Live on Simple & Slide's 5 Years of Boat Parties (Aug 2010)

The sun shone! To remark about the weather seems like such a trite way to write about an outdoor event but it can affect the mood of the party, and to a certain extent, my mood as a DJ. It can also set the tone of a blog post as we plunge into the depths of, dare I say it, winter. We were very lucky to have the afternoon and evening on the good side of the morning's rain. Thank goodness the sun shone!

Now, I have a confession, dear reader. I have a hangover. It's a non-alcoholic non-psychotropic hangover. The first thing regular listeners will notice about this mix is the absence of anything like a wobbly bassline. I've got a kind of electro fidget fatigue; the genre just keeps trying to out-big itself. Same thing happened with Speed Garage last decade, and I fear the same will happen with Dubstep soon. I'll still continue to play what I think sounds/feels good, but I'm just wary of commercial influences.

This mix goes back to what I love: the groove, the jack. If you've come to expect Fidget House from me, don't let that put you off; it's still paced with enough heavy beats and bass to make you screw up your face. The boat party is always an opportunity to breakaway from any kind of pigeon-holing because there's a captive audience. Although I suppose you could always jump over-board! Besides, I had the connoisseur of the wobbly bassline, Lee Mortimer, playing straight after me, so it didn't make sense to be playing similar. He smashed it, natch. I think I did alright too (..?)

To top off twelve hours of partying, I played an impromptu back-to-back set with Angie Walter for the after party at Baby Simple on Cowley Road. Musically, on a similar vein, just more Tech House. Unfortunately not for download though; some things are recorded only by our memories. Kinda like retelling a joke, but ending off with, 'you had to be there.'

This mix was recorded live on 29th August 2010 on a boat party floating down the River Thames in Oxford for Simple & Slide, in association with Out to Graze, and features productions/remixes from Lovebirds, Round Table Knights, Robert Boogert, Mark Knight, TJR and Santiago & Bushido, as well as classics from Steve Mac, The Prodigy and Claude VonStroke... Scroll down for tracklist.

Player artwork: photo (and cake!) by Katie Napper.

Chez Damier, Chris Carrier & Jef K feat. Nouha Matlouni - In My System (Adult Only)
Lovebirds - Alright (Freerange)
Cochise - Awesome (Beachtown)
Steve Mac vs. Mosquito feat. Steve Smith - Lovin' You More (That Big Track) [Solid Groove remix] (Hussle)
Round Table Knights - Stomper (Made To Play)
Round Table Knights - Short Cut To The Top (Made To Play)
Kraak & Smaak - Sterke Verhalen [Robert Boogert's slap gelul remix] ()
Jason Jinx feat. Paul Alexander - Your First Time [original push mix] (Fluential)
Mark Knight - Devil Walking (Toolroom)
The Prodigy - No Good (Start The Dance) [Da Fresh boot] ()
TJR - Baby Got Jacked [vocalized] (Potty Mouth)
Andy Caldwell - Warrior [Claude VonStroke sharp toof mix] (Om)
Santiago & Bushido - All That I Can Say (Potty Mouth)

Download tracks featured in this mix. And where I'm playing next.