Pacific Front Sessions January 2009 starts off the new year with some cool, mellow tracks that reflect the mood of winter in Victoria. The first track by Soundstorm is remixed by Dynamic Illusion into a subdued atmospheric house piece. Local techno legend Rennie Foster’s track adds a little fun into the mix with a remix from The Youngsters, which is followed up by 16B’s tech-funk house piece “To Run To.” The Humbertron (aka Formulate) remix of Trifecta makes its way into the mix by picking up the pace and slamming the speakers with bass and ride cymbals. I’d really like to hear that one on a big system. Next up is the final and official version of my own Bergamot – it’s fairly different than the version that aired last summer on Pacific Front Sessions. Last night I walked into Noodlebox and the next track was playing – Dale Anderson and Stewart Keenan’s “End To End.” Really beautiful breaks remix by Aeron Aether – not to be messed with. This sets up Dousk’s superb Blender which gets mixed heavily with Mango’s “Forever July” which then plays by itself for around a minute before Paul Keeley’s “Run To You” finishes off the mix.
Tracklisting:

1. Soundstorm – Iris (Dynamic Illusion remix) [Silk Digital Records]
2. Rennie Foster – Devils Water (The Youngsters remix) [Rebirth]
3. Omid 16B – To Run To (Original mix) [SexOnWax Recordings]
4. Trifecta – Terraforce (Humbertron remix) [Pacific Front Recordings]
5. AFK – Bergamot (Original mix) [Pacific Front Recordings]
6. Dale Anderson and Stewart Keenan – End to End (Aeron Aether remix) [Navigation Limited]
7. Dousk – Blender (Original mix) [Vapour Recordings]
8. Mango – Forever July (Original mix) [Proton Music]
9. Paul Keeley – Run To You (Original mix) [Baroque Records]

Every now and then I’ll do an all-breaks mix. In this case, it’s an all trancey-breaks mix. Why bother saying Progressive Breaks when people know about as much about Progressive Breaks as they do about fractured semiotic fields. What? Exactly. So it’s trancey breaks, I don’t care if trance is a bad word – you know it means melodic and that’s all I care about. The mix aired on Retroid’s “Morphosis” show on Proton Radio – yes, there is a relation to the music label there too, which is also run by Retroid. Morphosis is of my favorite labels, so of course I was honored to be a guest. I’m going to Tofino this weekend to get away, and I’ll be spending part of the time working on my new Pacific Front Sessions mix as well as finishing off my remix of Fractal – Oceanography, which incidentally starts the mix. Thanks to Retroid for having me on the show. Hope you enjoy!

1. Fractal – Oceanography (Original mix) [Pacific Front]
2. Habersham and Numinous – Leaving Tifton (Digital Witchcraft remix) [Blueprint Recordings]
3. Umut Anacoglu and Redloft featuring Nesli – Just Fantasize (Aeron Aether remix) [LuPS Records]
4. Fitalic – Airflow (Original mix) [Tribal Vision Records]
5. Nicholas Bennison and Micah – I’ve Been There (Micah’s Breaks mix) [Screen 2]
6. AFK – Eclipse (Original mix) [Pacific Front]
7. U.N.K.L.E. – Glow (Hybrid remix) [Global Underground]
8. Airwave – Sunday Break (Original mix) [Bonzai]

I start off this show with a track by Pablo Roma. Dynamic Illusion did three remixes of this track and this one is my favorite. I can’t get enough of this down-tempo-esque highly produced stuff. From there we transfer to a song by Snake Sedrick – this particular track is the flip-side of Inbreak, which you may have heard in one of my mixes from earlier this year. Hybrid remixes Shifter and Carvell, Quivver points at the clock, Dousk’s classic remix of Tilt, Kasey Taylor’s new pummeling “Coconuts”, Medway and Sven remixed by the Flash Brothers, and as promised my Ulrich Schnauss remix. One of my all-time favorite Way Out West tracks, “Secret,” finishes it off. Enjoy!

