Once again we are revisiting some older work made by Paul van Dyk. In 2001 PvD released The Politics of Dancing. That album was one of the most diverse, well planned compilations ever made. Four years later, The Politics of Dancing 2 came out on multiple labels and proved to be an even more successful release. These two albums embody all the major components needed to make a great compilation: excellent track selection, first-class mixing, and solid flow. Paul accomplishes all of these in this 2005 release, possibly even a little bit better than in the first album. Disc 1 is a bit more on the progressive side, with deeper tracks and an overall more relaxed feel to it. At this time Andy Moor was at the top of his game, and you can hear 4 of his productions in this album. His remix of Jose Zamora’s Transatlantic is amazing, and his collaboration on Whiteroom’s Somday is a classic. The first disc is filled with beautiful songs, exemplified by the Marty Leama & Andy Moor remix of Getting Away. Other notable tracks in the first mix include Purple Haze’s Adrenaline, Lolo’s Why, and the Rank 1 remix of Lyteo.
Disc 2 is when Paul really lets it go with harder hitting songs, although he still doesn’t match the intensity that he brought with his live sets in the same time period. The first 5 tracks add a bit of house into the mix, including two tracks by Sebastian Ingrosso, Steve Angello, and Simon and Shaker. From there the speed gets turned up with productions by Giuseppe Ottaviani and Marco V. At this time Marco V’s 200V album was just coming out, which is another classic that I hope to share in the near future. To close out the second half of this mix, Thomas Bronzwaer’s Close Horizon and Mark Norman’s T34 really build up the energy which lead to epic productions by Dallas and Wellenrausch. Perasma’s Swing to Harmony and the 93 returning remix of Nothing were also instant classics when they came out, so I’m glad they were included in here.
Trance in 2005 saw some really nice commercially released compilation albums, including Armin’s ASOT 2005, Markus’ Miami 05, and Tiesto’s ISOS 4. Here we get Paul van Dyk’s contribution to the pot, and it is comparable in quality to all the others. Of course Paul’s live sets at this time were 10x better, but this is still a really nice collection of songs to own.
CD1
01 Alex Gold – String Theory
02 Tranquility Base – Getting Away (Leama & Moor Remix)
03 Calmec – Tangerine
04 Jose Zamora – Transatlantic (Andy Moor Remix)
05 Shiloh – Dream On (Luke Chable Remix)
06 Walsh and Coutre feat. Holly – Burn
07 Thomas Datt – Alone
08 Lolo – Why?
09 Purple Haze – Adrenaline
10 Kuffdam and Plant – Summerdream
11 Filo & Peri feat. Fisher – Closer Now
12 White Water – The Unknown
13 Marc van Linden – Forbidden Love
14 Whiteroom – Someday (Instrumental Mix)
15 Kyau vs. Albert – Falling Anywhere (Rework)
16 Mr. Sam – Lyteo (Rank 1 Remix)
17 Solange – Messages (Paul van Dyk Remix) CD2
01 Paul van Dyk – The Other Side
02 Jose Amnesia – Second Day (Martin Roth Remix)
03 Steve Angello & Sebastian Ingrosso – Yeah
04 Simon and Shaker – Make It (Dub Mix)
05 Yellow Blackbird – Superfly (Andy Moor Remix)
06 Guiseppe Ottaviani – Linking People
07 Marco V – More Than a Life Away (Album extended)
08 Thomas Bronzwaer – Close Horizon
09 Mark Norman – T34
10 CJ Stone – Shine (Heart of Stone Mix)
11 Santiago Nino – Believe (Max Graham’s Sidechain Remix)
12 Perasma – Swing to Harmony
13 Dallas – Superstar
14 Wellenrausch- Carry On
15 James Holden – Nothing (93 Returning Mix)
