JD Pleks – Captive Pursuit (techno mix)

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I guess a consequence of trying to be a more active DJ, following one style is that there isn’t really any theme to individual mixes – this is just a bunch of tracks that I have picked up in the last month or so that make me dance around when I hear them!

One thing that has changed is that I have started to buy all my tracks in lossless format where I can, and have made the mix available in AIFF on my soundcloud page – link below for download – if you stream from Soundcloud they compress to about 160kbps, so if you want the best quality you HAVE to download from there. The download from my site is a 320kbps MP3 – my bandwidth won’t handle many people downloading a near 600MB file!

Enjoy!

A 55 minute techno mix, recorded in September 2016.

Right Click Here and ‘Save As’ to download Captive Pursuit in 320kbps MP3

Tracks:

  1. Intro
  2. For Future Use (Bitten By The Black Dog v.1) – GoldFFinch
  3. Relativity (Rasser Remix) – bR1
  4. Mashine Funk – Ben Long
  5. Berghain (2k16 Rework) – David Temessi
  6. Raptor ([ Wex 10 ] Remix) – Helmut Kraft
  7. Redov – Vladw
  8. Nomad – Stevie Wilson
  9. Midnight Dreamer – Green Tolek
  10. Strings (Matt Mus Remix) – Dandi & Ugo
  11. Irregular Acid – Remco Beekwilder
  12. Bizzarre Remnants (Matt Mus Remix) – A.Paul
  13. Delhi – Sirch, William Kiss
  14. Sublight Velocities – Traversable Wormhole
  15. Die Schwellen – Kobosil

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JD Pleks – The Illusion of Truth (techno mix)

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Exit Festival, Novi Sad Serbia – early Saturday morning on the 9th of July 2016. I had an epiphany. According to Google, an epiphany is defined as:

  1. the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi (Matthew 2:1–12)
  2. a moment of sudden and great revelation or realization.

Now I had drunk a fair amount of rakija before getting there, and had also been availing myself of the surprisingly decent local red wine on offer inside the festival (served in plastic glasses, from a plastic bottle – I didn’t think it would be drinkable, never mind dangerously tasty!) but it still wasn’t enough for me to have the first kind in the definition! No, it was a realisation that I had lost my way as a DJ, and that by indulging my love of many styles of music in my DJing, I was confusing myself and also not progressing my skills with my new digital setup.

Let’s rewind a little bit. I am THE most annoying person to be at a DJ gig with. I am constantly analysing (more accurately criticising) the music, the mixing, the EVERYTHING, and I like to share my valuable(!) insights with everyone who is with me, especially the extremely patient Mrs Skelp. On the night of my epiphany, where we were enjoying sets by Dasha Rush, Moritz von Oswald, Zadig and Psyk as part of a ‘25 Years of Tresor’ celebration at the No Sleep Novi Sad stage, the aforementioned Mrs Skelp turned to me and said ‘You must be REALLY enjoying this’ – I agreed with her, and asked her how she was so sure – ‘You haven’t been giving me the usual running commentary’ was the reply. A spark went off in my wine-soaked brain. She was, of course and as always, correct. I was in my musical element – everything was in the correct place – the energy, the layering, the progression, the EVERYTHING. At this point I remembered that nothing (in the world of DJing for a dancefloor) hits the spot for me quite like well put together, well produced, hard techno.

So what, you may ask. Why am I waffling on about this? Well, on my return to Glasgow, this realisation stayed with me, and came to the decision that I was going to act on my epiphany, and concentrate my efforts into a single style for the next while, returning to the methodology I had when I was playing out regularly – following the releases of the style I play on a weekly basis, and recording regular mixes of only this style. This is the first in this series – it is all tunes that I have purchased since returning from Exit, and it is a set that tries to capture a little bit of what it was on that warm night in Serbia that made me just shut up and dance!

A 56 minute techno mix, recorded in July 2016.

