I was all fired up to write up my thoughts on the new Colette and DJ Heather collaboration House of Om when a summer cold struck me soundly between the eyes (and nose). with my sniffling, sneezing, and general woolly-headedness I can barely string two sentences together (actually that’s no different than any other day). So shifting gears I thought I would profess my love for the art of continuous mixes.
Most DJ albums are intended to be played back in a continuous manner so as to best approximate a live set feel; CDs are mastered with cross fades and individual tracks often feel out of place when not nestled in and among the surrounding tracks. When these albums are presented in MP3 format something is lost; the three second gap breaks the cross fade and introduces a feeling that each track should be discrete when it really isn’t. Thankfully, some labels have been releasing some albums as one giant MP3 to preserve the feel of the mix.
Renaissance has been the best label to find these types of tracks as many of their DJ albums will find two releases on eMusic, a tracks based one and later a continuous mix. Below are some of my favorites that they have released.
Renaissance The Masters Series: Hernán Cattáneo Vol. 1
Renaissance The Masters Series: Hernán Cattáneo Vol. 2
Renaissance Presents Nic Fanciulli
Renaissance - The Masters Series Part 7: Dave Seaman
For a whopping eleven tracks you can drown yourself in over thirteen hours of music. Not only a serious bargain but a blissful way to spend the better part of the day.