This week’s throwback artist has had many posts on this blog due to the high number of quality sets he has played throughout his career. This particular Essential Mix was made in 1997, which means it is about 14 years old. I was not yet into dance music back then, so I did not recognize a lot of these songs on first listen. Tracks like Flaming June, Forbidden Fruit, Words, and Netherworld were familiar, but everything else was new to my ears. I am however, able to identify several of these artists who are still producing today, including Mac Zimms, Digital Blonde, BT, and Paul Oakenfold. It’s great to know that they have been in the game for such a long time, and their dedication to the music is inspiring. I’m not sure if Andy Ling is still making stuff, but his two remixes in this set are impressive. One thing I will mention is Paul’s liberal use of the flanging effect that you can hear throughout this throwback. I guess mixers weren’t as advanced back then so there wasn’t much variety in usable effects. Damn, I really miss this old style that Paul used to bang out. It’s really too bad he doesn’t play like this anymore, but at least we have these relics to fall back on. Check out this finely crafted flashback below…
Paul van Dyk – Live on BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix (April 20, 1997)
01 Depeche Mode – It’s No Good [BT Mix][000:00]
02 BBG – Just Be Tonight (Disco Citizens Mix) [007:00]
03 E-N feat. Ceevox – That Sound (Edge Factor Dub) [010:22]
04 L.S.G. – Netherworld (Vinyl Cut) [015:25]
05 Sandman – Coimbra (Digital Blondes ‘Floor’ Mix) [019:15]
06 Blue Amazon – No Other Love (Shango’s Acidic Zulu Remix) [026:13]
07 Angelo – Funkdamental [031:48]
08 Isha-D – Stay (Tonight) (Andy Ling’s Local Dub) [040:55]
09 Olive – You’re Not Alone (Oakenfold & Osborne 12″ Remix)[048:07]
10 Junior Camp – Listen To The Rhythm [057:55]
11 Sian – Stronger Together (Andy Ling’s Aryan Dub) [065:13]
12 Tilt – My Spirit (Pink Bomb Remix) [073:13]
13 Millenium – Radio Freedom (Interference Mix) [081:27]
14 Boston Bruins – Enuff [088:16]
15 BT – Flaming June (BT & PvD Mix) [092:44]
16 Paul van Dyk – Forbidden Fruit (BT & PvD’s Food Of Love Mix) [102:51]
17 The Freak & Mac Zimms – Submission [111:05]
18 Yello – On Track (Doug Laurent’s First Journey Dub) [112:59]
19 Paul van Dyk – Words (Album Version) [118:23]
Let’s make it a BT kinda week with one of his older albums posted as today’s throwback. I have all of his work dating back to Ima and ESCM, and I can easily say that this guy is a true innovator of sound. Throughout his career he has successfully fused electronic music with pop, rap, and dance music. His most recent work is shared in the post right before this one, and the Machines series really shows off the refinement and continuous improvement of BT’s production skills. I would love to share some of his more groundbreaking albums such as This Binary Universe or Movement in Still Life, but I have selected this remix album instead to parallel the release of his recent Re-Imagined Machines CD. This Rare & Remixed CD came out in 2001, putting it in between Motion in Still Life and Emotional Technology chronologically. This was BT’s first compilation album and it features many then-unreleased tracks as well as remixes of his songs, and his remixes of other songs. Here we also get to experience a sample of his work under the aliases Libra and Elastic Reality. BT also worked with John Selway under the Dharma collaboration, and the two got back together and, along with Ali from Dubfire, formed the group Prana. Back then BT was also working pretty frequently with PvD, and three of their joint efforts are found in this album. Make sure you check out his collaborations with Tori Amos in Flaming June and Blue Skies, as well as the 1994 remix of Seal’s I’m Alive, and the remix of a BT classic, Dreaming. There aren’t many other producers who are able to adapt their skills to fit so many genres, but BT is definitely one of them. You will find a pretty good range of styles in this release, and it paints a great picture of Brian’s talented capabilities.
