In the Beginning...
My first mixtape.
I started DJing back when, to record a mix, you had to connect your mixer up to a tape deck. Half way through you had to remember to turn the tape over and press record again.
Those were the days, only they weren’t.
It felt so clunky, which, it was, but at the time, the only way to DJ was with actual records, so anything you wanted, accapellas and so on, had to. be sourced on 12” (if you were lucky)
My delight when the minidisc came along and I could record a solid 74 mins with no stopping, was palpable. I love technology (or at least I did) I was an early adopter, and set about crafting my first proper ‘mix’ to introduce myself to the world as a DJ.
I’m not entirely sure who my influences were at the time, but it was a time when genres didn’t seem to matter, indeed, an old tape I had recorded one of Pete Tongs Essential Selection off the radio confirms this, as he plays some trip hop, drum and bass and house music happily together. One of the main influences would have been finding the tunes, or using what you had, which I guess made it interesting, and my record collection from the start was always pretty random. A little later, Mr Scruff and Fred Deakin (Lemon Jelly) came into my auditory world and showed me that this method was indeed, something to embrace.
So, for my first proper mix, I wanted to include as many skills as possible, as far reaching a set of tunes as possible and, hopefully, include some magic moments, where the sharper eared listener would smile and my ingenuity and tune selection would catapult me to DJ success.
Did it work? Well, thats hard to say, but there is still a couple of moments in this mix I’m very fond of, there is a few clunky parts, but remember, this had to be done, on vinyl, in one take, and I had only been spinning a year or two.
Maybe one day I could recreate it, using all the tech I now have to hand, to see what that would sound like, but for now, and for your listening pleasure, the grandiosly entitled “In the Beginning”
Tracklist:
Dylan Thomas - In the beginning
The Propellerheads - Go Faster
NT - Positivism
Air - All I Need
Portishead - Sour Times
Nu Yorican Soul - Mawtilus
David Holmes - Don’t Die Just Yet
Funky Fresh Few - Drop A Jewel feat Afu Ra
Massive Attack - Teardrop (Mad Professor remix)
Sister Nancy - Bam Bam
David Holmes - Gritty Shaker
4Hero - Starchaser
Bobby Hughes Experience - Sambartica
Modaji - Outboard Jeopardy
Booker T and the M.G’s - Melting Pot
Emiliana Torrini - Baby Blue (Runaways Mix)
Beastie Boys - I Don’t Know
wicked!