1. Pablo Roma – Sad Flowers (Dynamic Illusion Intro mix) [FeralCode Records]
2. Snake Sedrick – Outbreak (Original mix) [Tilth Music]
3. Shifter and Carvell – A Dark Distance (Hybrid remix) [Boz Boz]
4. Quivver – Tick Tick (Original mix) [Boz Boz]
5. Tilt – Twelve (Dousk Alt remix) [Lost Language]
6. Kasey Taylor – Coconuts (Original mix) [Vapour Recordings]
7. Medway and Sven Hauck – Division (Flash Brothers remix) [Baroque]
8. Ulrich Schnauss – Goodbye (AFK remix) [Unreleased]
9. Way Out West – Secret (Original mix) [Distinctive]

This is our third year anniversary of Pacific Front Sessions, and as such myself and Formulate decided to do a special 2 hour collaborative set. Particularly new new new stuff to listen for: Bergamot (the original way too steeped mix) and Terraforce – the track myself, Formulate and Dustin H did together. I did my own mix of it and you can hear it mid set. We had a blast so this is certainly the first of several collaborative sets. I think you will enjoy this as much as we did putting it together.
Tracklisting:

1. Roland Klinkenberg – Dusty Horizon Interlude [Global Underground]
2. Voyager – For The Heart [Voyager]
3. Eelke Klejin – Ondine [Global Underground]
4. David West & Inkfish – Hello Piano (Kosmas Epsilon Dub Mix) [Tolerant]
5. Sam Ball – Colour Code [I-fi Music]
6. Paul Thomas & Myke Smith – The Grudge (Fine Taste Remix) [Baroque Limited]
7. AFK – Bergamot (Steeped too long mix) [Pacific Front]
8. Medway & Swen Hauck – No Step [Dutchie Music]
9. Miki Litvak & Ido Ophir – Shnorkel (Dousk Remix) [Iboga]
10. Mohawk – Celestia (J-soul Remix) [Sedna]
11. Trifecta – Terraforce (AFK mix) [Pacific Front]
12. Benz & Md – Visceral (Probspot Breaks Mix) [Primal]
13. 16 Bit Lolitas – Goodbye Pluto (Version 1) [Bits & Pieces]
14. Nic Fanciulli – Scratch & Sniff [Toolroom]
15. Jim Rivers – For My Need [Saw]
16. Benz & Md – Signals (Afk Dragon Dub) [Proton Music]
17. Roland Klinkenberg – Dusty Horizon (Max Graham Club Mix) [Global Underground]
18. Sleepfreaks – P.h.b. (Director’s Cut Mix) [Method]

Pacific Front Sessions for May 2008 is a special 2 hour mix, my second 2 hour mix of the year. Seriously I am not running out of good music either, so this is a very encouraging time to be in the industry. My hats off to all the producers in this mix – there is some new, and some old, but I think you’ll agree that it all goes together regardless of age. Of particular note here is a track that myself, Formulate, and Dustin H wrote. We don’t have a name for it yet – there are a few names on the table right now – but if you have a suggestion we’re all ears. The track will be coming out with a mix by Dustin (featured in this mix), myself, and also one by the elusive Formulate. My new remix of John Morgan (Powerplant) and Kevin Shiu is also in here, as is the original track – “8 Feet Under” – which will be coming out on Powerplant Music. It’s a bit of a corker and I did it specifically with VEMF in mind. The original mix of “8 Feet Under” is a dark and hypnotic piece that would sound at home in one of John Digweed’s darker sets, closer to the end. This was a very enjoyable track to remix. One of the producers to look out for in this mix is Snake Sedrick – his breaks track “Inbreak” is one of my favorites in some time, and his “Aha” is remixed by Jaytech (who remixed my “Lush” track) and it’s really a fine piece of dance music. Another producer to look out for in this mix is Fretwell – I put two of his remixes in here. He is one of my favorite producers and he really delivers on the two tracks that I’ve chosen here. Anyway, those are enough notes from me. Enjoy the show!
Tracklisting:

