Episode 91 / Techno
There are mixes that you hear that take you places, and those that test the mix-ability mettle. This one, was the latter. This mix contains tracks that are almost 30 years old, but still rock every floor it’s played for. But one thing that’s just as important as having dope tracks, is giving your audience a chance to breathe. I’ve watched some of my fellow DJs just cold annihilate the dance floor, and that’s awesome when the crowd is up for it. But there are those mixes that change the atmosphere or mood as the mix goes along. I felt there were some bumpy areas while I was creating this mix, but when I listened back afterwards, the parts I thought I didn’t blend as well initially, were actually lined up pretty nicely. We’re our own worst critic, right? There’s two of my own creations in here, '“Flow State” and “Nocturna”, the former being my September 2023 release.
Episode 90 / Techno Mix
This month’s mix has tracks by two producers who I have learned a lot from, as well as two tracks of my own. There are a lot of people whom I’ve learned from on how to take my music further in the production areas. But there are two whom I’m going to highlight: Yan Cook, and Torc. If you like techno, and are looking to find some really amazing gems from Yan Cook. I really hope to see him play live one day. His productions are top notch, and what drew me in was the fact that he shares how he produces. It inspires me, and it keep me experimenting with sound. His YouTube channel is here: Yan Cook. If you’re doing production, Torc has many nuggets of production gold. He has single-handedly elevated my understanding of understanding of audio, and it’s creation, manipulation, and presentation for the techno that I write. You may have seen him on his YouTube channel: Underdog Electronic Music School
Episode 89 / Hard Techno
When I go to make a mix, I spend time to find the songs to fit the journey I want to take you — my audience — on. I have to make sure I follow my rule of making sure to not only entertain, but to educate. This means finding tracks that I hadn’t heard of, but fit snugly into the mix. It should feel natural, and not just “thrown in” to fill space. It has to bring emphasis to be included the mix. Next, I go through and put cue points and markers in to point out various points of interest. This makes finding those pinnacle moments that much easier. And finally, while I know I’m in my studio, I treat it like I’m playing for a sea of people. This also means I record the mix ONCE. No do-overs, no rewinds. I treat it exactly like I’m in a lineup, and I’m up next. When I’m on the decks, what was recorded, was how it went down, mistakes and all.
Episode 87 / House
I thought that this month, I'd do a house mix. I love techno, but I love a lot of the other genres as well. I miss the Back To Basics parties at Silk City with King, Doz, and friends. All the latest house tracks were played, and made many friends there every Saturday. Some of those tracks are here in this mix. Some are classics that have been flipped and mashed up to bring them closer to todays style for new audiences. Let me know what you think of the mix. As always, please share the mix if you like them, and add the hashtag #buddhabeats. I really does help. Enjoy the mix!
Episode 79 / Techno & Rave Classics
When I had started going to raves back in the 90's, the only "online" places were CompuServe, Prodigy, AOL, and if you really knew what you were doing, you would log on to a BBS — a Bulletin Board System. And these were used for chatting with people across the country, and depending on what you logged into, even the world. I remember logging into a BBS one night, and learning of a rave party once. Other than that, the best way to learn of the parties were flyers and word of mouth. And, once you learned of the party, in order to throw off the authorities, there were map-point hotlines. You would call from the first one, find out where the next one was to get to the party. Sometimes it was in a decrepit or dilapidated building or warehouse. These were called Illegal or "Outlaw" raves. So. Much. Fun.
Episode 72 / Drum & Bass
So, for this month’s mix, I wanted to return to one of the first styles I got into as a DJ. Back then, music like this fell under the name of “breakbeat”. This evolved into a much better one: DRUM & BASS. And like many other electronic genres, it has its offshoots. Jungle, Jump-Up, Tech-step, Ragga-Styles, Intelligent, Jazz-step, Atmospheric, Neurofunk, Hard-step, Dark-step, as well as Dubstep. From these we also now have the sultry, jazzy Liquid Funk (lots of beautiful vocals, very dream-like). If you want to check out some DnB artists on your own, look up Goldie, Doc Scott, DJ Rap, Aphrodite, Grooverider, Fabio, and S.P.Y. for starters. Record Labels to seek out: Metalheadz, Propa Talent, Good Lookin’, Hospital Records, Moving Shadow, and 31 Records, for some seriously sick tunes.