Essential Mix of 2008

I mentioned that I had a few topics I wanted to write about in the last post... here's topic #2.

I am finally done listening to the 2008 Essential Mixes!

And so about a week ago I began thinking about which mix I liked the most in 2008.

For me this is hard because I like different genres of electronic music. My most favourite mixes this year have been, for the most part, pleasant surprises from artists / DJs that I did not previously know.

My top three mixes were (in chronological order)

Luciano (2008-01-26)
Shlomi Aber (2008-03-22)
Peace Division (2008-08-30)

There were quite a few essential mixes that I really liked aside from these ones. Like Matthew Dear (2008-03-15) which eventually grew on me. Or even the Sweedish House Mafia (2008-12-27) - this one is just because it sounded like it would've been an insane party to go to (loved the sound of the crowd.) I will also admit to actually enjoying some of the more trancey ones this time around.

I should mention here that according to Pete Tong, the Essential Mix of 2008 was Flying Lotus. While I really thought the opening 10 minutes of the Flying Lotus mix were amazing, the rest of the mix was just okay for me. I didn't really enjoy how little of each track was being played. It felt like it was made for someone with attention deficit disorder. Nor am I sure what Pete Tong meant when he said it was "california's answer to the Aphex Twin". Umm... 1) this is experimental Hip Hop and 2) is nowhere near sounding or even being comparable to Aphex Twin. (oh Pete Tong, sometimes you need to be quiet.)

For me Luciano was an amazing surprise - a breath of fresh air. I can remember the exact moment this one clicked for me. I was out on my run, all worried about the job situation, needing money, unhappy to be back home when I heard the opening to this Essential Mix. And it just made sense. As someone who until mid-last year always said "I don't do house" he turned everything on its head for me. There is good house music out there. There's a lot of bad house but there is definitely good house music out there. And this is some of the best.

Then we have Shlomi... Oh Shlomi. This probably defines my 2008 musical taste. More minimal and tech than ever before. This one is all about the high-end bleeps and bloops for me. It also has a taste of the deep house that seems to fill my top three list.

And this bring me to ... Drum roll please.....

My essential mix of 2008.... PEACE DIVISION. This mix is amazing in so many ways. I can't even pinpoint what it is that makes me enjoy this mix so much. It's fairly "deep" sounding (unlike Luciano or Shlomi Aber) and isn't too minimal nor too housey. Overall I think the track selection is really good and the mixing is also strong (also a good sign of a strong track selection.)

I never imagined that I would pick a house mix as my favourite mix of the year but this mix is different than anything else I've heard this year. For the entire two hours it feels like it continues to push you forward into the strangest places. And somehow it all just... works so well. I don't know how else to explain this. It's definitely not your typical "house" set.

I saw these guys back in November and they weren't as good live as on their mix (possibly because the Essential Mix is just a little too slow for the average club environment so they had to speed things up / change track selection? I'm just trying to guess here.)

I'll probably keep all three of these mixes in regular rotation this year. I'm hoping to see Shlomi Aber or Luciano at some point if they ever decide to come here (or happen to be in a city I'm visiting in the next few months.)


I look forward to yet another year of strong Essential Mixes. I'm already a couple of weeks behind on my listening. I can't wait to dig in!