BT – Rare & Remixed (2001)
CD1
01 BT – Remember (ESCM 12” Mix)
02 Paul van Dyk – Forbidden Fruit (BT & PvD’s Food Of Love Mix)
03 Dharma – Transway
04 BT – Shame (Way Out West Mix)
05 Grace – Not Over Yet (BT’s Spirit Of Grace)
06 Mike Oldfield – Let There Be Light (BT Mix)
07 Libra pres. Taylor feat. Jan Johnston – Anomaly (Calling Your Name)
08 Seal – I’m Alive (BT & Sasha Mix)
09 Sasha & BT – Heart Of Imagination
10 Prana – The Dream
11 Elastic Reality – Cassa De X
CD2
01 BT – Sunblind
02 BT – Smartbomb (Plump DJs Mix)
03 BT – Fibonacci Sequence
04 Tsunami One & BT – The Hip Hop Phenomenon
05 BT – Godspeed (Hybrid Mix)
06 BT – Dreaming (Science Dept.’s Friend And Family Mix)
07 BT – Blue Skies (Paul van Dyk’s Blauer Himmel Mix)
08 BT – Never Gonna Come Back Down (Timo Maas Mix)
09 Dina Carroll – Run To You (BT Vs. PvD Mix)
10 Sarah McLachlan – I Love You (BT Mix)
11 BT – Flaming June
The journey back through time continues with this highly educational mix put together by Matthias Paul, better known as Paul van Dyk. Before Armin’s Universal Religion, there was PvD’s Politics of Dancing. This is PvD’s very first official mix album, and it came out in 2001 under the Ministry of Sound label. Like most of his older sets, this album contains a nice mix of house, trance, and even some breakbeats. This variety is blended beautifully together with great mixing and post-production touches. Make sure you check out the inside sleeve for Paul’s concept behind this album. It is a bit idealist, but it does carry a nice positive message for the proliferation of dance music. This was one of the first trance albums I ever purchased, and it still holds value even today. Some of my favorites from this album include Into the Night, Rapture, Dreamland, and Interference. This was a very good introduction into the trance world in 2001, and I would still recommend it to anyone who is curious about this genre of dance music.
Paul van Dyk – The Politics of Dancing (2001) CD1
01 Ashtrax – Digital Reason
02 Joker Jam – Innocence (Paul van Dyk Remix)
03 Private Taste – First
04 Jimpy – Feeling Good (Original Version)
05 Paul van Dyk – Vega (Starecase Remix) & Filmpalast – I Want (Acapella)
06 Southern Comforter – Another Late Thursday
07 iiO – Rapture (Paul Van Dyk Remix)
08 Sipping Soma – Superconcious (So Alive) (Dubbed Coast 2 Coast House Mix)
09 Timo Maas – Killin’ Me (Jan Driver Remix)
10 Maji Na Damu – B.W.Y. (DJ 19 & H. Garden Remix)
11 U2 – Elevation (Paul van Dyk Remix)
12 Paul van Dyk – Autumn
13 Viframa – Cristalle
14 Solicitous – Furthermost (Pure Pleasure Mix)
15 Subsky – Four Days (Gil Remix)
16 Second Sun – Empire (Paul van Dyk Remix)
17 Paul van Dyk – Out There CD2
01 Sagitaire – Shout, C’mon (Coast 2 Coast Mix)
02 Mirco de Govia – Epic Monolith
03 Ralphie B – Massive (Paul van Dyk Remix)
04 David Forbes – Questions Must Be Asked (Magica Mix)
05 Way Out West – Activity
06 Connector – Interference
07 Blank & Jones – Secrets & Lies (Solid Sessions Remix)
08 Lexicon 4 – Reach Me
09 Jamnesia – Reset
10 4 Strings – Into The Night
11 Active X – Let’s Go (Vank Mix)
12 Signum – In Progress
13 Walter & Gelder – Section O
14 Solid Sleep – Club Attack (Paul van Dyk Remix)
15 Guardians of The Earth – Starchildren (Quasi Dub)
16 Nu NRG – Dreamland
Here’s another one of my favorite PvD sets from back in the day. As usual you will find an assortment of PvD reworks and edits along with an array of jams from the Vandit label. The set kicks off with a thoroughbred classic from Insigma and doesn’t let up throughout the very last song. Paul’s sets had so much drive to them back then and it’s sorely missed now. Among these great tracks I never get sick of hearing Nothing But You, and Paul actually features it twice in this mix. Let’s get down to the music since that’s what you’re here for anyway.
