DnB The Gold Standard 005 (Brand new mix feat. Om Unit, Stray, dBridge, Fracture & more!)

Mister Shifter

New Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2013
Location
Columbus, Ohio USA
Hey crew!

For this edition I wanted to showcase what's currently at the forefront of drum & bass at the moment, especially the fresh & innovative new sounds coming from labels like dBridge's Exit Records, the ever-triumphant Metalheadz, and also feature forward-thinking producers like Om Unit, Sam Binga, & Stray. Many of these tracks pull influences from dancehall, juke, footwork, west coast boogie, and hip-hop, and were specifically selected due the innovative and unique sounds that they bring. All of these tracks are between 160-175 bpm, but are often in half-time. There is no dubstep or 140 bpm material.

I spent a long time crafting this mix from start to finish because I wanted to create a cohesive & purposeful progression, rather than throwing together all of my favorite jams. Organically, the mix just happened to start off a bit brooding and dark, highlighted by Dom & Roland's latest monster, and first release on Metalheadz 'Unofficial Jah'. Towards the middle, the mix finds time to breathe while showcasing some really moody and funk driven cuts. For instance Stray's masterpiece 'Matchsticks' sounds like it could have been a lost J Dilla instrumental, or 'What Do You See' by Kid Drama floats across a dreamy filtered arpeggio. Other standouts include the infectiously bouncy 'AYO!' by Sam Binga featuring Redders on vocals, which has been igniting dance floors all year long, as well as Om Unit's VIP remix of Machinedrum anthem 'Gunshotta' featuring a wonderfully nostalgic 90's-era bassline.

I hope you enjoy listening as much as I did making it.

Stream & Download Here (Soundcloud) Mister Shifter - The Gold Standard 005


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Re: The Gold Standard 005 (Brand new mix feat. Om Unit, Stray, dBridge, Fracture & mo

Looks completely up my street Mr Shifter!

Move Away works SO well as an intro tune with that vocal setting the stage. Got a feeling the blend with Unofficial Jah is going to be quality before it has come in. Little whispers of it are starting to make their way in, with the hook and bleeps. Man those 2 tunes work incredibly well together! Wish I had found that mix :) The strings of Westbank complimented Jah as they were easing in. Would have liked Westbank to have been brought in earlier to hear what the mix with Jah was like, but thats just personal preference. Again, the string hook of Westbank was a treat with Say Nothin. First members mix I've heard What Do You See in and sounded nice off the back off Say Nothin, then into Slippin with the vocals of that and the more autonomic pace of WDYS. The slide into Purple Clouds was almost effortless, before that began talking to Matchstick. I got to find something that works well with Matchsticks as it is such a wicked tune.

Gunshotta vip & Flocon rmx sat well where they are in the tracklist, dropping on their lonesome. Been a while since I had heard that footwork version of Circles & it still sounds fresh :) I liked how the whistle of Circles rmx hung around a little as the vocal & footwork of Professor Popper kept the crazy drum beat going. Not heard Chroma Chords before (even though I should have). Would have liked to hear AYO stay in when Sick Wid It dropped, as there seemed like plenty of tune left on AYO & would have thought those 2 would have sat well together in the mix. Small Victories began building well into SWI bringing similar jukey elements. Must play that tune more myself. And Ulysses seemed fitting as the final tune as I find that it is fairly short to mix in & mix out of if it is anywhere else in a tracklist.

More mixes like this please Mr S! Selection was quality & blends were crisp with very good EQ-ing. A handful tunes I don't have in there, which kept it a bit fresh & interested to see how you strung them all together (worked wonders in most cases). Only slight critique is that I would have liked some tunes to come in a little earlier in the mix, as it sounded like the tune before had left the mix, or was in its outro before the next tune came in, which can make it sound more podcasty (from Purple Clouds through to Ulysses). Not sure if that was what you were going for in some instances. Also, on your soundcloud page for the mix, tag all the artists names in your mix. This way when people are searching for an artist, your mix is likely to crop up in more searches and should result in more plays ect.

Would be wicked if you could check out my Beats & Bass 7 mix if you have an hour spare to jot some thoughts, as the tracklist should be your cup of tea. Ez
 
Re: The Gold Standard 005 (Brand new mix feat. Om Unit, Stray, dBridge, Fracture & mo

Wicked mix. Move away does indeed work very well with Unofficial Jah. Will check your others out at some point.
 
Re: The Gold Standard 005 (Brand new mix feat. Om Unit, Stray, dBridge, Fracture & mo

Dope mix mang. This is the way that i like to mix traks personally. I like it when both traks break at the same time drop and build back up together. I think it comes from playin vinyl for all of those years before i switched to CDJ's. I always wanted to hit the breaks at the same time. I still to this day don't really like playing the beat from one trak while the other trak is in the 2nd break but i do it all the time. Just feels like the traks are shorter then what they used to be. All in all i thought this was really good. the only mix that i wasn't to keen on would be the Slippin/Purple Clouds mix. I don't know maybe it's just me like maybe the Purple Clouds trak doesn't hold up to the weight of Slippin once it was taken out i don't know. I'm sure to some people this might be there favorite mix! Anyway really dope trak selection, mixed flawlessly had a great time lisening. Will definetely look for more. Thanks
 
Re: The Gold Standard 005 (Brand new mix feat. Om Unit, Stray, dBridge, Fracture & mo

Wow, it's rare to get actual feedback. I really appreciate you guys taking the time to listen. It's funny when some of my own thoughts after listening in the car for a few days are expressed by others. Most people don't notice my nitpicks, but I actually find it cool when others do.

The Watcha, in nearly 15 years of sharing mixes, your post was the most detailed & thoughtful response I've ever received. I really appreciate you taking the time to reply with that much insight. I'm really looking forward to checking out your mixes now that I've found the forum.

I rarely do this, but I re-uploaded a new version of this mix with a few minor tweaks. I didn't really notice it when I made it, but it started to bother me that I cut out "AYO!" so early, which The Watcha picked up on. I now have the track ride out before bringing in "Sick Wid It". The others were mostly levels and I cleaned up the "Ulysses" mix at the end because the songs are in a different key and it was clashing a bit the way I mixed it before.

Anyways, I wanted to thank you guys again for checking it out. It really makes me happy knowing that the hours of work bring enjoyment to others. I'll have some new mixes soon.
 
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