Where You (Might) Learn to Dance
Album review
Dear Summer: 33 Minutes of Sunshine – DJ Mehdi
Aug 27th
It’s been a while since anything new was posted here on How To Dance Techno. My bad. Well, I’m back from my mysterious absence and I’d like to share an awesome mix with all of you.
Dear Summer: 33 Minutes of Sunshine, is the most recent mix from the talented DJ Mehdi. This an immersive mix, taking you into its atmosphere and keeping you there until it’s ready to let go.
This mix actually has a pretty dark tone considering it’s named after summer and sunshine. That said, there is something warm about it, and once it hits the “You Know It” portion of the mix, it definitely establishes a summertime feel by gaining energy and becoming a little lighter in tone.
Dear Summer is pulsing, lively, and fills you with energy. It’s hard to resist dancing to this mix, and just makes you want to have fun, which is what summer is all about.
I can’t find any real flaws with this mix. It’s well done, runs smoothly, and contains both Queen and Drake. End of discussion.
Here’s the mix and track list, by way of Asian Dan.
JAY-Z ‘Dear Summer’ Quick Intro
FLYING LOTUS ‘A Cosmic Drama’
NINA SIMONE ‘Summertime’ INTERLUDE
DJ SDUNKERO ‘Choosing Love’
L-VIS 1990 ‘Forever You’
CHROMEO ‘Don’t Turn The Lights On’ CARTE BLANCHE REMIX
LARRY HEARD ‘The Sun Can’t Compare’
JESSE ROSE ‘You Know It’
SCISSOR SISTERS ‘Any Which Way’ CARTE BLANCHE REMIX
GONZALES ‘I Am Europe’ DJEDJOTRONIC REMIX
HOT CITY ‘If That’s How I Feel’
CASSIUS ‘I <3 U So’
QUEEN ‘In The Lap Of The Gods’
DRAKE ‘Made’
Source: http://www.asianmandan.com/blog/2010/08/dj-mehdi-dear-summer-33-minutes-of-sunshine/
Deadmau5 – At Play 3
Aug 2nd
The third compilation from Canadian house produce Deadmau5 is a fairly atmospheric listen, comprised mostly of songs from his album Vexillology. I had never heard of Deadmau5 before this review until my boss recommended him.
Honestly, At Play Vol. 3 doesn’t do much for me. The first two tracks, “Cyclic Redundancy” and “Apply Overnight” were plain boring. They were simply too low key, simple and repetitive. I found myself disappointed with this musician.
Then the third track, “Plus” started playing. It’s a pretty lively track, and it held my attention. While not much more complex than the first two, it is a more fleshed out song, and the beat really hit me.
The fourth track, “Lai,” is even better. Ambient, complex, and surprisingly epic at only five minutes length, it’s easily a track I can listen to over and over again.
The fifth track, “TL7,” is a step back to the boring style of the first two tracks, but fortunately it is followed by the hypnotic “Bounce,” a fairly simple but energetic track that simply makes you want to dance. I especially love how the beat changes, keeping it fresh and increasingly frantic. The following track, “Full Bloom,” keeps the energy up with a hectic, ambient and mesmerizing beat.
“Templar” is a track I should have liked, since it has the same energy I liked in “Bounce” and “Full Bloom,” but the drums grew slightly boring and even irritating after about a minute into the song. the ninth song, “Stereo Fidelity,” is a fun, hectic track. There’s a lot going on, but it creates a fun mood, rather than coming off sloppy or too busy.
This compilation could have ended stronger. The tenth and final track, “Whispers (Remix)” sounds like the stereotypical house track. It’s not bad, it’s just not particularly engaging and a little repetitive.
If you’re a fan of Deadmau5 but don’t have much of his music, At Play 3 is definitely something you’ll want to pick up. If you’re not a fan of Deadmau5 or of house music, you can pass on this. I’ll probably get some heat for this (including from my boss), but I’m not too impressed with Deadmau5. I still think Danger Mouse is the best mouse around.
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