Archive for the ‘Ultramix’ Category

General update

High time I wrote an update so here it is in handy numerical point form:

1) Latest visual rejig

I change the look of this site pretty much every 3-4 months so this is the suitably grey Winter edition. Going for stylish here, not drab! I’ll try and find a less scary photo of me for that bit at the top. I can’t remember where I got those glasses from. The layout is unchanged as I’m still pretty happy with that -- dominated by the video player arrangement as it is. The cool neutral tone of the greys really helps make this page seem a bit less full-on tho which should help.

2. Accessibility issues

I’m not sure how many visitors to this site use IE (I’m quite confident that its LESS than 25%) but the video playlist positioning is botched in that browser due to some CSS issues. I’d like to iron these out but it’s not a priority. It’s been tested and approved in Chrome and Firefox but not Safari, Opera or other browsers.

3. End of decade lists

Back in the Summer I decided to put together five different top 100 lists featuring my favourite music from the last 10 years. The five lists are:

- Instrumentals (including tracks with only sampled speech or minimal vocals that are either repeated throughout the track like a mantra or used very sparingly between extended instrumental sections)
- Remixes (including re-edits, alternative and unofficial versions, mash-ups,  and extended sequences of music that change significantly to the extent where they can’t really be considered single tracks in the conventional sense)
- Non-Singles (for tracks that were only available on albums or EPs and were not the A-side)
- Top 40 Singles (for tracks that peaked within the UK Top 40)
- Non-Hit Singles (for tracks released as singles that peaked OUTSIDE the UK Top 40)

These lists will be published online in the form of an exciting minisite I’ve been working on including embedded YouTube links AND very long mixes featuring all the tracks in the lists and a few near-misses. Part of the reason for doing the lists is the presentation aspect as I’m interested in the best ways to display music lists online. There will be more explanation about this, the process and why I’ve divided the lists up in this way on the site itself. Hoping to have it up and running by Monday -- it’s taken a while to get together because of the complicated navigation (tho it won’t actually be at all complicated to actually use -- that’s the point!). With all that going on I don’t think I can write much about the tracks chosen but then there’s plenty of critical analysis going on elsewhere, my thing is more a design/presentation exercise than anything else, the deluge of lovely tunes attached is just a nice bonus heh.

4. Latest videos

I haven’t blogged the most recent additions to the playlist -- the mash-up of Black-Eyed Peas with bag Raiders, the Ultramix 08 extract featuring Hercules & Love Affair and the Aeroplane remix of Friendly Fires and the Ultramix 09 extract featuring Kevin Rudolf & Lil Wayne vs Franz Ferdinand -- two of the three are also on my YouTube page for the record.

I’ve also been adding to YouTube tracks in my top 100 00s Instrumentals list and there’s a playlist under construction for those here -- the final 40 will be revealed by Saturday. I’ll be adding YouTube playlists for the four other lists over the rest of the month leading right up to New Year’s Day or thereabouts.

For the benefit of the Instrumentals list I quickly put together a video for one of the tracks on there -- Deadly Avenger’s Day One’.

I’m going to try and put together a few more vids for some of the tracks that don’t have them and aren’t already on YT but it’s much quicker and easier just to use a single image -- illogical as it may be. Isn’t it about time YouTube had an audio only option so you could just upload audio file formats and not just video? The ubiquity and accessibilty of YT would justify this imo. Or yeah maybe you could just Soundcloud (for the purpose of my 00s faves lists I want a YouTube link for every track tho).

5. Ed Byrne

I’ve designed a basic blog for TV funnyman Ed Byrne. It is here.

