Netsky - Radio 1 Essential Mix

2010 has been a huge year for Netsky, with the Hospital marketing machine pushing his album hard at the start of the year and plenty of business in the form of remix work for everyone from the Swedish House Mafia to Plan B.

However, despite being packed with massive tracks, I found Netsky's self-titled album a little lacking in substance. It's a completely stereotypical D&B album, the sort of thing you'd draw if by some dark magic you got "Drum and Bass" in a game of Pictionary. Whilst it ticked all the boxes for the modern D&B album (the liquid roller, the Jenna G vocal track, the dubstep track, several heavily-rinsed dancefloor tracks) it still felt like Netsky was struggling to transfer his individual style across from his singles and remix work into album form.

Anyway, I should really shut up, because Netsky's Essential Mix is fantastic, a serious contender for Essential Mix of the Year.

Grab it now!

Tracklist

Danny Byrd - Radio 1 Essential Mix

Right, I'll admit that this one didn't actually grab me straight off in the same way that Sub Focus's April 2009 Essential Mix or Blame's February 2009 Essential Mix did, but on listening back to it a few times, it's really bloody impressive.

Whilst Sub Focus and Blame's mixes are both amazing D&B sets, Danny Byrd's Essential Mix stands out as more than this. Across the two hours, Danny Byrd sets out a lesson in D&B, but rather than being one of those ubiquitous "Jungle Classicz '94"-style mixes, Byrd presents a treatise on the state of modern D&B and its place in the wider dance/rave culture of the UK. It's a celebration of both drum and bass as it stands today, and the tracks, artists and sounds on which this scene is built.

It's amazing to think that the UK dance scene only really kicked off twenty-two years ago and yet in just two decades it has become so diverse, spanning so many genres and sub-genres. It's also easy to forget that trance, D&B, techno and house all share the same roots. Both nostalgic and yet forward looking, this mix is a must-listen for anyone with any kind of interest in dance music.

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Track listing from the BBC here (*Warning* Do not access between the hours of 10.00 AM and 12.45 PM as you might encounter some Fearne Cotton)