1. Momu – Descolada (Dislodged remix) [3 Beat Breaks]
2. Snake Sedrick – Inbreak (Original mix) [Tilth Music]
3. Pole Folder featuring Sandra Feretti – Protected (Fretwell remix) [Mo-Do]
4. Probspot – Heatsink (Original mix) [Primal Recordings]
5. Cassino and Laben – Inventiveness (Michael and Levan remix) [Hunya Munya Records]
6. Keenan and Anderson – Promises (Faskil remix) [Navigation Records]
7. Paul Thomas and Myke Smith – The Grudge (Fine Taste remix) [Baroque Limited Records]
8. John Morgan and Kevin Shiu – 8 Feet Under (Original mix) [Powerplant Music]
9. Snake Sedrick – Aha (Jaytech remix) [Tilth Music]
10. Seth Vogt featuring Maraya – Leave Me Lonely (Fretwell remix) [Shiznit Recordings]
11. Medway – The Bassline Track (Jiva Roid Rage mix) [Hooj Choons]
12. Greed – Strange World (Blackwatch King Monkey Dub) [SOG Records]
13. Minilogue – In A Deeper Motion (Original mix) [Baroque Records]
14. Downkill – Minor Theory (Dynamic Illusion remix) [Toes in the Sand]
15. John Morgan and Kevin Shiu – 8 Feet Under (AFK’s Overkill remix) [Powerplant music]
16. Keenan and Anderson featuring Tiff Lacey – Runaway (Mat Zo Vocal remix) [Navigation Records]
17. Formulate, AFK and Dustin H – Unnamed (Dustin H mix) [Pacific Front Recordings unreleased]
18. Nathan Fake – The Sky Was Pink (Icelandic Version) [Border Community]

Pure.FM is an all-house/progressive house station so I decided to have some fun with that limitation. I started off with the Formulate remix of me and Thor’s Royal Assassin tune, “Turn of Twilight.” Formulate’s remix starts off pretty minimal but soon enough the layers come in a careful and clinical way. From there it’s straight into the breakdown of Quivver’s new “Surin,” an unsuspecting but utterly beautiful production from John Graham – one of the gems of 2008 for certain. This leads to Matt Rowan and Jaytech’s remix of Lush, my best selling track to date. Nick Muir’s “Airtight” is next as we prepare to take things up several notches in intensity – the layers really start to build here, as does the atmosphere. Traveller and Quests classic remix of Ocean Wave’s “Clearwater” gallops in and places itself square in the middle of the mix, emphasizing that yes – this will be four on the floor the whole way through. Another gem from the past, “Leaving Planet Earth,” is remixed by Dousk from drum and bass into progressive house. Nice work by Dousk there. The atmosphere begins to peak out with a new track by Retroid and Fretwell called “Vertical Horizon.” If you place all these track names together you get some sort of storyline here and it’s kind of neat. One of the de-facto progressive house tracks, in my opinion, is this Tarrentella vs. Redanka remix of Andy Ling’s “Fixation.” It’s pretty old – and it sounds it, but did you know it’s 8 years old? That’s older than it sounds. It has aged well, very well and fits nicely between that new Morphosis track and the new Pacific Front track, Seismic, which finishes off the mix. Thanks to Kennedy for having me on the show.
Tracklisting:

1. Royal Assassin – Turn of Twilight (Formulate remix) [Pacific Front Recordings]
2. Quivver – Surin (Original mix) [Boz Boz]
3. AFK – Lush (Matt Rowan and Jaytech remix) [Proton Music]
4. Nick Muir – Airtight (D-Nox and Beckers remix) [Vapour]
5. Ocean Wave – Clearwater (Traveller and Quest remix) [Vapour Recordings]
6. Talisman and Hudson – Leaving Planet Earth (Dousk remix) [Too Much Information]
7. Fretwell and Retroid – Vertical Horizon (Michael and Levan remix) [Morphosis Recordings]
8. Andy Ling – Fixation (Tarrentella vs. Redanka remix) [Hooj Choons]
9. AFK & Dustin H – Seismic (Original mix) [Pacific Front Recordings]