Right Click Here and ‘Save As’ to download The Illusion of Truth

Tracks:

  1. Intro
  2. Devil Inside (Yannick Fuchs Remix) – 80 Doppel D
  3. Cubic Psycho Eighteen – Master Master
  4. Silhouette – Psyk
  5. Ropets & Knots – V111
  6. L3 – Psyk
  7. Avadon – Psyk
  8. R-Mx – Cave Djz
  9. Riot – Psyk
  10. Root Destruction – Unidivixion
  11. High Rise – Kamikaze Space Programme
  12. Planetary Interface – Silentcell
  13. Perfect Storm (Dkult Remix) – A.Paul
  14. Message from Mars – Silentcell
  15. Pacho (Deh-Noizer Innerview Version) – Pucet
  16. Mutter – Konstantin Sibold

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JD Pleks – All In A Day’s Work (techno mix)

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I never seem to find the time to make new mixes nowadays – the weekends fly by and then it’s Monday again, and time to head back to the real job. I was listening to some of my old techno mixes and thought that I really wanted to record something new, something that starts off a bit harder than my most recent output and was maybe a bit closer to the kind of techno I used to play at Dan-Sin ‘back in the day’. So I booked a day off of work and set about creating something – and here it is! It’s exactly the kind of set I was imagining – big kick drums, dark basslines and just a touch of rave madness. Play it loud!

A 64 minute techno mix, recorded in January 2016.

Right Click Here and ‘Save As’ to download All In A Day’s Work

Tracks:

  1. Firewire – Maxime Dangles
  2. Opa – Kölsch
  3. Broken Fridge (Patrik Skoog remix) – HD Substance
  4. Full Contact (D. Diggler Remix) – Michael Knop
  5. Brabant -Marco Bailey
  6. Jealous (Ferhat Albayrak Remix) – Gabriel Ben
  7. Wire State – Octave
  8. Ignition – Peja
  9. Glitch – Player
  10. Iron Nerves – Marco Bailey & Tom Hades
  11. Set Them Free – Industrialyser
  12. Fire (Paul Mac Remix) – Ritzi Lee
  13. Player 12 B2 (Adam Beyer Remix) – Player
  14. Quadrophobia – Player
  15. Duke Street Fleet – Clouds

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JD Pleks – Herzogian Abyss (techno mix)

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You approach the opening, warily, and stare into it for a few minutes. It seems at once inviting and yet somehow tinged with danger, an unknown depth to the darkness. You enter, and for the first while you can still see the way back, but as you get deeper and deeper you begin to realise that the path may not lead to where you expected. The light fades, and you have no way of knowing who, or what, is in here with you. All you can do is keep moving forward, deeper and deeper, further into the darkness.

A 65 minute techno mix, recorded in May 2015.

Right Click Here and ‘Save As’ to download Herzogian Abyss

Tracks:

  1. We Do It For You – Continue=High
  2. SandMan (Andrea Zoia Remix) – Sistal
  3. Emotional Space – Kokaz
  4. Nurou – Noar Fiore
  5. Poppin Bottles(Minor Dott & Daniel Schwartz Remix) -Juan Archila
  6. Iron Door (Roy RosenfelD Remix) – Lonya
  7. Not From This World (Glimpse Remix) – Thabo Getsome & Renzky
  8. Arcing – Inigo Kennedy
  9. Fixed Action Pattern – Surgeon
  10. Gbn – Distale & Michael Knop
  11. False – Markus Suckut
  12. Mines Of Mars – Rodhad
  13. Simplicity (Minor Dott & Daniel Schwartz Remix) – Juan Archila
  14. Junkies on Hermann Strasse – Levon Vincent

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JD Pleks – Shadow Dancing (techhouse mix)

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Finally I have got round to sourcing some new music and putting together a mix! It’s been far too long since the last set I put together of new tracks. This here is 60 minutes of techhouse, some drifting, some driving and some just a ‘wee bit different’. It’s not like the last techhouse mix that I recorded – Rallying Call – in that this one is a lot less repetitive and has a lot more distinctive rhythms and melodies in it.

