Red Mosquito

stip wrote:Lament, is it possible to maybe get a master tracklist of all the mixes spoilered in the first post?

Done and done, sir.

You should also include my reviews of each mix.

OK, almost definitely snc's mix. I really like a hell of a lot of this, but that's no big surprise as snc has turned me on to heaps of music that I've really enjoyed. Certainly got that garagey rock thing happening, and that's just fine by me. I also tend to enjoy many singers that are kind of...off centre, and so there's plenty here to scratch that itch.

Had the first listen through and bopped along happily. The 2nd half was better than the first and that song #10 was one of the best things I've heard in fucking ages - awesomeness.

I'll review properly later, but for now its on to listen #2.

Heathen wrote:You should also include my reviews of each mix.

Added.

Perfect.

Heathen just cuts right to the heart of each mix. It's like he knows it better then the mix-maker

stip wrote:Heathen just cuts right to the heart of each mix. It's like he knows it better then the mix-maker

As a reviewer he reminds me very much of the great Molly Meldrum. Such enthusiasm and joy.

Thanks guys. That means a lot to me.

In all honesty I love Molly Meldrum. He's an Australian icon, and beloved of stars and music fans everywhere. This is pretty high praise from me.

https://www.facebook.com/video/video.ph ... 1947476169

Varis wrote:...and that song #10 was one of the best things I've heard in fucking ages - awesomeness.

This is still true - I must have listened to this 10 times before downloading the album. Cheers my man!

Fuck. I need to review this in the next few days. I'm running out of time.

All right, so the newest mix:

Interesting opener; it really sets the tone for this one to be something different. A very quick punk number. Not particularly noteworthy otherwise. The second tune is an early change in tone. There's a pretty somber mood to this one, kind of like mid-period Radiohead. That's furthered along by all the little discordant touches here and there. I like this one, so I'm curious to find out the artist.

And another tonal shift for song three, as we get a little bit more upbeat rocking number. This is reminding me of some band, but I can't put my finger on it. This one's not too bad either, although it is a little "one-note" with no real dynamic shifts or interesting twists present. Track four, and we're back to the rollicking energy of the opening. This one's got a fairly derivative feeling about it, but it's delivered in such a way as to be mocking and sarcastic. I'm neither for or against it. Sort of forgettable in the long run.

This mix is certainly a different beast than the ones that came before it. It's been relatively eclectic so far. Song five introduces the first female singer, on one of those chilled-out indie-type songs. Can't say I'm a big fan of this one. I think it would probably be better without the reverb, and at-arms-length irony. Track six: another one that I feel like I've heard the artist before, but can't put my finger on it. Pretty infectious radio-indie-rock style, with big, swelling choruses and chanting vocals. Now that I think of it, it reminds me of the handful of Kings of Leon songs I've heard, but it's not them.

My favorite thing about this mix is the well-placed short instrumental tracks. It ties things together really well. The one at number seven is a relaxing little acoustic guitar melody cloaked in some tape hiss. Pretty stuff that I'm also curious to discover the artist behind. Track eight is another new turn for this mix. I like the drumming in this one; that insistent, tribal beat really drives the song. The choruses don't quite seem to gel with the verses. The former are bright and poppy with some cool brass accompaniment, while the latter have a more swaggering, challenging attitude. I do like the last section, though; it really ties the song together. I'm gonna take a random guess here:

Spoiler: show

is this Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings?

Track nine follows on from the former song quite well. Pretty much everybody knows this one:

Spoiler: show

Screamin' Jay Hawkins - "I Put a Spell on You."

It only feel slightly out of place because I know the song, but haven't been familiar with any of the others. Otherwise, it's very appropriate at this point. With number ten, we're back to the kinda dirty rock that coils through this mix like its spinal cord. Very shouty vocalist that's a little more abrasive than I tend to like. It's got a fuzzy groove that is peeled apart a bit at the end with screechy solo. Not too keen on this one.

