Tracklist:

Intro / This Is Radio Etienne
Like The Swallow
Speedwell (Project Mix)
Only Love Can Break Your Heart (Andrew Weatherall Mix)
Studio Kinda Filthy
Wilson
Spring
Kiss And Make Up
Kiss And Make Up (US Version)
Nothing Can Stop Us
Girl VII
Chase HQ
Stoned To Say The Least
She’s The One
Sky’s Dead
People Get Real
Sweet Pea
Etienne Gonna Die
Sally Space
Carnt Sleep
Dilworth’s Theme / Outro

There may yet be a “So Tougher”, if time.

3 To New York Overnight

Also just recently managed to get the Ultramix 09 extract of Britney vs Falty DL & Hudson Mohawke back on YouTube. The original ‘3′ clip was from iTunes and it seems clips bought there are encoded in a way for YouTube’s Content ID system to identify them very quickly even if they’ve been re-rendered. To get around this I exported the clip in Premiere as a Targa sequence and then re-assembled it. Hopefully that will work. I don’t believe this kind of work, while still an obvious infringement, is a threat to the copyright as it’s presenting the material in a very different and exclusive context.

The clip features the new ‘text credit’ sequence I created featuring the ‘robin egg blue’ hexagon motifs associated with the base58/ghost food brand. This is intentionally reminiscent of music video channels ‘labelling’ of aired promos.

No point talking about what’s GOING to happen tho. For now, you may like this re-edit of Goldfrapp’s ‘Voicething’ I spent a couple of hours on. Nothing fancy, just a thumping kickdrum and a little sub-bass underneath.

Recently I went exploring in Sweden (Gothenburg) and Norway (Oslo, Tromso and Bergen). The photos are slowly appearing. A cold and lonely yet inspiring and memorable experience. I did not see the Northern Lights, disappointingly, but the glacial beauty of the snow-covered mountains almost made up for this. Gothenburg and Oslo are lovely places but I enjoyed the nature more than the city environments and the coach journey from GBG to OSL itself was fantastic (wonderful scenery, the most comfortable coach I’ve ever been on – thanks bus4you.se – and imo pretty cheap esp. compared to everything else). I flew no less than five times during the tour which helped ease my flying anxiety after having gone over 18 months without being on a plane. The descent into Tromso was pretty rough tho – bumpiest I’ve had but the view was spectacular as the plane broke through the snowclouds to reveal white land between the gun-metal blue fjords and inlets. Amazing really. Amongst other things I also went dog-sledding and had my face nearly frozen off.

What I would like to do now is try and finish at least ONE track (the second demo from this clip is the leading candidate but it’s been what six months now!), start (re)learning 3D animation for the benefit of the video edits I’ll be doing more often, new Ultramix shit, more 00s mixes and lists of course including a 00s Albums list and the definitive 00s tracks list (based on the five categorised ones I already did). Too much? Never enough!

Listen to the list via YouTube playlist (98 full tracks available as I write this – ‘69 Police’ and ‘Chrono’ are represented by a live ‘cover version’ by another act and a live extract respectively)

That’s the first of five end-of-decade music lists I’ve written focussing just on tracks. It’s taken a while to put together including the mixes (see below), uploading the tracks to YouTube that weren’t already on there and the proposed subsite designed to link all the lists together nicely. But I’m hoping to get the other lists out by the end of the month still…

The Instrumentals Mix

To go with the list and YouTube playlist there’s an epic 3 part mix featuring all of the 100 plus a few extra tunes that just missed out. Just follow the zshare links to listen online or download the audio.

00-09 Instrumentals Part 1 (of 3)
Simian Mobile Disco – Scott (2007)
Lemon Jelly – Man Like Me (2005)
Zongamin – Jungle Shiver (2003)
Gang Gang Dance – Dust (2008)
Subway – Sexy Moments (2001)
Gonzales – Real Motherfuckin’ Music (2000)
Flying Lotus – Parisian Goldfish (2008)
GusGus – Attention (2003)
Max Sedgley – Happy (2003)
The Detroit Experiment – Think Twice (2003)
Mylo – Muscle Cars (2004)
Stacey Pullen – Vertigo (2000)
Reverso 68 – Piece Together (Part 2) (2004)
Lifelike & Kris Menace – Discopolis (2005)
Alan Braxe & Fred Falke – Penthouse Serenade (2000)
Justice – Genesis (2007)
Richard X – Rock Jacket (2003)
Deadly Avenger – Day One (2001)
Chaz Jankel – Call Me (Bonus Dub) (2005)
Luomo – Synkro (2000)
Subeena – Boksd (2009)
Delia Gonzales & Gavin Russom – Relevee (2006)
Air – Radian (2001)
Digitonal – Ana Kata (2008)
The Karminsky Experience Inc. – Departures (2003)
Prefuse 73 – Perverted Undertone (2003)
David Holmes – 69 Police (2000)
Boards Of Canada – Sunshine Recorder (2002)
Meanderthals – Andromeda (Prelude To The Future) (2009)
Röyksopp – Röyksopp’s Night Out (2001)
Roots Manuva – Highest Grade Dub (2002)
Primal Scream – MBV Arkestra (2000)
Cassius – Au Rêve (2002)

