DJ Mix | Spring 2015 Essentials

Warm Weather Warm Up

Spring's essential listening courtesy of:
Sebastian Mullaert, DJ Tennis and Fort Romeau

by Joshua P. Ferguson

Sebastian Mullaert Isolatedmix 52

I'll admit I didn't come to appreciate Sebastian Mullaert and his distinct take on abstract dance music until last year's Reflections of Nothingness (which hit No. 2 on our top albums of 2014). Needless to say, I'm paying full attention now. Which is why this mix for leftfield electronic blog astrangelyisolatedplace caught my eye and my ears immediately. And I've had trouble turning it off since. This mix takes its time, building up from nothing and ushering itself in like drifting clouds of amber tones before giving way to minimal static, dubby rubberband techno and weightless electronics. It's a perfect primer for Mullaert and comprised of a lot of artists I'm honestly not familiar with, so dive in like I have and let this distinctive techno voice take you on a trip without ever leaving your back porch.

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Fort Romeau XLR8R Podcast 379

Fresh off Insides, his second LP and his first for Ghostly International, the UK's Fort Romeau brings his penchant for the deep and melodic to life with his contribution to XLR8R's long-running podcast series. The perfect complement to his LP, Fort Romeau expertly slings a perfect blend of deep dance cuts here, from the slinky funk of Roman Flugel's "Dishes & Wishes" to Levon Vincent's clattering "Impressions of a Rainstorm." Displaying his usual effortless knack for cultivating a singular sound from start to finish, Fort Romeau has turned out a mix that's pretty much exactly how you should soundtrack your spring.

LISTEN & DOWNOAD

DJ Tennis Mix of Sonar 2015

If you've already pressed play on the first two mixes here then you might have picked up on a pattern. The DJs featured here may all be coming at the music from a slightly different perspective, but each shares a keen ability to tell a story through his mixing. Of course that's an attribute that should be assigned to any great DJ, but these guys are telling parts of a story that could all come from the same book: deep, melodic, euphoric but not unbridled—in short, just the type of subtle 'storytelling' that can be revisited again and again. And bringing up the third act: the master orator from Italy, DJ Tennis. He's the man behind the Life and Death label and every next set we discover from him perfectly encapsulates everything that makes the imprint great, it's deep, sexy, subtle and seamless. This mix from Tennis to tease his upcoming appearance at Sonar in Barcelona is no exception.

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