Download Side B – 51:15, 117.0 MB

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This is a wicked melodic acid trance mix by the legendary Dr. Trance.  I bought a proper legit copy of this tape so the sound is top notch.  These tracks have nice gritty analog synths with a lot of depth and character, plus some great ravey chords and vocal samples.  This is acid trance in a nutshell.

I can’t remember where I bought this thing.  I’ve got no anecdotes nor anything much else worth saying about this one.  How about you?  Please come back and leave a comment about where you were and what you were doing while listening to this mix.

Download Side B – 32:44, 59.9 MB

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Acid lovers rejoice!!

This tape is a recording of Dr. Trance’s show “Technopolis” from Global Groove Radio, 100.7 FM, Toronto. This mix is a real testament to mixtape culture since it’s really just an ordinary night from a weekly radio show, indiscriminately recorded, yet it features some utterly remarkable music.

The good Doctor is joined by well established Toronto rave pioneer DJ James St. Bass, opening up a time warp to the mid-80′s with some unbelievably amazing old skool acid techno. Dr. Trance precedes the Teebee treats with some techno, opening with an awesome speed garage track. Despite the candidness of the show the mixing is surprisingly top-calibre.

Be forewarned that there’s a bit of radio banter, but no more than 5 minutes worth. There’s mention of the very popular, now extinct, Effective rave company which was founded by Dr. Trance.

For those who don’t know, Dr. Trance, aka Don Berns, is an institution of the Toronto rave scene. He’s been in the radio and broadcasting biz for about 40 years and knows his way around the decks and the industry. Looking at this overweight, middle-aged man, one could never guess he was right at home coaxing 3000 kids to dance to the world’s most underground tunes at 4:00am. Like all good things, seeing is believing. The Doctor could always be found at raves either down in the trenches chatting with party-goers, or up in the VIP areas yucking it up with the world’s finest electronica talent.

Canadians should pay close attention to this man’s voice as it should sound familiar. Berns does a lot of TV and radio voiceover work (his vocal timbre reveals that he was born to work in radio) and can be heard in many commercials and TV station identification clips.

Here’s a great interview with Dr. Trance about his then upcoming performance at Toronto’s Idance festival – a public daylight rave event held in 2 consecutive years to bring public awareness to the then media-shunned rave scene.

If the sound of the Roland TB303 makes your heart skip a beat as it does mine you’ll go topsy turvy over this wonderful collection of very early acid tracks. Enjoy, and leave a comment if you’d like to share your thoughts on this mix.

Download Side B – 46:09, 84.5 MB

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Perceived peak normalized, treble boosted

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This tape is extra special because it’s the first one I ever bought! I picked this mix up from the second rave I ever attended – a Citrus party if memory serves. I remember taking exception to paying $10 or $15 for what looked like an obvious dub job in a black and white photocopied case, but at the time and for many years afterward Josh Wink was my favourite DJ and my hero, really, so it was a lucky find.

This mix is a bit unconventional as it is a very minimal and groovy arrangement as opposed to a series of songs. Wink starts out with some driving, growly tracks that set a 4:00am-bass-shaking-an-old-warehouse kind of mood, showcasing some really dark and brooding themes. He then opens up a little, introducing some brighter, poppier grooves that lighten the mood but keep up the pace. He closes out with more melodic and tribal sounds which seem to be introduced to take advantage of your fatigue from the unrelenting moods and rhythms, intoxicating you with head-swimming chord progressions, hip-shaking congas, and bubbly acid lines. It’s a real journey that carries you through in barely perceptible steps which is a sign of a very focused and well-practised DJ with a story to tell.

Fans of Josh Wink will recognize his style permeating every song here; so much so that I suspect many of the tracks are his own white labels. Wink is known as quite a tactician of percussion and rhythm and his characteristic open hi-hats, off-beat snares, punchy kicks, and mod wheel tomfoolery are on full display.

You can almost picture Josh straddling the border between house and techno, dangling his dreadlocks on either side. The elements of repetition and monotony of techno are interposed with the melodies and swing of house. I’d heard his singles like Higher State of Consciousness and I Am Ready and his Left Above The Clouds album, but this mixtape revealed to me what I felt was the REAL Josh Wink – something he accomplished in an hour and a half instead of over months. I respected him all the more for it.

This mix is so great that I have to curb myself from yammering on about it. I’ll close with a heads-up to listen out for his great mixing (minimal techno has few reference points so it takes a steady mind to keep the 4/4 straight) and for the two very different and well-implemented remixes of Don’t Laugh. Enjoy, and please leave a comment to tell me how you like this mix!

Download Side B – 46:23, 84.9 MB

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Another extremely solid mix by R.A.W. from Los Angeles.  This one is similar in many ways (chiefly its subtle, smooth mixing) to Turntable Psycho but without the intricate post-production.  No Darkness is markedly happier as well, featuring several uplifting piano and vocal tracks interspersed with some more percussive darker jungle.  Certainly my cup of tea but perhaps too scattered for some.

To my great dismay I found this tape to be rather crinkled and mangled in places – probably because I’ve carried it around with me so many times in and out of a case.  Luckily only one side seems to have come out a bit muffled.  I did all I could to restore the sound quality but it ain’t much.  Be sure to listen to the preview to determine whether this is a dealbreaker for you, but if you stick with it you’ll find some fine selections here (particularly some notable pop music remixes) with some highly skillful transitioning.  Enjoy!