Pacific Front Sessions: March 2008 starts off on a tip that has been absent for a while from my mixes.. tribal atmospheric. This first track called “Train of Thought” takes me back several years to a bar called Neptune where I used to have a residency with Brian (Seed from Ritual Sounds), Yoseff and Nigel Haze. Very moody and reminds me a lot of those good times down at the blue bar. The track is brand new on Morphosis though, and is one half of a great release. Next is a Kasey Taylor remix of a really chuggin’ tune by Avilo, “Easy 15.” It’s a bit of an usual track, which is what I like about it. The build from there is into Jay Lumen’s “Ultra,” an atmospheric progressive house track that reminds me a bit of Miami and specifically WMC. I never heard it while I was there but I could definitely see this going off in the middle of the day on any one of the dozens of huge sound systems there. Following this is a really cool track by Joel Armstrong called “Hey Hey Hey,” and the remix is by Bastards of Funk and Sonic Union. Some really cool drum fills and a fun bassline move the mix forward away from the ethereal and into some higher energy material. This provides the bridge into the third track I did with Dustin H, “Seismic,” which Shiloh does the remix on. Great bass line and synth maneuvers by Shiloh here, providing a very original and different take on the tune. This track was just released this past Monday so grab it on Beatport – also be sure to check out the other mixes because they are pretty diverse and I think there’s something for everyone there. Next up is a DJ Remy remix of David Forbes and Michael Patterson – the track is called “Teknika.” This is the kind of track I drop in the middle of a peak time set and people go mental to. Which means you may or may not like it here, but in case you don’t like it, I recommend turning the volume up. Should solve the problem. Following this is an epic piece by David West called “Suffering Island.” I have wanted to put this in a mix for a long time now but haven’t found the right spot until recently – now, in fact. David West is one of my favorite producers for his grasp on melody, progression and percussion – not to mention, his bass lines are super solid and always carry the tune in a way that I really enjoy. The transition into dramatic breaks is done here by filtering out the bottom of the bass drum from Suffering Island while the ambient intro to His Boy Elroy’s “Step Into the Light” fades in over top. We have a remix by The Emissary and Starfire here which I find very reminiscent of Hybrid – in a good way. This sets up the final blow – a tough and gritty track by Kultur called “Street Knowledge,” and none other than Stefan Anion is on remix duties. He makes complete mayhem out of this track and it is perfect for finishing off a mix with many twists and turns.
Tracklisting:

1. Absance – Train of Thought (Original mix) [Morphosis Records]
2. Avilo – Easy 15 (Kasey Taylor Instrumental remix) [Vapour Recordings]
3. Jay Lumen – Ultra (Original mix) [Baroque Records]
4. Joel Armstrong – Hey Hey Hey (Bastards of Funk and Sonic Union remix) [Dot Dot Recordings]
5. AFK and Dustin H – Seismic (Shiloh remix) [Pacific Front Recordings]
6. David Forbes and Michael Patterson – Teknika (DJ Remy remix) [68 Recordings]
7. David West – Suffering Island (Original mix) [Solaris]
8. His Boy Elroy – Step Into The Light (The Emissary and Starfire remix) [Proton Music]
9. Kultur – Street Knowledge (Stefan Anion’s Bookworm remix) [Usaplay Ltd]

Every week, Frisky Radio features one artist as their Artist of the Week. Some of their past feature artists are Lee Burridge, Sultan, Trafik, Kosmas Epsilon, Mashtronic, Luke Fair, Gabriel and Dresden, Satoshi Tomiie, Nick Warren, Pako and Frederik, Lemon 8, Hybrid, Tone Depth, Oliver Moldan, Retroid, Steve May, Momu, Moshic, 16 Bit Lolitas, Madoka, G-Pal, Christian Cambas, V-Sag, Steve Porter, Andrew K, Thomas Penton, and Timo Maas. On the week of March 11, 2008, Frisky Radio chose me.
Well, that was very nice of them.
Thanks to Ben Malcolm at The Media Burnout for the voiceovers, and of course thanks to Faisal Sultan @ Frisky Radio for choosing to focus on AFK.
Tracklisting:

