Download Side B – 30:14, 55.3 MB

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Stereo rebalanced, normalized, treble boosted

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This is a white label tape simply labelled “Clarkee”. The case lists “1996″ on the spine of the J-card.

It’s primarily chugging hardcore with percussive progressive minimalist techno-style arrangements, with some acidcore and bleepy little melodies thrown in for good measure. The 4/4 is pretty dependable throughout, punctuated by distorted 909s. If the audio range weren’t so full I’d suspect nearly the entire mix was comprised of hard techno tracks pitched up to 45.

There is a certain je-ne-sais-quois about this mix that really makes it stand out. It’s not just any hardcore mix. The regularity and monotony of the beats and patterns might be a turn-off for some, but I find myself really losing myself in the rhythm as I listen. The sound is really unconventional and relentless, almost like the caffeinated love child of Hardfloor and Robert Hood.

This is one of very few Clarkee mixes I’ve heard, but it’s enough for me to call him one of my favourite hardcore DJs of all time. I just love the direction he takes. It has a great mood and doesn’t fear to stomp all over uncharted territory. Definitely one of my favourite mixes.

Please leave a comment to tell me whether you enjoy this mix!

Download Side B – 32:09, 73.6 MB

320kbps, 44.1kHz stereo

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I taped this off the radio one night (CHIN 100.7FM Toronto) during the peak of exposure of electronic music, back when you were guaranteed some sort of reputable techno or cousin thereof on the airwaves at any time of day.  No fun story to share about this tape.  DJ Dominik was one of the members of the Canadian Hardcore Collective;  a group of Torontonian DJs who hosted hardcore techno radio shows.  I’d always figured Toronto Hardcore Collective would have had a more impactful acronym but what do I know.

Dominik is unquestionably a well-respected DJ due to his music, his abrupt juggles and cuts, and especially his musical tastes, specializing in Dutch-style hardcore and gabber.  His style has always been very well defined – very Dominik – and no one else in the city had the records this guy had.  This mix is a perfect example of what one could expect from the man at a party or club.  That is, if he showed up.

I swear, I went out of my way to score tickets to perhaps 6 parties Dominik was booked at, and he showed up for the gig maybe once.  I’ve also got a 4-tape continuous recording of a flustered DJ Frisky who was supposed to do a tag-team show with Dominik but he never showed up, leaving the poor chap with 6 hours of airtime and 3 hours of records.  Other times I’ve been pleasantly surprised to find him spinning to an empty room, unannounced, at some club or event, leaving plenty of space for me to hop around to his bouncy basslines.

Dominik has played for crowds all over the world so perhaps his fairweather reputation doesn’t leave the city, but it’s the second trait that comes to mind after his outstanding skills.  Regardless, don’t let my jaded, fuzzy recollection of trifling nightlife politics muddy your opinion of this mix.  His transitions and beatmatching are terrific, he plays many gems most hardcore heads have never heard, and what you hear here is consistent with what you can expect when you see the man live.  Dominik is one of Toronto’s most admired and accomplished DJs and one of the true founders of our rave scene.

Download Side B – 32:44, 59.9 MB

256kbps, 44.1kHz stereo

Normalized

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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 – 25:17, 46.3 MB

256kbps, 44.1kHz stereo

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This is a recording of just another night on DJ Marcus Visionary’s and DJ Prime’s show, The Prophecy, on CIUT 89.5 FM, Toronto, circa 1998.  Three fine jungle DJs grace the decks in this recording – host Marcus, and fellow locals Everfresh and Slide.  The Prophecy show has been a Toronto institution as long as I’d been attending raves and clubs (1996), and likely a lot earlier than even that.

This show is a a little on the chatty side which is a shame.  Marcus is a great DJ whose talents and radio show get better with every passing year, but his show has always been stuffed to the gills with his yammering.  In this 60-minute recording there’s maybe 5 minutes of talking (overtop the beats) so be ye fairly warned, sez I.

It’s cool having 3 DJs in the span on an hour because we’re treated to a good variety of flavours.  Marcus grinds into gear with some grimey tech jungle, and Everfresh and Slide pick up where Marcus leaves off, easing gradually into more ethereal and soothing sounds.  I’m not sure whether it’s Everfresh or Slide who drops it, but side 2 of this mix features my favourite D&B track of all time – Grooverider’s remix of Pacific by 808 State.  Also watch out for Miles From Home by Peshay, one of my favourite jazzy/liquid D&B producers, on the second side.