6. Ultramix

It’s almost the 5th anniversary of the project! And so much left to do ;_; Look out for a fully remastered version of Ultramix 90 (As well as having extended some sections adding new tracks, I’ve redone some parts from scratch due to some poor bitates and clunky mixing on the original) and hopefully the long-delayed 90 minute version will also appear. Improvements to the other 90s editions also on the way including the completion of 96 (after what, a year? sheesh). The 09 mix should be finished in the New Year too along with the 00 mix. That just leaves…a lot. It’s only a hobby you know…

Ultramix 00 parts 1-4

Go here to download the first four parts of Ultramix 00, or listen online with the PremiumBeat flash player on that page (best streaming audio player I’ve found so far but shame you can’t change the design much at all).

At least six more parts to come, hopefully the end of May and with a complete redesign of the Ultramix site in addition.

Poptimix 00

A 1hr 40m mix featuring floor-fillers and raw killers from the year 2000 focussing (mostly) on a selection of the more popular (and good) hits from nine years ago. Party like it’s 31/12/00!

Download mp3

Intro
Aaliyah – Try Again (Original Mix / Funky Mix)
Britney Spears – Oops! I Did It Again… (Acapella / Original Mix)
Common – Sixth Sense (Instrumental)
N*Sync – Bye Bye Bye
Ludacris – Southern Hospitality
Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Dogg – Still D.R.E.
David Holmes – 69 Police
Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Dogg & Nate Dogg – The Next Episode (Acapella)
Mystikal ft. Nivea – Danger! (Been So Long)
Nelly – Country Grammar (Acapella)
OutKast – Miss Jackson (Original Mix / Acapella)
The Avalanches – Since I Left You
Mirwais – Disco Science
Eminem – The Real Slim Shady (Acapella / Original Mix)
Mary Mary – Shackles (Praise You)
Destiny’s Child – Independent Women (Part One)
Lil’ Kim – No Matter What They Say
The Wu-Tang Clan – Gravel Pit (Original Mix / Acapella)
Broadcast – Poem Of Dead Song (extract) / Come On Let’s Go
Madonna – Music
Ladytron – Playgirl
Kylie Minogue – Spinning Around
Phoenix – If I Ever Feel Better (Todd Edwards Mix)
Alan Braxe & Fred Falke – Intro
Spiller – Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love) (Original Mix)
Modjo – Lady (Hear Me Tonight)
Daft Punk – One More Time
Dr. Dre ft. Eminem – Forgot About Dre (Acapella)
Sugababes – Overload
Sweet Female Attitude – Flowers
Truesteppers ft. Dane Bowers & Victoria Beckham – Out Of Your Mind
Zed Bias – Neighbourhood
Sisqo – Thong Song (Artful Dodger Mix / Original Mix)
Azzido Da Bass – Doom’s Night
Craig David – Fill Me In (Acapella)
Oxide & Neutrino – Bound 4 Da Reload
DJ Zinc – 138 Trek
DJ Deekline – I Don’t Smoke
K-Gee – I Don’t Really Care
Scanty Sandwich – Because Of You
Teddybears STHLM – Yours To Keep
OutKast – Bombs Over Baghdad
Kosheen – Hide U
Bomfunk MC’s – Freestyler

Much longer (and reasonably obscurer) Ultramix edition coming soon…

Lady GaGa videomashup

It may well get deleted soon but for now you can check the video edit I put together for one of the Ultramix 08 highlights -- ‘Just Dance’ over Midfield General’s ‘Disco Sirens’ and the Kris Menace mix of Moby’s ‘Ooh Yeah’. Fun fun (never mind that even if you liked the track 6 months ago you have no desire to hear it in any other context now heh).

It’s viewable in the Flowplayer on the right too.

Ultramix 08: high quality downloads back up

Just FYI, high(er) quality downloads of all ten parts are available now on the 08 mix page

Coming this year: Reworked selected sections of all previous mixes, the rest of Ultramixes 96 and 06, Ultramix 00 and a shorter ‘Poptimix’ version for ALL years covered (to go with the existing 07 edition) starting with the 00s (in time for the end of the decade).

0906 UPDATE: If you’re trying to download parts of the 08 mix but can’t, use the comments box below to send a request for them thanks.

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