1. AFK – Magnetic (Chompers dub) [Pacific Front Recordings]
2. Michael & Levan – January Morning (Retroid Frosty Dawn mix) [Morphosis Records]
3. BT – Remember (Dale Anderson remix) [Unreleased]
4. AFK & Dustin H – Seismic (Powerplant remix) [Pacific Front Recordings - Promo]
5. Perc & Fractal – Up (Perc mix) [Kompakt]
6. AFK – Bergamot (Original mix) [Pacific Front Recordings - Unreleased]
7. Dariush and DJ Da featuring Tina – Good Vibration (DJ Remy & Roland Klinkenberg remix) [Shinichi]
8. Art of Trance – Madagascar (AFK bootleg) [Unreleased]
9. Steve Porter – Definite Form (DJ Remy & Roland Klinkenberg remix) [Little Mountain Recordings]
10. Hybrid – Higher than a Skyscraper (Hybrid’s Twitch and Sweat mix) [Distinctive]
11. Will Spencer featuring Royal Sapien – Oceanica (Stefan Anion’s Port Authority mix) [Olaris Records]
12. Sweeney & Stowasser – Move On (Original mix) [Stillwater Records]
13. Cream Sound – Intromodul (Dynamic Illusion remix) [Morphosis Records]
14. Sultan & Ned Shepard – Together We Rise (DJ Remy & Roland Klinkenberg remix) [Shinichi]
15. Luke Chable presents Quest – Skyline Road (Original mix) [68 Recordings]
16. AFK & Dustin H – Seismic (Shiloh remix) [Pacific Front Recordings]
17. Benz & MD – Signals (AFK’s Dragon Dub) [Proton Music]
18. Obakeh – Ghosted (AFK’s Drifting Through Walls Ambient mix) [Pacific Front Recordings - Unreleased]

Here’s a mix I did for a spotlight that Frisky Radio did on Canada entitled Frisky Loves Canada. The DJ’s featured were Paranoid Jack, Deadmau5, Kristian Littmann, AFK, Mistress Barbara, John Morgan, Mute & Laki, Hatiras, and Kevin Shiu.
This mix begins ambient with a bit of a gem from Pako and Frederick, then goes straight for the progressive house jugular with a remix from Kasey Taylor (AKA Ocean Wave), then goes a bit dark with a track from Dynamic Illusion before submitting to the awesome “Bass Trap” from Quest and the Dirty Fours. From this point we get into some heavy weight progressive house with an Elfsong remix of Cream Sound, and the refreshing “Table 5″ from Dale Anderson and Anil Chalwa. Max Graham shows up for a bit of an epic piece with his remix of Swedish Beatballs (is this something you can get from Ikea?) and of course I have to stick my nose in here somewhere and drop some of my own stuff – Stefan Anion’s remix of Seismic and one of my two new remixes of Benz & MD – Signals finish off the mix. I have done some sneaky things in the mix to keep it flowing properly, even when confronted with complete genre changes, so I hope you enjoy all the efforts. Thanks to Ben Malcolm at The Media Burnout for the voiceovers, and also much thanks to Faisal Sultan @ Frisky Radio for doing the show.
Tracklisting:

1. Pako & Frederick – Percunia (Pako and Frederick Chillout mix – AFK Edit) – Global Underground
2. Antix – Red Robin (Kasey Taylor remix) – Iboga Records
3. Dynamic Illusion – Afterglow Effect (Original mix) – Morphosis Records
4. Quest vs. The Dirty Fours – Bass Trap (Original mix) – Vapour Recordings
5. Cream Sound – Intromodul (Elfsong remix) – Morphosis Records
6. Dale Anderson and Anil Chalwa – Table 5 (Original mix) – Global Underground
7. Marcus Schossow – Swedish Beatballs (Max Graham remix) – Electronic Elements
8. AFK and Dustin H – Seismic (Stefan Anion’s Running For Cover remix) – Pacific Front Recordings
9. Benz & MD – Signals (AFK’s Dragon Dub) – Proton Music

Download AFK on Frisky Loves Canada (mp3) – Right click and Save As, or option-click the link on a Mac to automatically download