Dieselboy

This next review is going to be for a mix which aired on the radio a few months back on on 2009-08-29. Specifically, the Essential Mix by Sharam. The idea to do this came when I saw that his mix recently won top honors in a vote amongst all 52 of this years choices (a pretty prestigious honor really...if you read my EM post above).

First I'll say, that I've always been a fan Sharam and Deep Dish (of which he is one half). A duo of very solid house DJ's who's name you've possibly already heard on occasion. I've said in at least a few threads on MB that his Global Underground 29 CD is one of my favorites.
As far as this mix, I did remember hearing it when it aired, and that I enjoyed it, but forgot the particulars. So I've picked it up again recently (when it got voted the best) and given it a few more complete listens. So yeah, I'm gonna break it down for you guys and try to convince you that it's worth hearing for yourselves. Ok, time to shutup and start reviewing the mix and its highlights:

Best Essential Mix of 2009 (Sharam)

You Press 'Play' and...The mix starts off with an introduction from Pete Tong, and then, with a soft violin heard in the background, Sharam introduces his set:

"Hey everyone, this is Sharam and you're going to be listening to my new Essential Mix on Radio 1. As you will hear on this mix, I don't play the genre game. I'm a fan of good music and great production. [...] So,this is my essential mix, and I hope you enjoy it."

The sound of the violin and the background music grows into something unexpected. What will his opener be? I'm pretty sure no one woulda guessed this (I didn't):

Seriously? Are you kidding me? How COOL is that to start off a mix. Anyone who doesn't enjoy this should just stop reading now. You won't enjoy anything that follows, and probably just don't like music in general. Moving on...





As Morricones song fades out, in comes Sharams own Track With No Name. A slow, sizzling, housey burner. Sorta calming, but cool after getting pumped up from the opener. This is the kinda tune that I'd assosiate with Sharam most easily, but as we'll continue to see, he has many more sides to him.

The mix continues as the next couple songs build on the 2nd and then suddenly turn into Samburu by D-Unity which brings some cool tribal chants into the mix with a simply amazing beat behind it. Listen closely and you can hear the jungles sounds of birds, big cats, etc in the background. You can almost picture yourself hiding in the jungle leaves watching an African tribe dance around a bonfire with glowsticks. No? Anyway, I like this. Nice one.



Suddenly you leave the rain forest and are on a beautiful moonlit beach. Samburu blends well into the next track, as you can hear the jungle sounds in the background for a good 2 minutes or more into it. Entitled Beach Kisses, a trancey track...you could probably guess that it would be a slower tempo and quite lovely. It has a muted sounding trumpet playing almost through the entirety, and a soft bouncy beat. Together, they make me think of walking on the beach at night...on the best day of my life. Just incredibly sassy and bouncy at the same time. I could not see any fan of music not enjoying these last 2 songs played back to back. A highlight of the mix for sure.

(This song has quite a long intro. To hear the part used in the mix skip ahead to about the 3 minute mark.)

Skipping ahead now a bit to the 9th tune. It's called, She Came Along. Hmm, this is cool and all and...WTF! I can hear a twangy sounding country guitar creeping into the mix?! Oh wow, it is, and now some lady with a southern accent (Patsy Klein I guess) and a chorus of guys is singing behind her. This doesn't last too long as it exits the mix (only to come back later) and we are treated to some nice loops, but it was a bit scary (to me)...and interesting too I suppose.





There's a mini climax with Photon Inc.'s - Give a Little Love, but the next track that really stands out to me is, Squarez by Nadastrom. It's a pretty decent little electro-house tune. It's nothing fancy, but does have a nice little build up near the middle of unintelligible female vocals rising and rising to a cresendo and then dropping off. I like the loop in this song alot, and even though its sorta simple, it makes me nod my head pretty good. The 15th track, Get Up Jude, follows along the same lines and then...





...Can you say, "Climax!"? When you hear this next song you can...and then you...probably will.

