Sonic Router

Our Favourite SR Mixes of 2011

Posted in Downloads, News   

In the spirit of journalism and the year’s end we’ve conceded to make one list. Well… I mean, we were in on one the other day whilst in Nandos, but that was more a wish list for alcohol and finger food for over the Christmas break. This one concerns one of the main features that keeps people visiting our corner of the interweb – our weekly series of mixes.

Having already gone on record saying that getting mixes from the kind of artists we do is “a fucking big deal” to us, we figured it would be nice to shine the light on a few of them once again by running down some of our personal favourites. In truth this process was probably just as arduous (if not moreso) as trying to pick our favourite albums of the last 12 months because simply, we’ve got previous with every single one of the people involved. They gave their time and energy to provide something special for us and in a lot of cases it’s something we discussed at length before they went live. There’s got to be a level of mutual appreciation there and thats something that we’re super glad to be a part of.

So, the calendar restriction means that the eligible mixes run from #64, Randomer’s turn for us that dropped on the 12th January, right the way up to #112 by Canadian producer Knowing Looks that we published yesterday.

The following is how James Balf and I felt today, on the 16th December. Tomorrow it would probably be very different…

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10. #65 Royal T [Butterz]

Considering the impact Elijah & Skilliam’s Butterz empire had on the world’s opinion of grime music in general this year, Royal T’s mix pre-empted that a touch; featuring future Butterz cuts alongside classics.

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9. #83 Dropping Gems [Dropping Gems]

SR contributor Keith Pishnery fought the Pacific Northwest label’s corner and managed to procure one of the sleeper hits of this year’s participants, the Dropping Gems collective – a serene exploration of the music made by their core producers.

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8.#97 Nochexxx [RAMP Recordings]

People like Nochexxx make music that’s kind of fucked up and he warps things so they’re really quite special. This mix was a personal ambition reached, the kind of twisted soundtrack I was looking for when I asked him to make us a mix back when.

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7. #78 Lapalux [Pictures Music]

Around the release of his EP on Pictures Music Lapalux did make a few mixes, but what kept us coming back to our edition was just how fully formed it was – a great signifier of his forthcoming signing to Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder label.

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6. #80 Kahn [Punch Drunk] / #81 Vessel [Left_Blank]

These two mixes captured the emergence of a new clique of producers emanating from out of Bristol. As learned in the art of sonics as they were obsessed with bass weight, these mixes hinted that the Young Echo collective would make succesful inroads into the wider consciousness by the year’s end.

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5. #86 Rigas Den Andre [Flora & Fauna]

Skweee is something we’ve gotten a little bit obsessed with. Looking past the introductory pieces and scene overviews that tend to miss a whole heap of the depth, in terms of production and ideaologies behind it, this mix from Rigas Den Andre was another dream realised – an entry from one of the scene’s most prominent producers.

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4. #102 DjRUM [2nd Drop]

Rum’s mix is an epic; a journey and a brilliant excercise in stretching the confines of genre limitation. Like his music his mix went to impossible places and yet managed to make it all sound so natural – something Pedestrian also did with his recent mix for us (#106).

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3. #99 Ifan Dafydd [Push & Run]

Probably the most twittered mix in recent memory Ifan Dafydd’s instalment is one of those ones we waited for, totally content to let him make his statement in his own time (kind of like George FitzGerald did with #77). When it dropped it addressed the rumours and simultaneously silenced them with music from Chopin and R Kelly.

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2. #66 Kevin McPhee [nakedlunch]

A lot of people lost their shit over Kevin McPhee this year – myself included. He makes music that, as XI puts it, is “completely different” and his mix for us was more like a production showcase, made completely out of his own material. A great introduction into the music he makes so beautifully.

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1. #87 Lando Kal [Hotflush] / #109 Wanda Group [Astro:Dynamics]

What? You think I’d be able to make an actual definitive decision? Think again, pal…

Lando Kal’s music is incredibly exciting. He’s got the spatial awareness to maximise his material for club use and his music has consistently challenged my preconception of where I thought he was gonna go. His mix for us meshed together like a slightly disturbing dream and it comes with unique reminders of hearing his Sepalcure remix for the first time at home, with my head half inside a wardrobe and his DJ set on the last night of this year’s trip to Sonar.

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Louis Johnstone’s mix for us as Wanda Group is more like an unofficial release. It’s made up entirely of his own music and it’s sequenced together live, like a fucking champ. Being able to present people’s music in this way is probably the number one reason that this site continues to exist and that makes me both turbo charged and really excited for 2012.

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Please note: all the mixes in our ongoing series were made by artists we have the utmost love and respect for. Special mentions go to each and every one of them.

or, as the conversation went yesterday:

James: “It’s a tough choice, I’m into so many of them.”
Oli: “…the thing is; thats why we ask people to do ‘em. Haha. For fuck’s sake…