Paul van Dyk – Live at Cream, Amnesia (August 16, 2002)
01 Insigma – Open Our Eyes (Insigma Mix)
02 PvD ft. Hemstock & Jennings – Nothing But You (Paul’s ‘Original’ Mix)
03 Hi Tech – Let There Be Light (JS16 Rmx)
04 Murphy Brown & Nu NRG – Aloa-P (Mr. Pink Rmx)
05 The Bass Tarts – Summer In Space
06 Klea – Tic Toc (Magik Muzik Rmx) (PvD Rework)
07 040 – Ibiza Dreams (Lost Witness Rmx)
08 Nu NRG – Supersonik Way (PvD Edit)
09 Marco V – Atlanta 020202
10 Atrium – Golden (J’ubio Rmx)
11 Three Drives – Carrera 2 (Original Mix)
12 Armin van Buuren – Sunburn
13 Oceanforce – Euphoric Dream (Oceanforce Mix)
14 Nu NRG – Butterfly
15 Ghostland ft. Sinead O’Connor – Guide Me God (PvD Rmx)
16 Solid Sleep – Club Attack (TPOD Mix by PvD)
17 Connector – Interference (PvD Rework)
18 Blank & Jones – Secrets & Lies (PvD Rework)
19 PvD – Another Way (Club Mix)
20 Noemi – Y.O.U. (Mezziah Mix) (PvD Edit)
21 Sun Decade – I’m Alone (Ronski Speed Mix)
22 PvD ft. Hemstock & Jennings – Nothing But You (Paul’s ‘Original’ Mix)
23 Marco V – I Feel You (PvD Rmx)
24 Angelic Touchdown – Marinero (Nu NRG Extended Mix) http://www.damabeats.dreamhosters.com/throwback/Paul%20van%20Dyk%20-%20Live%20at%20Cream%20Amnesia%20(8-16-2002).mp3%20 Download the set here
Whenever I share something recent from Paul van Dyk, it always makes me reminisce about his older work. No matter how decent his new mixes are, they will never compare with the banging sets he used to put out. One such example is this week’s throwback, a set recorded in 2002 during Love Parade weekend in Berlin. There are two possible reasons for this perceived drop in quality. Either the music has gotten crappier, or his track selection has fallen off. I tend to lean towards the former, but I can’t help but think that Paul is not working as hard as he used to. I have no idea if he is or not, but I can say for sure that his older mixes definitely have more of a bite to them. It may help if Vandit starts signing up some new talent so he has more material to spin with. Or, he could just start spinning some of these older gems again and I wouldn’t complain. The mix starts off with the excellent Moonshine from Liquid Recordings. There are plenty of goodies in this one including a handful of nice PvD-edits. Two of my favorite include his remixes of Marco V’s I Feel You and Reloop’s Fucking Society. There’s striking energy throughout the entire thing and the tracklist keeps me interested song after song… check out how many white tracks he played, the crowd must have been going nuts. Paul’s live mixing has always been world-class, but you can’t really tell as much in this mix because the sound quality of the mp3 is just alright. I’m sure it was 100x better live, which makes me extremely jealous of this crowd in attendance. Paul van Dyk – Essential Mix – Live at Love From Above, Love Parade weekend (July 14, 2002) Columbia Hall, Berlin DE
01 Project Medusa Exor – Moonshine (Exor Part II) (Liquid Recordings)
02 Klea – Tic Toc (Paul van Dyk Re-Edit) (Incentive)
03 Vert – Sky (Magik Muzik Remix) (White Label)
04 Misja Melsloot – First Second (Original Mix) (Gesture Music)
05 John Askew – The Door (Discover Records)
06 4 Strings – Driving (Nebula)
07 Marco V – I Feel You (Paul van Dyk Remake) (White Label)
08 Rapid Eye – Circa Forever (Rapid Eye R.E.MIX) (ATCR Records)
09 Nu-NRG – Supersonic
10 Malte & Marc De Clark – No More Rain
11 Oceanforce – Euphoric Dream (White Label)
12 Analog Sound – Stupid (Headline)
13 Fischerspooner – Emerge (Dave Clarke Remix) (MOS)
14 Blank & Jones – Suburban Hell (White Label)
15 Tayfum – Der Traum (Energie Berlin)
