20 DJs we need an Essential Mix from! 2013 marks the 20-year anniversary of the Essential Mix, the weekly BBC Radio 1 show that’s provided countless hours of escape for dance fans and implanted Pete Tong’s voice into our collective consciousness. Over that two-decade reign, the Essential Mix has hosted an illustrious roll call of electronic music talent, peaking each year in a debate over which session shone the brightest. While some DJs treat the invitation from Tong as a chance to re-run their current festival sets, others get experimental, taking us on a winding road away from the dance floor. In 2013 alone, the Essential Mix has travelled from the EDM bombast of Dirty South, Showtek Music and Steve Angello [Size Records] to underground heroes Ben UFO, Dixon and Todd Terje, not to forget the biggest blockbuster of them all, Skrillex’s record-breaking ode to bass. The prestige of the Essential Mix inspires its guests to create something special (or at least blow the roof off the Radio 1 studio for two hours), but not all our favourite DJs have had their 120 minutes of EM-fame. In fact, if the Radio 1 studio had a “Suggestions Box” for 2014, there’s a stack of names we’d be dropping in it. As dance music’s king of all radio shows celebrates its incredible 20 year anniversary this weekend, here’s our wish list for Essential Mixes to come. (Note for the nitpickers: Some of the DJs we’ve included have featured on the show before, but never with a full two-hour showcase to dig deep.) In no particular order, here we go. 1. Zedd - From his days as a Beatport remix contest winner to his current status as Lady Gaga co-producer, Zedd has always made music that sounds distinctly, well, Zedd. (Name one other song that sounds like Stars Come Out or Fall Into The Sky or…you get the idea.) His infamous “shaved” bass, along with his ear for melody and vocals, has propelled him to the top of the charts and cemented his status on our list of favourite producers. As his star his risen, so, too, have his DJ skills improved; at both festivals and on tour, he gives the crowd what he wants — before they know what they want. Whether he’s dropping an unexpected vocal or firing up an out-of-nowhere trap interlude, Zedd’s sets are nothing if not inventive. After the crazy-successful year he’s had, we think handing Essential Mix duties over to Zedd is the very least Pete Tong could do. Zedd - Clarity (Official Video) ft. Foxes inthemix.au/features/56901/20_DJs_we_need_an_Essential_Mix_from https://youtube/watch?v=IxxstCcJlsc
Posted on: Wed, 04 Dec 2013 06:42:21 +0000
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