The Essential Mix is pretty much a rite of passage for electronic music’s best and brightest. The mix tells us a lot both about the artist and the person behind the artist. It is an opportunity to showcase personality and taste in any format - and few artists let this opportunity go to waste.
2012 has been a huge year for both The Gaslamp Killer and Brainfeeder. Their weekly club night, Low End Theory, has made a huge impact in not only the Los Angeles scene, but in the entire world of electronic music. They bring a refreshing attitude and approach to music – encapsulated perfectly by a quote from GLK himself -
I don’t make club music, I don’t make music for the body. I make music for the brain. This is head music.
With such a huge year behind them, it’s only natural that GLK would use this time to cement his presence. His DJing style is beyond unique - with live pad kits for samples, Serato, and good old fashioned vinyl records, he puts out a mix unlike any other you’ve heard. This might be his greatest work; it’s a standalone DJ set that holds more creativity and recontextualization than many original songs these days, featuring unreleased material from label mate Flying Lotus, some of Mr. Oizo’s wackier work, a bit of his own material from his debut album Breakthrough, and a whole lot of other stuff ranging from hip-hop to classic rock.
This is, without any question, the best Essential Mix of the year. It may even be the best mix of the year period. I can’t think of any other artists with the same ferocity, energy, creativity, and individualism as The Gaslamp Killer. Him and the entire Low End/Brainfeeder crew have been changing the face of modern music for a few years now, but this mix throws them out into the world and says ‘hey, we’re here, this is what we do’ with a take it or leave it attitude that suits them very well. There are only a select few artists that have done so well at avoiding the pitfalls of stardom and capitalism, and I have faith that the whole crew will stay true to who they are and continue to present and share what they do and love. Don’t stop sharing guys – we love it too.
You can stream the mix on BBC’s site.
Alternate:
Tracklist:
Wendy Carlos – Clockwork Orange Theme [Columbia]
Kuedo – Flight Path [Planet Mu]
LDFD – Micro-Chips (LDFD Remix) [Unreleased]
Dimlite – Orchard Wards
Flying Lotus – All In [Warp]
Flying Lotus – See Through You To Take feat Erykah Badu [Unreleased]
Portishead – Theme from ‘To Kill A Dead Man’ [Go Discs]
Radiohead – Idioteque [Parlophone]
Hudson Mohawke – Furnace Loop
2000F & J Kamata – You Dont Know What Love Is [Hyperdub]
Bames – Bronson
Changes & Esgar – One Day Gaslamp Killer & DAEDELUS – Impulse (Free The Robots Remix)
Harmonic 313 – Wind It Up (Instrumental) [Hyperdub]
Hudson Mohawke – Multi Orch
Jon Wayne – Bowser [Alpha Pup Records]
Jon Wayne – Robot F*** [Stones Throw]
Mono/Poly – Crew
MRR-ADM – Untitled
The Legend of Zelda – Title BGM
Lorn – Automation [Brainfeeder]
Raekwon – Ice Cream (feat. Ghostface Killah & Method Man) [Epic]
Louis Armstrong – Potato Head Blues
Nine Inch Nails – Closer [Nothing/Island]
Madlib – Lifetime (Lifeline) [Stones Throw Records]
Quakers – Fitta Happier (Feat. Guilty Simpson & M.E.D.) [Stones Throw]
Radiohead – National Anthem (8bit Version) [White Label]
Flying Lotus – Pattern Grid World [Warp]
Roots Manuva – Witness (One Hope) [Big Dada]
Birdman – What Happened To That Boy (feat. Clipse) [Cash Money]
Om Unit – One For Gaslamp Killer Dilla – Unknown [Unreleased]
Jeremiah Jae – Hash Knife Pony Express [Brainfeeder]
André 3000 – She Lives In My Lap [LaFace]
Slum Village – Raise It Up [V2]
Saffir – Scandelous
Oh No – Deliveries
Flying Lotus – Elephant Ride [Unreleased]
Sixtoo – Duration [Cease and Desist]
Radiohead – Myxomatosis [Parlophone]
Heralds of Change – Come On Now Work That [All City Records]
John Williams – Imperial March
Mr. Oizo – WC
Mr. Oizo – Peehurts
Aphex Twin – Windowlicker (Dials Re-Edit) [Warp Records]
Lou Champagne System – Silent Walking [Medical Records]
Connan Mockasin – Unicorn In Uniform [Because Music]
Dimlite – I Can’t Get Used To Those [Now-Again Records]
Flying Lotus – Phantasm
Unknown – O Babuaa Yeh Mahua
Black Sabbath – Electric Funeral [Vertigo] [unknown] – Walk On By
Led Zeppelin – No Quarter [Atlantic]
Apryl Fool – The Lost Motherland [Import]
The Gaslamp Killer – Nissim [Brainfeeder]
The Gaslamp Killer – Apparitions (feat. Gonjasufi) [Brainfeeder]
Gaslamp Killer, Adrian Younge & MRR – Dead Vets [Brainfeeder]
Gaslamp Killer & Dimlite – Seven Years Of Bad Luck For Fun [Brainfeeder]
Connan Mockasin – It’s Choade My Dear [Phantasy]
Daedelus – Flying Sail (feat. Computer Jay) [Scion AV]
DJ Rashad – CCP [Lit City Trax]
EPROM – 808 Ride [Unreleased]
Esgar – Starscream [Hit and Run]
Kramphaft – Perfect Gain Structure [Saturate Records]
Phillip D Kick – Love & Gwala [Dummy Records]
Phillip D Kick – Champion Sound
Ennio Morricone – Per Un Pugno Di Dollari
