The Mixtape Archive.
Alex Rose - Bluenote London 1996
A live mix of me playing some choice deep dubby house cuts at a set I played back in 1996 at in The Bluenote, Hoxton Square, London. Features some unreal music from that era from MK, Victor Simonelli, Chez Damier, Kerri Chandler, Todd Terry, Ralphi Rosario, Murk, plus many more.
Funky Guitar
Funky Guitar it was called... never found out who mixed it, which has always messed with my OCD ;), but it came to be one of our favourite tapes back in the day. This is one of many that I pinched out of my big brothers collection before obsessing over getting my hands on all the tracks on it.
Femi B & MC Rusty - Tonic 1993
This tape is one of/if not, the most important tape in my collection. Bold statement I know, but this tape more than any other truly encapsulates the raw essence of quality underground dubby house music in the mid 90's (in my humble opinion of course)...
Good 2
Was there ever a 'Good 1'?, who knows... All I know is my big brother supplied me with this one back in the day and it's another absolutely solid example of unapologetic robust deep house, from the early 90's and yet another tape that became a source of great music I bought down the years...
TLDR:
Digitising the analog...
I collected and created a LOT of mixtapes down the years.
DJ mixes I put together on cassette were the staple medium for sharing the music I held so dear with my friends and peers.
Some recorded live at nights I played out at, others created in bedroom sessions with close friends at hand. Whatever the source, all these little pieces of history leave me with incredible lasting memories of the scene as it grew and evolved around me, and the experiences I have of living within it.
The never ending trade and circulation of highly prized mixtapes, was the cornerstone of how I came to be aware of a lot of the music in the early years.
From live 'Feel Real, Femi B & E-Mix' sets recorded at Covent Garden's famed underground 'Gardening Club' nights, to Derek May's seminal 'Mayday Mix' appearances on Detroit's highly regarded WJLB radio station in the late 1980's, I made it my life's work to learn about and ultimately attain all the music I so loved to listen to.
I still have countless mixtapes from other hero tastemaker DJ's where I'm still trying to track down ID's of many tracks they contain... long may the quest continue...
Got a game changer mixtape?