Have a listen and let me know what you think! Right click here and choose ‘save as’ to download Shadow Dancing

Tracks:

  1. OAR003-B – Oni Ayhun
  2. Artbridge (Habischman Remix) – Mantu
  3. Rascals (Fabio Giannelli Remix) – Wankelmut
  4. Is Your Kettle On? (Club Mix) – Thomas Schumacher feat. Chelonis R. Jones
  5. Blythe – Marcus Worgull & Peter Pardeike
  6. Wood & Wine – Wankelmut
  7. Don’t Go – Tom Budden
  8. Sextouch – Lula Circus
  9. Behind The Mask – Dam Fanel
  10. Cargo Room – Sable Sheep
  11. Third Floor – Christian Smith & Wehbba
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JD Pleks – Under the Influence (techno mix)

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Right Click image or here and ‘Save As’ to download Under the Influence

 

Berlin. It gets under your skin, and it doesn’t leave. This is definitely a good thing! This mix is 75 minutes of techno that cries out to be listened to on a massive Funktion 1 soundsystem with 500 of your closest friends, but if you don’t have that then a good set of headphones will do just as well. Enjoy!

Tracks:

  1. Scratch – Torpez
  2. Dedicated To (2nd Chance Mix) – Peja
  3. Babel – Affkt
  4. Zelva – Sean Random
  5. Wall To Wall – Paul Ritch
  6. Alone In the Dark – Raffaele Rizzi
  7. Braintwister (FEOS & Leicher Remix) – Martin Woerner
  8. La Primera Gente – White Brothers
  9. Some Like It Dub – Dub Junk
  10. Convolution- Skudge
  11. East of Eden – Sian
  12. Babel (Redhead Remix) – Affkt
  13. Disturbed – Pjotr G & Dubiosity
  14. Contamination – Skudge
  15. Silent Shout – The Knife

 

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Skelp – Take One (hardhouse mix)

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Right Click image or here and ‘Save As’ to download Take One

This mix was conceived and recorded in one take – I just switched on the decks and mixer, hit the record button and off I went. No preselection of tracks, no practice of the individual mixes and no recording three or four versions and selecting the best take. Because of this, it’s maybe a bit rougher round the edges in a couple of places, but overall I’m quite pleased with it. I was obviously in the mood for melody that morning, as this is as close to a pure trance mix as I think I can get.

Theres not much more to say about it really – there’s no concept, just the tunes I felt like playing there and then. I hope you enjoy it!

Right Click  here and ‘Save As’ to download Take One

Tracks:

  1. Calling Earth – Yves Deruyter
  2. Dont Stop – Mark NRG
  3. Schoneberg (TDV mix) – Marmion
  4. Tragic – BK
  5. NRG (unreleased mix) – Jon Doe
  6. Feel It – Eufex
  7. Biofilter – OD404
  8. (instru)mental – Nick Sentience & Phil Reynolds
  9. Warehouse – Jon Doe
  10. Khemikal Imbalance – BK & Andy Farley
  11. The Warning – Ben Stevens
  12. We Can Fly – Omega 3
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Skelp – This is Hard Hat Vol. 1 (hardcore mix)

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Right click image or here and ‘Save as’ to download This is Hard Hat Vol.1

It’s been a while since I have recorded any mixes – it seems nowadays that I need a reason to go near the decks, so when me ole’ mate Lizzie asked me to play at her birthday bash this year I jumped at the chance, knowing that it would give me the opportunity to play some ‘ard stuff. This is more or less exactly the set I played, which I think surprised a few folk on the night but certainly got some old-timers a bit red round the gills keeping up with the BPMs! It’s deliberately cheesy in a couple of places but I think there’s a dark heart to it otherwise. Maybe not a mix for when you’re chillin’!