00-09 Instrumentals Part 2 (of 3)
The Streets – Street Score (2002)
Wookie – Scrappy (2000)
Pearson Sound – Wad (2009)
Audio Bullys – Face In A Cloud (2003)
Daft Punk – Aerodynamic (2001)
Wax Stag – Short Road (2007)
Kerrier District – Disclix (2004)
Archigram – Carnaval (2003)
Patrick Alavi – Power (2004)
Akufen – Skidoos (2002)
M83 – Couleurs (2008)
Alan Braxe & Kris Menace – Lumberjack (2007)
The Avalanches – Live At Dominoes (2000)
Mr. Scruff – Sweetsmoke (2002)
Ellen Allien & Apparat – Do Not Break (2006)
Plaid – Squance (2001)
Midwest Product – Still Love In The Midwest (2002)
Burial – Raver (2007)
Fairmont – Gazebo (2006)
Strategy – Future Rock (2007)
Âme – Rej (2005)
Sasha – Fundamental (2002)
Booka Shade – Mandarin Girl (2005)
Jona – Yellowstone (2006)
Cobblestone Jazz – Dump Truck (2006)
Slagsmålsklubben – Sponsored By Destiny (2007)
I:Cube – Chicago Sur Seine (2005)
DJ Bone – Knowhere (2007)
LFO – Blown (2003)
Thomas Fehlmann – Gratis (2002)
John Tejada & Arian Leviste – Faux Obsolete (2003)
Sebo K – Horizons (2006)
Duplex – Late Night Cycling (2002)
The Other People Place – You Said You Want Me (2001)
Juan Atkins – Idea 1 (2004)
Drexciya – C To The Power Of X + C To The Power Of X = MM = Unknown (1999)

00-09 Instrumentals Part 3 (of 3)
Philippe Cam – Unicef Christmas Card (2002)
Chemical Brothers – Electronic Battle Weapon 5 (2001)
Funk D’Void – Diabla (2001)
Cosmos – Take Me With You (2002)
Sasha & Darren Emerson – Scorchio! (2000)
Ellen Allien – Open (2003)
Surkin – White Knight Two (2008)
Way Out West – The Fall (2000)
Laurent Garnier – The Man With The Red Face (2000)
Vitalic – Fanfares (2004)
Solenoid – Suspiriorum (2004)
Wiley – Shanghai (2003)
Joy Orbison – Wet Look (2009)
Secret Circuit – Roll (2009)
luke.envoy – Gamma (2006)
Ryan Teague – Prelude 1 (2005)
Dexter – D-Funked (2005)
SI Futures – Eurostar (2002)
Scan X – The Soul (2002)
Hystereo – Winters In The City (2004)
Jaguar Woman – Dance Of Energies (2006)
Vitalic – You Prefer Cocaine (2001)
Ulrich Schnauss – On My Own (2003)
Kraftwerk – Chrono (2003)
Alan Braxe & Fred Falke – Rubicon (2003)
The Presets – Aeons (2008)
Boards Of Canada – Amo Bishop Roden (2000)
Yonderboi – A Thousand Bells (2000)
Bent – Exercise One (2000)
Studio – Out There (2006)
Rufige Kru – Beachdrifta (2001)
Commix – Be True (2007)
Cut La Roc – Freeze (2000)
u-Ziq – Johnny Maastricht (2003)
Broadcast – Dave’s Dream (2000)
Orbital – Meltdown (2001)
Mogwai – 2 Rights Make 1 Wrong (2001)
Doves – Firesuite (Noise Version) (2000)
Hudson Mohawke – Trace (2007)
Casino Vs Japan – It’s Very Sunny (2000)
Plone – On My Bus (1999)
Aphex Twin – Nanou 2 (2001)

All that and still no Lindstrom & Prins Thomas or Villalobos – how uncool. I admit there’s a huge amount of genres (no metal or heavy rock, not much if any MC-less hip-hop, nothing from Asia or Africa or Central & South America…tut tut), subgenres and important figures missing but there always will be. It’s a personal list with many of the entries holding high sentimental value.

