Essential Mixes

Summer brings travel plans, and travel plans raise some pretty important questions regarding everything including itinerary, directions, and--most importantly--tunes. Music is an necessary part of every journey, and I've found that essential mixes are some of the best things to choose for your days in transit.

What's an essential mix, you ask? Well, since 1993, BBC Radio One has been broadcasting 2-hour music sets mixed by DJs of all shapes and sizes. While they haven't quite gained a whole lot of traction here in the US, the essential mixes on Radio One have become some of the most popular broadcasts around the world. Almost any established DJ you've heard of has performed an essential mix, either to make a name for themselves or to further enhance their status in the world of DJing.

What makes them so perfect for travel is that they:
a) are two hours of extremely smoothly mixed music
b) aren't limited to any one genre of music
c) can easily introduce you to new music

The only problem with essential mixes is that there are so many of them, and that means finding the right one can be difficult, especially if you are unfamiliar with the world DJing. So, I've compiled a short list here of some of my favorite mixes as of late with short descriptions and previews of each one, so that you may start enjoying these very special works of art.

Paul Oakenfold's legendary 'Goa Mix' (12-18-94) - tracklist preview download
Description: Popularly regarded as the greatest essential mix of all time, Paul Oakenfold revolutionized the essential mix program by providing a mix influenced by Goa Trance and infused with non-traditional DJ set material, like movie soundtracks and other odd audio samples to create his masterpiece.

Steve Aoki's pre-Ibiza mixtape (08-02-08) - tracklist preview download
Description: Steve Aoki (aka Kid Millionaire) is the owner of Dim Mak Records (a personal favorite of mine), and has been busy tearing up nightclubs with his crew and their unique brand of hard-hitting electro house music. His mix isn't particularly amazing, but he's part of the new wave of electro that the kiddies are all raving about. If you are a fan of MSTRKRFT or Justice, you'll probably enjoy this mix quite a bit.

Trentemøller's essential mix of the year (10-15-06) - tracklist preview download
Description: Danish DJ Trentemøller provides a journey through an electronic landscape on this essential mix. More of a concept piece than one that is dancable, his mix includes a great deal of progressive house, minimal techno, and chillout beats. He does sprinkle in some unexpected tidbits of reggae and rock though, making this a very relaxing, but interesting mix indeed that is perfect for rainy day listening.

Deadmau5's breakthrough mix (7-19-08) - tracklist preview download
Description: Another progressive house artist comes in the form of Deadmau5 (pronounced "dead mouse") who is most recognizable for playing his DJ sets wearing a giant, foam mouse head. Even though he's been making tunes as early as 2005, he wasn't very well-known until right before he went on Radio One. This mix firmly established him as one of the most popular contemporary DJs around.

High Contrast's drum and bass set (10-07-07) tracklist preview download
Description: I will admit, High Contrast is kind of hard to get into. He plays drum and bass, which isn't an entirely accessible genre of music, but I think he kills it on this mix. This Welsh DJ is generally credited as the one that is making drum and bass sexy again, and I'm inclined to agree. Just a warning though: if you are going to dance to this, be careful to avoid dancing to every drum beat, otherwise you may end up looking like this.