Track eleven is another short instrumental. A lovely ambient piece that might be the same artist as the first one, but there's no way to be sure at this point. They do have a similar aesthetic, though. Song twelve is an acoustic singer-songwriter tune that is tethered to a fuzzy bass line, and a glitchy drum-machine beat. Kinda neat at first, but the singing is unremarkable, and the turntable scratching around two-minutes is totally unnecessary. I might be interested to check out some more of this group/artist, if they have some more interesting songs.

Number thirteen introduces itself with a hazy, looped piano sample that may also have some falling rain present. We're definitely supposed to get the sense that this is a moody, sad song. And it would accomplish that goal much better if not for the vocalist. She's mixed to up front, and I'm not really fond of her voice either. Otherwise, I do like the backing arrangements. They're sort of similar to Broken Social Scene's first album. Song fourteen doesn't really strike my fancy, to tell the truth. A sort of white-boy neo-soul thing going on here, with something of a low-key house groove; I guess this could be considered trip-hop. The vocalist isn't bad, and fits well with the music. Nothing that grabs me, though.

Track 15 fits so well after number 14, that I almost thought it was its coda. A one-chord piano line, supports anther blue-eyed soul type singer with some massed backing vocals, and some keyboard flourishes. A sort of dreary mood piece that's not real great. What's that distortion thing near the end called? Is that a bitcrush or something? I like that effect in other songs, but it's way out of place on this one. One more ambient Boards of Canada-esque song to close the mix, but being preceded by the aforementioned number 15, it seems kind of tacked-on. It's more of a rehash of the previous song's mood, than it is an establishment of its own tone.

I'm going to agree with others, and say this is probably snc's mix.

Ok, so this mix was a tale of two halves for me. The first half was a decent enough listen, but nothing on it stood out for me, either as particularly above or below average. I was worried this was gonna be a case of a mix that was easy to listen to, but that left no impression on me once it finished. Track three was pretty good, but ended up paling in comparison to much of the second half. I was hoping to be more into tracks two and five than I was, but it just wasn't happening for me. Track six was working for me until it got to the chorus, at which point it lost me a bit.

Track eight was the first song to REALLY grab my attention. I loved the vocals, which really made it pop out from the first seven tracks. I can't wait to find out who this one is. The bursts of horns in the chorus are fantastic. Track nine was the only song on the mix I already knew, but it was a welcome song. I had a roommate back in the day who used to play this song all the time, yet no matter how many times I hear it some of those screams still give me goosebumps. A well placed classic, for sure.

I was eager to hear track ten after seeing some of the high praise being heaped upon on it. I was a bit concerned it would be another example of where my tastes diverge from the rest of RM, but it was quite the opposite. By the time the the song hit the first chorus I was hooked. This song is a fucking blast. Kinda Jack White/John Spencer-ish, but that's a good thing in my book.

I wanted to like track twelve, but I felt like the production risks I liked (the scratching after the first chorus) and the ones I didn't like (the weird farting drum noise) canceled each other out and left an ok song that could've done a lot more for me with some different choices. Track thirteen got me back on track though. I appreciated the shift in mood, and enjoyed the vocals on this one.

Track fourteen got back into the stratosphere of tracks eight and ten. These three songs, along with the Owl Eyes and Chet Faker tracks from Varis' mix, are my favorite “new” tracks from this whole process so far. If I were still Djing a night where I could get away with playing this one I'd be putting a mini-set together around it to play ASAP.

The starkness of track fifteen caught me a bit off guard at first after the previous track, but I was into this one pretty quickly as well (the first flourish of backing vocals got me). Tagged with the instrumental outro, this was a nice way to end this mix.

So yeah, it took a while for it to get going for me, but once it did it managed to kick my butt quite a few times. Good stuff. I definitely look forward to seeing who tracks eight, ten, and fourteen are.

Mix #5 goes up tomorrow. Are we gonna get some more thoughts on #4 before the Mixmaker reveals himself?

I see there's a pretty strong consensus that it's SNC.

maybe this one is really chud.

If he comes in and denies it, then it's probably him.