16 Antiloop Remixes from the Rebels Room – Trespasser (White Label)
17 Prime Mover – The Weapon (Vandit)
18 Reloop – Fucking Society (Paul van Dyk Re-Edit) (White Label)
19 Dick Van Nille – Outside / Stubby (Drohschiebe)
20 The Spacefrog feat. The Grim Reaper – Follow Me (Mr Bishi Dub) (White Label)
21 Insigma – Open Your Eye’s (Insigma Mix) (ATCR Records)
22 Solid Sleep – Club Attack (Paul van Dyk TPOD Mix) (Vandit)
Since we’re still at the top of this new year, here is another NYE set from the turn of 2011. This mix was recorded from the Dubai World Trade Center in the U.A.E. at the Peppermint Experience Party (a Fluid Productions party). Paul van Dyk played a nice mix of house and trance that night, so fans of both genres (and anything in between) should have been pretty satisfied. The tracklist does have a lot of variety, which may or may not be a selling point for you. I would have liked something with a little bit more steadfastness, but it’s nice to hear different textures once in a while. I’m not sure what type of talent people in the U.A.E. are used to seeing, but this party seems like it was a good one. As always, if anyone knows any of the ID’s it would be great if you could share them.
Paul van Dyk – NYE Live in Dubai (Peppermint Experience Party)
01 Simon Gain & Joey Seminara – The Ripper
02 Danceteria – Passion (Heikki L & Mr. A Rmx)
03 Alex Kenji & Federico Scavo – Gimme Five (Mix 1)
04 Jochen Miller – uPad (Extended Mix)
05 Martin Solveig ft. Dragonette – Hello (Michael Woods Dub)
06 Basto! – Gregory’s Theme
07 John Gibbons & Scimon Tist – Beautiful Filth (Paul Webster Rmx)
08 Noel Sanger – Everglade Anthem
09 D-Mad – We Have It (Broning Rmx)
10 George Acosta – Tubular Bells (Gerry Cueto Rmx)
11 Ruben de Ronde – Forever In Our Hearts (Tom Colontonio Rmx)
12 M.I.K.E. – The Art Of Love (Protoculture Rmx)
13 ID – well known
14 ID – ID
15 Spencer & Hill – Excuse Me (Dub Mix)
16 Benny Benassi ft. Kelis, Apl.De.Ap & Jean-Baptiste – Spaceship (Fedde Le Grand Rmx)
17 ID – well known
18 ID – ID
19 Filo & Peri ft. Audrey Gallagher – This Night (Dash Berlin Rmx)
20 Aspin & Dipace vs. Luvstuff – You Too (Miles Dyson Rmx)
21 Dogzilla – Without You (12” Mix)
22 ID – [Track 14 @ Session 227]
23 Mark Eteson & Ben Nicky – Altitude (Giuseppe Ottaviani Rmx)
24 Underworld ft. High Contrast – Scribble
Here’s another look back at trance in 2010, this time with the help of Mr. Paul van Dyk. This 2 disc album represents a lot of Vandit material, which means there’s plenty of Guiseppe Ottaviani, Reverse, and Filo & Peri to be heard. The first disc is pretty progressive with some really nice productions from Eric Prydz, Arty, Michael Woods, and Jerome Isma-Ae. One track that I never get sick of hearing is Michael Wood’s Dynamik, and the Prydz’ track Glow is pretty awesome as well. Even though I’m not used to PvD spinning this style, he does a great job holding your attention with a lot of funky beats and great mixing. The second disc is more of what I’m used to, which has more energy than the first. The songs are faster overall, and at the end you are treated to three GO remixes in a row, including two old school tunes which were revived this year. Paul does a great job mixing a handful of new tracks with some of the best from earlier this year, but what I was most impressed with in this album is the mixing. Transitions are clean, fast, and flow naturally; none of them sound forced which is something I really appreciate. This is one of the better compilation albums PvD has put out in a while, and I highly recommend taking a listen through this one.
