Mixes for Lovers
A collection of recordings to start the Spring right
Henry Ivry delivers a list of finely selected mixes from the last month to spark things up in sight of the spring.
February has come and gone, but to keep the romance alive and well for the next round of Corona babies, I’ve put together a selection of mixes that can soundtrack your next tryst - whether that is in a darkroom or on that lazy Sunday morning. Running the gamut from vocal house to bassline to italo, there should be a little something here for everyone hoping to slide into something just a bit more comfortable.
DAWIDU - FEAT.
Dawidu’s submission for FEAT. says that it was recorded in a Paris clothing store, but the vibe here is less couture and more boarded up Los Angeles strip mall: unrelenting, druggy sleaze with sunshine peeking in through the boarded up windows. And even if that sunshine reminds you that you’re kissing a total stranger, it doesn’t matter because it feels so damn good. I often think the sign of a good mix is the way it can recontextualize records in unexpected ways. And here every record sounds like it could have been culled from a bargain bin of 90s, vocal house you might find in the corner of a thrift store. This isn’t a bad thing - the vocals are what makes the mix. It speaks volumes to Dawidu’s skills as a DJ that he can dig records that most people would have thumbed over as too cheesy and make them sound absolutely fresh and contemporary.
CCL - sit on my interface (Part 1 / 2)
While many mix series loosely thematize their mixes, c- seems to be able to coax the most out of their selectors. Seeing that CCL had stepped up for a mix, I knew I wanted to light the incense and dim the lights. CCL has been on a roll lately (I will be replaying their showstopping Blowing Up the Workshop mix long after I’ve forgotten how to read a COVID case chart) and this mix may be the best of their recent run: we get it all, a spectacularly weightless intro, trancey euphoria, and polyrhythmic funk. The moment that I keep coming back to, however, is when some particularly heavy UK-flecked techno kicks in around the 45-minute mark. After being steamrolled with sub-bass for a few minutes, the mix slips into some patent leather spurs and hightails it out of dodge with an absolutely bonkers track that sounds lifted from a western written for a Philip K. Dick adaptation. That this is part 1 of 2 will keep me refreshing the stream for the next few weeks.
Carly Zeng - Libertine Industries Podcast 14
The sounds have been getting dark at Libertine Records for awhile now and it seems like they are only getting darker. This is especially true of their sublabel Libertine Industries where releases are just as likely to explore New Beat and post-punk as they are house and techno. Berlin selector Carly Zeng amplifies this from the word go over an hour and a half for the eponymous podcast series. There is no gentle intro here. We are thrown into a media res k-hole with slowed, sluggish, and heavy tracks creating a sense of paranoia that feels about as gentle as being told “not tonight” by Sven. And while the tempo picks up, the claustrophobia never lifts, even if Zeng does open up the shutters a few times. There is a cinematic house track around 12 minutes and an acid track that I might even call uplifting around the 46 minute mark, but less you get too much time to breathe, the bassline Zeng mixes in is all minor key menace, taking us right back into the bowels of the warehouse with which we started.
Nicolas Lutz - All Night at Phonotheque Part 1 and Part 2
What is there really to say about over 10 hours of the Crown Prince of Jupiter playing at Phonotheque? I’m sure the mix itself is responsible for adding an additional $50,000 in value to Discogs, but while the trainspotters have their usual field day, there is something else that stood out to me in this particular set. In particular, I keep coming back to the first 5 hours. As someone who has only seen Lutz in destruction mode, it’s nice to listen to him warm-up the room playing with atmospheres and textures outside of the bleaker sounds we associate with his brand of techno. What I also like is that the mix isn’t flawless; 10 hours is a long fucking time and there are some dodgy transitions and even a moment when the music cuts out. But this doesn’t make it an “emperor has no clothes” moment, but rather shows Lutz as the workman that he is, always trying new things out and pushing the envelope, especially on his home turf.
Joe Delon - Truancy Volume 273
As is usual with Truancy mixes, I find that I like the interviews almost as much as the mixes. The folks behind the Truancy blog don’t just regurgitate a quick press release, but really dig deep, asking DJs they clearly love about the things and records they love. Delon is as thoughtful with his words as he is with his record selection. He describes how a DJ needs to work in dialogue with a crowd, finding symbiosis with an audience in pushing them and satiating their needs. This is certainly on full display here: from Italo to Detroit techno, from summer of love acid to contemporary tech house, it’s everything you want and then some. And whether he is slamming it in or drawing out the blend, it’s all mixed with care. I listened to the mix driving back from getting my first Pfizer jab and, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t totally sure which one made me happier.
DJ Q - RA Mix 766
In this mix DJ Q plays 35 tracks in an hour. This is a mix that is not for the timid, but one whose ADHD will keep you from doom-scrolling for the full 60-minutes of this masterclass in bassline and UKG. DJ Q had a bit of a flagship year last year (in a career marked by flagship years, I should add) with a return to Local Action that was widely hailed as one of the summer anthems for a 2020 that never was. This mix pulls no punches in providing an overview of some of Q’s best work mixed alongside some classics, and, as only can Q do, it’ll appeal to the house heads as much as it will to garage and bassline aficionados (I mean there is an Octo Octa remix of a DJ Q track after all). I also imagine that if that Sammy Virji track from the beginning gets released before June 21st, it’s the only song you’ll remember from that weekend that will end all weekends.
Alexandra - BlackTone Series 002
I don’t know much about Dallas promoters BlackTone, but they must throw a killer party if they are able to get two of Romania’s finest for their first two podcasts. Following Dragos Ilici, the Melliflow co-founder Alexandra steps up with over two hours of Grade A, lockdown tunes. It is never too late to get that COVID self-care routine going and Alexandra offers us an excellent primer - in the first two minutes alone we get both some meditative vocals and sitar providing us with a baptism by patchouli oil. For the next 45 minutes or so Alexandra explores the downtempo shelves of her record collection, before turning up the dial and giving us a further hour and a half of sometimes swung, sometimes tough house tracks with the occasional breakbeat. I was lucky enough to attend a Melliflow party at CDV once and this mix has all the hallmarks of those parties: the tracks keep the energy up without ever overdoing it, keeping you locked in long past your bedtime. The final 20 minutes or so might be my favorite. Wait for a track around the 1 hour, 54 minute mark that feels as anthemic as “Vinaloop.”
Words by: Henry Ivry
