Summer’s End and Feelings of Gratitude

Not having posted for far, far too long I thought I’d break the ice with a roundup of the summer. It’s been remarkable. Music keeps on giving me so much, and I’m filled with gratitude for so many great artists bringing such joy into the world and sharing it with us all.

And in the spirit of sharing, here are just some of the sounds and mixes that have really moved me and provided the soundtrack to my life. Enjoy!

That said, summer 2012 wasn’t all plain sailing, not the least for the ridiculously bad weather we’ve had here in the UK. Worse, due to last minute work piling on I had to skip visiting my friend Mike at Luckylife in Ibiza this year – well, so far, as there is still a few weeks left of the season and you never know… Thankfully, Joris Voorn put a mix up a few days before I had originally planned on seeing him play at Space, which made me feel much better on my long weekend run around the park and gave a second wind to tired legs:

This summer, Slothboogie continued to smash it. The man has a great ear for a great tune, and can’t put a foot wrong. My music library is just stuffed with new tracks, artists, and mixes that Slothboogie has featured on his blog, and the reworked and disco-inspired sounds have just made my summer – both lazy days and hot grooving nights. I’d go so far as to call his blog mandatory reading for keeping a handle on all the good music being made these days, so you should go read it. For a taste:

Gainsford has continued to build, and build – just listen to this absolutely stomping summer mix. I challenge you to get to the end of this without getting up and dancing around the room at least once, because it’s just too much fun and brings all the energy you’d possibly need. I still can’t work out why this guy isn’t headlining festivals…

And speaking of festivals, unlike last year’s crazy season which saw Wireless, T in the Park, and Love Box on three consecutive weekends (what was I thinking?!) this year was relatively festival free. Except for a cheeky day at Wireless early on, the big one was the massive SW4, which was a birthday gift – one of the best ever. The list of artists we saw there seems properly infeasible given that it was just eight short hours, but we somehow managed to cram in (in alphabetical order):

A-Trak, Âme, Carl Cox, Eric Morillo, Funkagenda, John Dahlbäck, Joris Voorn, Knife Party, Let the Music Play, Mark Knight, Roger Sanchez, Sympho Nympho, and Tim Mason.

Who killed it? Joris, absolutely. A-Trak rocked hard, and I was pleasantly surprised by the American contingent, with Roger Sanchez, Sympho Nympho and Eric Morillo all bringing their A-games. And for a relative newcomer, Tim Mason had a great set – he really knew his crowd, played to it, and they loved him for it. If you want to hear Tim, this mix about covers it:

And here’s someone that, I am embarrassed to say, I hadn’t been following until quite recently. It’s Tim Sweeney’s incomparable radio show, Beats in Space. If you went cruising off into deep space on a cyborg unicorn that had a lightsaber for a horn, then you’d want Tim Sweeney (and guests) doing the soundtrack. Check out Todd Terje’s mix from back in May, but be sure to listen to the second half of the show because it’s just as awesome as Terje’s.

Lastly, but probably most importantly, music is only as good as the people you listen to it with. I’m so thankful, still, to my brothers and sisters who bring me to new places and show me new things. Hopefully I’ve been able to give a little back this year.

And a very special thank you to a very special someone. You know who you are. Lets make music.