In a wonderful weekend of re-union’s, we found ourselves filling our ears with a classic compilation that brought back so many magical memories that we couldn’t resist making it our “Podcast Of The Week”, while this marvellous mix is also the source of a classic choon that we crown as our “Track of The Week” choice, download/stream options on both an image click(s) below, while recap on our feature of the time beneath.
Having nowhere near landed from the cloud nine that was, without doubt, one of the most amazing weekends in a long while, one filled with fabulous re-union moments, the amazing Antwerp the backdrop to being back with our brilliant Belgian boys, Elof de Neve & J.d. Cerronez, we also finding ourselves swept with a real sense of nostalgia that saw us fill our ears on our outbound journey leg with a classic compilation very close to our hearts. And while much water has gone under the bridge since we first joined forces with Brent Nicholls in a short lived collaboration series, this podcast remains and will probably go down as one of our all time favourites. So, soaking ourselves in a little self indulgence as well as not wishing to come down from that weekend cloud nine, we have made our “Dance-tastic Top 20 Dance Hits of 2010” our Podcast Of The Week, sharing extracts the feature we published at the time of its release in January 2011, while also choosing our Track Of The Week from this superb source, one with many meanings to us (and possibly others) at this moment in our lives, while it is one that very much represents this sense of nostalgia we find ourselves in.
So to the podcast, one which virtually to the week two years ago (and not long after its release) featured large in our February frolic to Antwerp, two years on, once again playing a big part in our weekend, of re-union & nostalgia. So, as we arrived back in London this afternoon, we had an epiphany, why not have a “classic slot in our “Podcast Of The Week” selections every now & then?! And having featured it in a full on D.J. focus of Brent Nicholls, this what we had to say about this
“…..When Brent kindly offered to compile a special compilation to mark the completion of our year end music review and the selection of our top 40 tracks within that review, we were not just honoured, but filled with gratitude with this amazing offer. Yet, given our similarities in musical tastes, it was very much a die-cast disco duo in the making, or as Brent aptly put it, “…a collaboration made in disco heaven…”, although, from the off, this most skilful of mixers was faced with the tricky task of tailoring a compilation that flowed, given the occasional chalk & cheese choices that made it to our top 40. Indeed he explained to us that “…what started as a top 40 turned into a top 30 which is now a top 20…” stating that “…These aren’t his top 20 of the year, but are tracks extracted from his original top 40…” also adding that “…some tracks, after all, just don’t go together no matter how hard you scrunch, munch, filter and glue…”. But glue he did, and to amazing effect, in fact we cannot wait to get our right hand hearing back, so we can listen to this special 152 minute mix in full stereo glory.
Simply called “Disco Matt’s Dance-tastic Top 20” mix, Brent’s brilliant piece of work combines all our favourite tunes of the year 2010, ones that have special meaning, others that rocked us in clubs & elsewhere, although what it is not, is a reflection of the big dancefloor sounds (there are a couple in there), rather as our man from Oz puts it “…Matt’s eclectic taste reflected…creating some interesting but succesful moments by the fusing of different genres….” he also admitting that “..it quite obvious that many of Matt’s favourites were also my favourites, which I guess defines the word popularity…but this mix could easily be considered MMX volume 3…The Disco Matt Mix..”, Brent, of course, having rounded up his musical year with a double volume of tracks titled “MMX”, which are both available at http://djbrentnicholls.com/music, and are, may we add, very worthy additions to your collection.
As for our special mix, well you can listen or download it in a number of ways. First & foremost, you can visit Brent’s website (as above), where you will (currently) find it at the top of his home page, or within the “music” section together with download options & a full playlist. Secondly, you can go to the link t the foot of this post, a link that will also appear on our website in a separate short report but is obviously here too, while lastly, we have added it to our soundcloud site (http://soundcloud.com/discomatt) & our podcast page (http://discomatt.podomatic.com/). So for a slice of collaborative disco heaven & a dollop of this die-cast disco duo, go grab this exclusive mix and immerse yourselves into a dance-tastic dream, as there can only be one way to round off this special report, and that’s by saying, “Music, Brent Nicholls style, is definitely the answer”…..”
To our track of the week now and one that is found pretty much in the middle of our dance-tastic podcast but is one that first came to our attention back on Brent’s “LGDF” album for earlier that year, not least for its terrifically soothing trance style, one very much for listening to while sitting back with a cool drink by the pool. But, having re-discovered our podcast this week, this track has hit a number of marks, the title “Take Me Back” fitting the bill in respect to many things going on in our lives right now, this Kenne Kuramochi original dub gem here
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J375zTgz3Ko[/youtube]
also centring us on an inner sense of peace & tranquillity amongst the turmoil and anguish we are facing at the moment. And it seems that a handful of others have latched onto the tracks towering qualities too, J Velardi & Luque having given the track a harder, deeper & much more clubbier feel, Laurent Schark having gone that extra re-work come sample mark in an attempt to give it broader appeal & even radio airplay like qualities, to good effect we have to say. However, while the original can never really be topped, the re-work by eSQUIRE is a particular sample favourite of ours, not least that we admire & love virtually all of this artist’s studio productions, as he seems to add a whole new dimension to each track he either samples in with others, or simply re-models, as he has done with “Take Me Back” here to exceptional effect, creating a virtually new & stunning sound.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40-D6QUClfg[/youtube]
So, it very much has been a weekend blast from the past and a what a brilliant blast it has been, the memories of Red & Blue relived, the reunion with Elof & Joeri complete and the our affair with that collaborative compilation & towering tune re-kindled, all in their own way serving to prove that “Music Is The Answer” (DISCO MATT)