Download Side B – 45:55, 84.1 MB

256kbps, 44.1kHz stereo

Stereo rebalanced, normalized, treble boosted

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We’ve got a true classic right here. Though it was released in ’97 this tape almost exclusively features tracks circa 1992 and thereabouts. This is a great era as most genres of techno had yet to branch from the trunk, so to speak, meaning that just about everything was jungle plus inklings of something (or more likely, some things) else.

This is a very solid mix of all kinds of primordeal jungle with near-flawless mixing, some awesome scratching, and some dangerous mashups. What really sets this tape apart is the meticulous post-production work. The concept of using a four-tracker to make mixtapes was explained to me by DJ Shane from LA via IRC which was quite a relief because I almost went nuts trying to find the versions of my favourite tracks from this tape with all the awesome samples superimposed. Keep in mind that this tape was revisited at least once before being published and it will be apparent just how much effort went into this very unique creation.

That’s all I have to say about this awesome tape, except that I’ve got at least one other R.A.W. mix to share (No Darkness). I’d now like to take a moment to recant my tale of the time I saw R.A.W. perform.

‘Twas at the Labyrinth Lounge in downtown Toronto that I had the rare and distinct pleasure of seeing this man grace the decks. He played complex and intelligent jungle with lots of wacky breakbeats and those oldskool chords that make me nuts. However, I’m getting ahead of myself so I’ll start at the beginning.

Having heard that one of my favourite all time DJs, R.A.W. from Los Angeles, would be playing nearby, I rounded up a posse and headed downtown. I got an amazing free parking spot right around the corner. I walked into the venue and was greeted by a representative of the Chills Tobacco Company, asking if I’d like to enter a raffle for a 6 foot bong for a couple of bucks. Why the hell not, I rationalised, and traded a Toonie for half a playing card. The seven of spades or thereabouts as I recall.

So I spent the night bopping around to the great beats of some of Toronto’s finest jungle DJs (and this is a city that knows its jungle). Finally my main man R.A.W. stepped up and totally tore the house down. I didn’t know what to expect, having only heard his old mixtapes and wondering how he’d represent at a jungle party. I’m understating by saying that every track he laid down had me slackjaw-awed. Just as his mixtapes featured tracks with this inexplicable comfortable fit spanning multiple genres, so was his track selection this night.

The music spoke to me that night, saying it was all for me. Every beat, every chord, every snare, just for me. I cannot sufficiently articulate this so I don’t expect you to understand what I mean when I say this. However, perhaps this will give you a clue.

My friends were pooped by 3am and took off, but I was determined to stay for the raffle. Finally, about 45 minutes later, the MC called for the music to stop, produced a handful of playing card halves, and called one out. It wasn’t mine, but no one replied. The MC called out another card. Not mine. No reply from the audience. The third card was the charm – it was mine and I raised my half in the air and approached the stage. I’d won a ridiculously huge and impractical Chills bong with a ludicrously tall red plastic shaft and a green alien head at the base. The crowd applauded.

I was then pulled aside by a photographer from Tribe Magazone – a free Toronto publication focused on the local rave and club scene. I was asked to pose with my new smoking aide and to smile for the camera. I somehow could only oblige one of these requests. The poor photographer took 4 or 5 pictures of me but for the life of me I was simply powerless to curl my lips. I had smiled so much that night that my face was just exhausted and couldn’t muster a grin if my life depended on it. Thankfully the photographer gave up before too long.

On my way out the door I was offered $200 for the bong by a fellow partygoer. I replied in the negative, saying I’d keep it forever to remind me of the night I saw R.A.W. I carried the ridiculous thing out the door and onto Bloor Street, even more thankful at my advantageous parking spot. I went home, stashed it in my bedroom, and had some explaining to do to my parents the next morning regarding my new acquiry.

I now proudly display this piece in my living room and think of this night every time I see it. Perhaps it might have served as more than a display piece were it not significantly longer than the human arm, but the sentimental value alone gets me lifted.

Download Side B – 29:37, 54.2 MB

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This was my second rave tape, given to me by Will in high school. It’s a promo tape that was given away with pre-ordered tickets to the Utopia rave in Toronto in May of 1996. The flyer was super awesome, depicting an enormous eyeball towering over a Utopia logo. This was supposed to be my first rave but my friends chickened out, so we didn’t attend one until Destiny 16 in October of the same year.

This tape is really neat and I’m not sure how it’s mixed – four-tracked, maybe? The liner notes list many DJs which would leave me to believe that it’s just songs composed by the headliner artists, but side B features an overdubbed intro sample for Nicky Blackmarket and later an MC props up Darren Jay so I’m not sure.

Oh, did I neglect to mention that side A is techno and trance while side B is oldskool jump-up and ragga jungle? An odd combination indeed, but I imagine it summed up the party proceedings thoroughly.

On side A the opening is the song that thankfully introduced me to Bjork, and the song coming in at 21:00 has that overbaked TB303 that melts my mind. Side B has some of the choicest cuts of some big jungle anthems that I’ve never heard anywhere else. I especially love this mix of Jungalist.

Enjoy, share, and leave a comment!