The song is called Mauri's Dream (Sharam's Eternity Remix) and it must be heard to be believed. Nine minutes long, keeps you on your toes for its entirety and never gets boring. Starting off as a mix of maybe electro with some acid sounding beeps mixed in. It then evolves from there and a really hot violin sample is introduced about half way through. The violin and the beeps work together for awhile and then at seven minutes in...POW...it explodes. Sexy, sexy song, and probably my favorite on the mix.

(Unfortunately, there's no video of this version on youtube for me to link. Very depressing...moving on sadly.)

A couple songs later, and the mix is still near its peak. The tune on now is called Sax Me Up (another pick from D-Unity). It's a fun mix of muted sax samples, robot-sounding vocals, and a heavy HEAVY bass-line. I don't need more adjectives for this. 'Fun' really just is the best word you could use here. Fun song.





The mix is starting to wind down now, but stays so strong with another self picked tune of Sharam's called Vikings. Here we have yet another genre-defying tune that will make you smile. Sounds like something straight out of an old movie score...maybe a western...It goes back and forth from a catchy soundtrack orchestra to a nice bouncy beat and back again several times. At one point an effect pops up that sorta sounds like a horse galloping, but sorta not...it's hard to describe. The song in itself however, is not hard to describe. It's brilliant.

(Vikings is another song I'd love to link for you guys, but it's not on youtube either. It's a crime. Oh well, moving on.)

Finally, the list comes to an end with a 2-minute excerpt from a song simply called, V, by an artist called Namito. Slow and bouncy, nothing to catchy or fancy, it closes out the mix well. It serves its purpose and is about as good as a closing track can be I suppose. Aaand then, Pete Tong interrupts and blabs a bit about this and that and...PHEW. It's over. A great mix indeed, and not a bad way to spend 2 hours at all!






All in all, this is a really cool mix, and I can see why it got the top 2009 vote to beat out others like Sub-Focus and Deadmau5. Sharam is all over the place, with suprises around every turn. At the same time though, I'd say it's still all about the music for him in the end. It never gets nerdy or confusing. Everything here works well together and makes you wanna move, even if some of it isn't exactly conventional.

Here is the complete tracklisting for the mix (copied from Mixing Bowl):

- TRACKLIST -

1 - Intro with Sharam
2 - Ennio Morricone — Ecstasy Of Gold (Sharam Edit) [White Label]
3 - Sharam vs Nic Fanciulli — Track With No Name [Data]
4 - Marc Antona & Xiki — Hawah [Micro Fibers]
5 - Rodriguez Jr. — Pandora [Kids of Gula]
6 - D-Unity — Samburu [Yo****oshi]
7 - Dosem — Beach Kisses (Joris Voorn Green Mix) [Green Records]
8 - DBN — Asteroidz (feat. Madita) (Sharam's Crazi Remix) [Yo****oshi]
9 - Sharam — She Came Along (feat. Kid Cudi) (Sharam's Ecstasy Of Ibiza Mix) [Data]
10 - Steve Aoki — I’m In the House (feat. Zuper Blahq) (Sharam's Lovefest Remix) [Dim Mak]
11 - Okain — Blackrock [Quartz Records]
12 - Photon Inc. — Give A Little Love (DJ Pierre's Tha Wild Pitch Mix / Sharam Edit) [Strictly Rhythm]
13 - D-Nox & Beckers — Cala Boca (Gabe Remix) [Global Noises]
14 - Nadastrom — Squarez [White Label]
15 - Fiord — Get up Jude (Beckers Remix) [Vapour8 Recordings]
16 - Cedric Gervais — Mauri's Dream (Sharam's Eternity Remix) [White Label]
17 - Namito — Train To Tehran (Daniele Papini Remix) [Kling Klong]
18 - D-Unity — Sax Me Up (D-Unity's Crazy Sax Mix) [White Label]
19 - Sharam — Vikings [DCI]
20 - Sharam Vs. Julien Jeweil — Pattgate [White Label]
21 - Namito — V [Yo****oshi]

If anyone would like to check this out, you could find the torrent online I'm sure. HOWEVER, I managed to dig up a .cue sheet for this though, so I'm more than willing to send the mix to anyone interested, with all the songs separated and named appropriately. Makes it easier to follow I think. Just lemme know.