Enjoy!

Right click here and ‘Save as’ to download This is Hard Hat Vol.1

  1. Amphetamine – Trope
  2. The Tradesman – Equinox
  3. The Great Gatsby (OD404 mix) – Captain Tinrib
  4. Elvis – Captain Tinrib & RR Fierce
  5. Mackerel – Chris C & M Zone
  6. Bonzai Channel One – Thunderball
  7. Technofobia – Bass Reaction
  8. Hardcore DJ – Dyewitness
  9. Masterplan (live version)- Dyewitness
  10. Smoke This MF – Scott Brown meets DJ Paul
  11. Jiieehaa – Diss Reaction
  12. As Cold As Ice – Stingray & Sonicdriver
  13. Stairway To Brooklyn – Eclipse
  14. Varispeed – Edge 11
  15. All Of Us Are One People – DJ Paul & Lenny Dee

Right click here and ‘Save as’ to download This is Hard Hat Vol.1

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Skelp – On The Edge (hardhouse mix)

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Right click image or here and ‘save as’ to download ‘On The Edge’

Ever been to a hardhouse night, arrived at 11.30pm and been greeted by 160bpm hoover monsters, or nonsense hardstyle and thought ‘this is far too hard / fast for this time’? I have – as a DJ you get a real sinking feeling when you are due to be playing at 1am, you arrive at 12 to see an empty dancefloor, a busy bar and the DJ rinsing out their hardest tunes – you know that your first 30-45 minutes will be spent trying to repair the damage done and get the dancefloor grooving. The DJ that is on first has a very important role to play in the overall night – the warmup.

For me, the clue is in the name ‘warm’ing up. Nightclubs are not a sprint, they’re a marathon of around minimum 4 hours duration, sometimes 10 or 12 hours. Now I know that there is a hardcore of people who only want the hardest and fastest of music in the club, but if you want to take everyone with you then I believe you need to tease and cajole people away from the bar and on to the dancefloor. Most people who are arriving will have been in a bar or two in town, where the DJs will almost certainly have been playing some kind of house music – there’s not many bars that thrash out hardhouse at 9pm – and for everyone but the hardcore suddenly finding yourself assaulted by machine-gun beats and harsh synths can be fairly disorienting. It’s the job of the warmup DJ to provide a musical path that everyone can follow, which ultimately leads to the hard stuff but doesn’t scare anyone off along the way!

I used to enjoy playing warmup sets during the hardhouse heyday – it gave me a chance to play many different styles within a short space of time, throwing in some funky stuff, a bit of camp hardbag, a bit of bounce and one or two tracks that hinted at the craziness to come later, but not quite being ‘there’ – just on the edge. Hence the title of this mix, which is 60 minutes that goes from the camp to the bouncy via the chuggy and dark. There’s no big ‘payoff’ as with most of my hard mixes, but I think that even non hardhouse heads could get into it. Let me know what you think.

Right click here and ‘save as’ to download ‘On The Edge’

Tracks:

  1. Raindrops – Mario Scalambrin feat. Satori
  2. You Should Be Dancin’ (Karim Remix) – Bee Gees
  3. Distant Stab – The Freak and Mac Zimms
  4. Show Me Love (ShutYourFaceDub) – The Fruitloop
  5. Have A Good Time – The Alien Thing
  6. Let The Rhythm Flow (Club Mix) – Dancing Divaz
  7. Rock Your Enemies (Sister Suck Remix) – Cadenza
  8. Funky Monkey – Mark Kavanagh
  9. Cagey Groove  – The KGB
  10. House Music (In My Brain) – Mark NRG
  11. Show Me Love – The Fruitloop
  12. Coca & Havana – Gigi D’Agostino
  13. Turn That Fucking Music Up  – The Knuckleheads
  14. God The Devil (Brain Bashers Remix) – BK

Right click here and ‘save as’ to download ‘On The Edge’

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