Download Side B – 51:15, 117.0 MB

320kbps, 44.1kHz stereo, normalized

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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

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 – 48:08, 44.0 MB

128kbps, 44.1kHz mono

Stereo channels consolidated, normalized, treble boosted

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I scrounged through my old bedroom the other day and found about two dozen tapes by world famous DJs that I’ll be very excited to share, but I refused to leave until I dug up this treasure. Even though I’ve got mixes by Terry Mullen, Josh Wink, Thee-o, and more in the pile, I was sure to rip this one first.

This is a mix by Toronto’s DJ LeFreak who I’ve met on many occasions. Though we don’t speak often she’s said some things about old skool techno that really rang true and stuck with me. For instance, as is very apparent in old mixes like R.A.W. – Turntable Psycho, old techno is a sort of musical Pangaea before subgenres split off and compartmentalised. Also, she once confessed that there’s something about old skool chord progressions that affect her so deeply it makes her want to cry – something I’ll admit to experiencing on many occasions, and more than once with the songs in this mix.

So then, about the mix! Not only are we treated to many very classic tracks from the likes of Moby and Josh Wink, but LeFreak has selected some of the best remixes of these tracks that I’ve never heard anywhere else. Though the blanket term for this mix would certainly be trance there are inklings of techno, psy, and even hardcore lurking in the undercurrents.

One thing I admire about LeFreak’s sets is that she’s not afraid to fiddle with the pitch control. Side A is quite content at its slow and deliberate tempo, but side B dares to get a little faster every few songs. I like that she’s done this as it gradually introduces a little extra energy without compromising the overall tone and mood. This effectively defines the album as a 90-minute wake-up which helps it succeed so effectively as a summery chill mix.

Pack up some sandwiches and a blanket, find a nice shady spot under a tree (I recommend Grange Park), throw on this tape, and enjoy the summer breeze.

Download Side B – 48:16, 88.3 MB

256kbps, 44.1kHz stereo

Normalized

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This is a very clean studio mix of the world famous British techno DJ Mark E.G. The first half features Mark’s characteristically relentless hard banging techno style, while the second half cools down a bit with some wavy synth trance.

This is a really well arranged mix with some very tight beat matching. Where this mix fails in diversity it succeeds doubly in its energy and its insistance to suck the listener inside. As I listen to the mix once more I find that as soon as I’m done (thoroughly) identifying all the intricacies of one song I’m pleased to hear the next one being mixed in seamlessly.

I loved this tape when I was younger but I’m not so enthused about it anymore. It’s rather monotonous and only a couple of songs stand out (particularly the Jim Morrison sampled track at the end of side A – Acen fans will smirk knowingly at this one) . I really wish the entire tape or at least three quarters was techno as I find the trance selections to be excessively repetitive and rather lifeless and without the heart and soul of good trance. Alternating between hard techno and this minimal trance might have shuffled things up a little more effectively as well, I feel.

What’s missing from this mix more than most is the live experience. I’ve seen Mark E.G. spin a few times and he really knows how to work the crowd. This guy is nuts. I had the great privilege of standing beside him for an entire set in ’99 or ’00 and I was glad to be standing at his side since, A, it’s awesome watching him twiddle knobs like mad and cut into a record he slapped on the deck mere seconds ago, and B, because he had a box of water bottles at his feet and every now and then he’d open one up and throw it into the crowd! He also smashed a few records over his head, and when I saw him at WEMF he actually trashed his 1200s at the end of his set, smashing them on the stage to uproarious applause.

Mark E.G. is the very definition of intensity. He’s always bopping and dancing around, headbanging much more than nodding, and loves to climb up onto the table to scream obscenities at the audience while flipping them off with both hands. He’s rather punky as well with short dreadlocks that quiver with the bass and plenty of facial piercings. His energy is not aggressive though – his demeanour is obviously celebratory like a professional hedonist, and the crowd identifies with it easily and absolutely eats this up. Mark E.G. and his music are one and the same – two facets of that same youthful exuberance we revel in when we dance like no one’s watching.

Mark E.G. “gets it”, and I hope you will too as you enjoy this mix.

Download Side B – 31:05, 56.9 MB

256kbps, 44.1kHz stereo

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This is a recording of an unlabeled tape by a DJ who doesn’t introduce himself, but it sounds a whole lot to me like the king of Toronto tech-step, one of my fair city’s most oldskool and well-respected DJs, Mystical Influence. I’m guesstimating the date.

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 – 35:29, 64.9 MB (incomplete)

256kbps, 44.1kHz stereo

Perceived peak independent channels normalized

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When you leave a Toronto nightclub any time after midnight you’re pretty well guaranteed to be bombarded with a flurry of fliers for other events and parties.  In the 90′s it was rare to see any event with house music without the names Peter and Tyrone written near or at the top.  These guys are some of Toronto’s most prolific, consistently booked resident DJs, and for good reason as this mixtape indicates.

The title is a bit of a misnomer as I personally wouldn’t classify most of the songs as hard house per se – the A side is mostly melodic and the B side is chiefly tech and Chicago style post-disco house. However, there are some truly banging tracks that will not disappoint the most dangerous housers.  The mixing is spot-on and obviously handled by a couple of pairs of delicate, skilled hands.  These guys get a lot of practise and it shows.

I was optimistic about the great quality of the audio on this tape, but unfortunately I believe the casing is damaged and squeezes inward a bit.  This makes the reels very difficult to turn about 3/4 of the way through side B – so much so that my tape player stopped in the same place the 3 times I tried to record it.  One time while trying to tighten up the tape by fast-forwarding and rewinding it all the way the tape didn’t disengage from the head and got barfed all over my floor.  It’s a darn good thing I have experience with this as it took me a good 10 minutes to gingerly unhook it from the head and respool it with a pencil.  The tape is a bit wrinkled but luckily it sounded pristine when I recorded it.

This is one of few tapes that includes a track list.  Here it is.  Please leave a comment to let me whether you enjoyed this tape and what your favourite track is.  Mine is Paco Di Bango by Playboy!

Side A (“Hard Side”)

Daft Punk – Around The World (RMX)
Dave Angel – Tokyo Stealth Fighter
Jark Prongo – D.M.S.
Junkheadz – Work On Me Baby
Yello – To The Sea
Peace Division – Back To Back
DJ Sneak – Keep On Groovin (RMX)
Le Patron – Est Devenu Fou
Sneaker Pimps – Six Underground (RMX)

Side B (“Harder Side”)

Studio 54 – Le Sample House
Basement Jaxx – Samba Magic (RMX)
Special Agents – The Slut
Playboy – Paco Di Bango
Rozzo – You Know
Joel Mull – Lusk 001
Music First – Stellarium
Green Flame & Mr. G – Who Knows Dub
Green Velvet – Answering Machine
Svek – What Is The Time