DJ Sneak’s Dub) [Paper]
06. DJ Q – ADTDC (A Dedication To Derrick Carter) [Filter]
07. Derrick L. Carter – A Hope (Over U) [Classic]
08. Powder Productions – El Loco [Glasgow Underground]
09. Mongobonix – Mas-Pito [Subliminal]
10. Olav Basoski – Watch Yo Step [Work]
11. The Twisted Pair – Horny Hustle (Jamie Anderson Latin Hustle Mix) [NRK]
12. Leo Belchetz – Horn Ting [unreleased]
13. Johnny Fiasco – Chicano's Groove [Doubledown]
14. KenLou – What A Sensation [MAW]
15. Milton Jackson – Dimensional [Glasgow Underground]
16. The Chemical Brothers – Denmark [Freestyle Dust]
17. New Order – Everything's Gone Green [Factory]


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