Remixes have not been included as I’ll be listing (and mixing) those separately. I’ve allowed the late Nite Dub of ‘Scorchio’ though because it’s a mix by the original tracks’s own co-producer.

A few of the tracks here DO contain vocals but only brief recurring samples or just lines too brief, minimal or undiscernable (e.g. the choir on Ryan Teague’s ‘Prelude 1′) to really qualify as actual written songs that would merit an entry on a lyrics website or whatever.

At least two of the tracks were originally released in 1999. Plone’s ‘On My Bus’ is taken from their album ‘For Beginner Piano’ released in September 1999. September is my personal cut-off point – anything released before then wouldn’t qualify e.g. no Isolee ‘Beau Mot Plage’. The Drexciya track is from their album Neptune’s Lair released at the very end of the 90s – too late to ever be considered for inclusion on the vast majority of 90s lists probably even now. They just feel more right on a 00s list than a 90s list to me…if we are to divide periods of time in this way (logic and reason aside).

A further rule prevents the same artist appearing more than three times in the list and I’ve not included more than one track from the same album or EP – so a lot of great stuff missed out just because it wasn’t my favourite track on the album.

I had originally planned to do a dubstep style mix but with time running out quick it actually felt “easier” to go this route. I spent a large chunk of the time editing the sound files the duo provided e.g. applying effects (reverb, delay, some chorus) to Karin’s voice so that it would sound better for the tempo (a good 10bpm or more slower than the original).

I already had the basic template for the instrumental in progress as a space/Balearic disco influenced track titled ‘Valis’ so in a way it was something of a mash-up (quelle surprise) and as a result maybe the vocal doesn’t fit as well as it could if I’d tried to come up with something specifically intended to go with it from the start.

The ‘Valis’ bassline is an arpeggiated eight note sequence that descends and ascends alternately. It comes straight from the MicroKorg (with a little twiddling). To make it smoother I managed to add a square sawtooth that shortens each note to increase the staccato effect. This was quite a last minute addition but it really helped as by that point the track was probably overdone with various effects so there was a need for clearer, shorter focussed events and more ‘foreground’ detail.

Getting the balance right here was tough as I often felt there wasn’t enough to the track as a remix. I did want to keep it fairly simple and create this ‘on/less on’ effect where the verses serve as a calmer phase giving way to the instrumental parts with added hi-hat, bass and further in the lovely synth voice chorus sound from the original (again I chopped this up which I think worked well although may actually be under-used).

So a lot of decisions to make in too little time but it was a fun exercise that I learned from. I think out of over 300 entries mine may be in the middle somewhere and I would settle for that. I would say the louder you play it the better it sounds (well duh) as there is some good (and relatively subtle) bass on this if nothing else (and why have one bassline when you can have two or three on the go?).

I may use Valis Flash (it’s actually a play on the ‘Paris Flash’ magazine title from the Tintin stories) as a name for future remixes so look out for additional efforts on the way if you liked or thought there was good potential in this one.

1. Thursday Goodies
‘Goodies’ vs Prefuse 73’s ‘Broken Thursdays’

2. Ciarabres Of Paradise
‘Can’t Leave ‘Em Alone’ (ft. 50 Cent) & ‘Love Sex Magic’ (ft. Justin Timberlake) vs Sabres Of Paradise’s ‘The Ballad Of Nicky McGuire’

3. Players Step
‘1 2 Step’ (ft. Missy Elliott) vs Fix’s ‘Players Anthem’

4. Touch Up (Ultramix 06 extract)
‘Get Up’ (ft. Chamillionaire) vs Sasse’s ‘Loosing Touch’ (video on Flowplayer and YouTube)

5. Like A Rebound
‘Like A Boy’ vs Juan Atkins ‘Rebound’

6. Broken Promise (rework of Ultramix 06 extract)
‘Promise’ vs Ellen Allien & Apparat’s ‘Do Not Break’

7. So Sudden
‘So What’ (with Field Mob) vs The Black Dog’s ‘Sudden Intake (Orlando Voorn Mix)’

8. Oh-Dreamer
‘Oh’ (ft. Ludacris) vs T99’s ‘The Skydreamer’

9. Go Girl / Rodney Yates
‘Go Girl’ (ft. T-Pain) vs David Holmes’ ‘Rodney Yates’

CiCi’s Disctopian Excursion (continuous mix of all of the above)