CD1
01 Hannah – I Believe In You (Ali Wilson & Tristan Ingram Full Fire Club Mix)
02 Pryda – Inspiration
03 Ben Preston feat. Susie – Remember Me
04 Spencer & Hill – Excuse Me (Dub Mix)
05 Sneijder – Away From Here (Arty Remix)
06 D-Mad – She Gave Happiness (Arty Remix)
07 Plastic Angel – Pascale 2010 (Green & Falkner Remix)
08 Strobe – We Are The Future
09 Dan Castro – High Tide
10 STFU – Going Back To My Roots (STFU Mix)
11 EDX – Thrive (EDX’s Fe5tival Mix)
12 MEM – Forza
13 Michael Woods – Dynamik
14 Tomcraft & Jerome Isma-Ae – Trouble In The Redlight District (Weekend Heroes Remix)
15 Cirez D – Glow
16 Charlie G & Vandall – Machined (Beltek Remix)
CD2
01 Alpha 9 – Come Home
02 Yuri Kane – Right Back (Anton Firtich Dub)
03 Mike Shiver vs Fandy – Sique (Ronski Speed Remix)
04 Filo & Peri feat. Audrey Gallagher – This Night (Alex M.O.R.P.H. Remix)
05 DJ’s United – Remember Love
06 Marco V and MoHawk – Zero One
07 Orla Feeney – Lesson Learned (Giuseppe Ottaviani Remix)
08 Ernesto vs Bastian – Hyper Globe
09 Paul van Dyk – We Come Together (Reverse Remix)
10 Jon O’Bir feat. Fisher – Found A Way
11 Sly One vs Jurrane – Everything To Me (Giuseppe Ottaviani Remix)
12 Max Graham feat. Ana Criado – Nothing Else Matters (Aly & Fila Remix)
13 Rank 1 & Jochen Miller vs First State – The Brave Escape (Ben Hunt Mash Up)
14 Giuseppe Ottaviani and Walsh & McAuley feat. Emma Lock – Ready (Maarten De Jong Remix)
15 Greg Downey – Global Code (Scot Project Remix)
16 7 Skies – Sushi (Ben Gold Remix)
17 Mark Eteson & Ben Nicky – Altitude (Giuseppe Ottaviani Remix)
18 Paul van Dyk feat. Johnny McDaid – We Are One (Giuseppe Ottaviani Remix)
19 System F – Out Of The Blue 2010 (Giuseppe Ottaviani Remix)
20 Reverse – Absolute Reality
Here is the product of a collaboration between Paul van Dyk, Paul Oakenfold, and Armin van Buuren, created to benefit the victims and families of those affected in the 2010 Love Parade incident. Proceeds from this song will go directly to the Association of Non-statutory Welfare in North Rhine-Westphalia Germany. The track will be available exclusively on Beatport, so go grab your copy when it is released tomorrow. The song itself is ok, but it is the message and the concept of it which is important. It is a shame what happened at this year’s event, and from what I hear the annual dance celebration will no longer be continued. The world’s largest free dance event which symbolized love and peace has been tragically crushed forever, and all we have left to remember it by is this song. Pretty bad deal huh? The dance music scene has been getting a lot of crap lately (especially here in California), I really hope there’s some better publicity coming in the near future while the scene improves its reputation… RIP to those who passed.
damaBeats presents... 