I’ve always been big on jungle music but it was kind of an also-ran – I’d go to parties to see various headliners playing other genres and I’d traipse into the accompanying jungle room a few times to see what’s up and change the pace.  So, unfortunately, I don’t have any particularly witty tales of wacky exploits related to these DJs.  The best I’ve got is my recollection of a party in Hamilton, Ontario, that I checked out with some of my pals, when we witnessed Marcus snarf a heroic rail off the side of a 1200 before pounding out an enthusiastic set.

The Prophecy is on from 8-10pm Eastern Standard Time and you can listen in on the CIUT live radio stream.  It’s well worth your time too, as Marcus’ style has really evolved a lot over the years, so in addition to the latest jungle styles and white labels you can hear the likes of garage, jazzy breakbeats, and other various percussive treats.

Download Side B – 31:05, 56.9 MB

256kbps, 44.1kHz stereo

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What’s to be said about Mystical Influence?  He and his brother, DJ Sniper, are amongst Toronto’s top DJ talent; the bar by which all our city’s D&B DJs are measured.  Mystical throws down the deep and buzzy basslines with lots scattered and poppy renegade snares, while Sniper’s specialty has been the warm-up, jump-up, more positive and funky, vocal tunes.

The sounds on this recording are classic, unapologetic Mystical.  Expect some dangerous grimey basslines ‘longside mechanical, reliable beats, or low-key dread bass giving way to overcomplex, near-breakcore snare arrangements.  A couple of songs in this mix feature nonstandard syncopation which transform the beat to a nearly 6/8 time signature, and transitions into and out of 4/4 tracks take some serious concentration, familiarity, and raw talent which this DJ has to spare.

I have no particularly noteworthy Mystical Influence stories to share, unfortunately.  The guy is an institution – if there’s a jungle party worth going to, this guy is almost guaranteed to be there.  I’ve been out of the loop long enough that I’m not sure whether Mystical does the rounds anymore, but if he does consider yourself blessed.

One thing that I will say about this guy is that he’s one of the reasons I started caring less and less about headliners.  I’ve bought more than my fair share of lousy one-off mix CDs by the biggest names you can muster, and they don’t hold a candle in professionalism or track selection to any of my random tapes off of Toronto DJs like Mystical Influence.

Bo.

Download Side B – 30:54, 70.7 MB

320kbps, 44.1kHz mono, normalized

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Oi oooooooi!!

Ratpack is the DJ Everson (or Evenson?) Allen ‘longside MC Lipmaster Mark – mainstays of the English rave scene since pretty well the beginning.  The duo had been performing for years (not sure how many) even at the time of this 1993 recording.  They’ve served as frontmen for the UK rave scene and especially for what would be known as oldskool breakbeat hardcore, staying true to this style throughout their careers, and helping bring awareness and popularity to this and other electronic music genres.

These guys are really special to me.  I’ve got a lot of their tapes (all bootlegs as the real McCoy is tough to come by all the way overseas) and am surprised and delighted to be able to say that I actually look forward to this DJ/MC combo.  It’s so rare to find this sort of duo that plays off eachother so well.  I understand these Fantazia events accommodated well over 10,000 screaming ravers so it’s to be expected the mixing is a little on the sloppy side, but the horns and whistles and cheers, and especially the lyrical work of Lipmaster Mark, prove sufficient even on this poorish-quality recording to bring the listener in to this world of noise and excess.  Mark is a joyous, enthusiastic MC who addresses his DJ and his crowd alike, and his gravelly pipes shine through as he sings along or improvises in tandem with what would become oldskool anthems.

This tape is a collector’s piece, plain and simple.  I’ve done my best to restore the audio quality, but check out the preview sample above to see whether it passes muster.

I was handed this tape, as well as several others, by DJ Virus from Toronto, Canada.  He and I traded a lot of music back in the day and I’m pretty sure we left off not having returned everything to its rightful owner, but them’s the breaks if you’ll forgive a pun.

Adam and I hung out many times and I accompanied him to several parties over the years, meeting him by chance at others, and providing him a fortuitous ride home when he had no contingency plan from time to time.  He started out an above-average happy hardcore DJ who has evolved into an outstanding one, playing gigs for perhaps 13 years now or more.  He was a quiet and reserved guy who would sport the fattest pants you’ve ever seen, but seem a little self-conscious about wearing them.  The man’s track selections have always been tight, bringing a flavour of oldskool into the latest hardcore trends (I really dig the resurgence of breakbeats), and he’s worked very hard for all the gigs and respect and clout he’s so rightfully earned.

So this tape rip goes out to you, Virus.  This is probably one of the tapes you loaned me and I never gave back, so better late than never, right?

Download Side B – 29:37, 54.2 MB

256kbps, 44.1kHz stereo

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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!