Tiga‘s 6 Mix show is a wonderful nugget of personality, and I always get the giggles at his outrageous view of his world. The next one is on tonight at 10 so you can see what I mean, but as a little example, he calls his forthcoming mix album Non Stop “a crystal ball through which you can glimpse the music-encrusted future I call now.”
Aside from this he very clearly demonstrates his skills at uncovering and selecting damn fine electro music (in typical Tiga style he calls himself The Seeker), and this is the main ingredient for the unwavering success of the Turbo label over the last 14 years.
As an avid follower I’ve been excited for a while now about his first mix CD in five years, especially as it weighs in at a mammoth 28 tracks. With that mix length you can spend some time building and developing, and I think starting with the calmly sublime Swingin’ Party by Kindness does exactly that, then layering some more menacing techno bass going into 4E’s Temple Traxx. Tiga says ‘This is the first mix I’ve done that embodies the ethic of “Tempos Without Borders”, starting out around 108 BPM before ultimately arriving at 126, the mythical “Golden Rectangle” of tempos.’
From Adam Marshall onwards it’s a full-blown party. In fact I could whack up the stereo, turn all the lights off in my house and happily pretend I was in a Tiga-fuelled sweatpit dancing my arse off somewhere in East London. Listening at my desk, I found myself typing quicker, doing the chair-shuffle and randomly shouting out ‘Yeah!’ every so often to no-one in particular (see track 23, Gladio’s Calligula). They’ve begun to get used to that a little bit when I’m listening to good music, but damn this album gets you going.
The snippets of vocal along the way are well-chosen and brilliant, Tiga’s own Track City Bitch and one of my favourites on there; Romare – The Blues (It Began in Africa). This into Auntie Flo and then Lula Circus? YES PLEASE. It’s a mix with enough recent-oldies as new sounds, but I like that; I am a fan of a revisit and instant classics like Duke Dumont‘s Street Walker and Auntie Flo’s Oh My Days don’t get old and it would be a crime to leave something by Blawan out of the tracklist.
Well done Tiga, you reminded me once again why I love you. He likes to make people party, and he has an ear for exactly what will do that. All layered nicely over a mix that builds you up so much you need to go out immediately after listening. A definite highlight is his own exclusive new track Plush, co-produced with Matthew Dear. It is out as a single 26 November, but you can get your hands on the album sooner than that: it’s out 12 November on Different Recordings/PIAS.
He’s at Fabric next Friday 9 November alongside Daniel Avery and Filthy Dukes. See you on the dancefloor.
Tracklist
01. Kindness – Swingin’ Party
02. 4E – Temple Traxx
03. AFX – AFX Acid 04
04. MKRNI – Humedad (DJs Pareja Remix)
05. Tiga – Plush
06. Audion – Cloth (Just A Couch)
07. Duke Dumont – Street Walker
08. Adam Marshall – Bass Tracking
09. Marco Carola – 90′s
10. Bok Bok & Tom Trago – Lil Ma Bonus Beat
11. Tiga – Track City Bitch
12. Terence Fixmer – Inner Playground
13. Romare – The Blues (It Began In Africa)
14. Auntie Flo – Oh My Days
15. Lula Circus – Once Upon A Time
16. Tiga – The Picture
17. Locked Groove – Keep Thorough
18. Duke Dumont – The Giver
19. Clouds – Those Cracks In Your Face, Do They Hurt?
20. Blawan – 6 To 6 Lick
21. Panda Bear – Surfer’s Hymn (Actress Primitive Pattern Mix)
22. Jacques Greene – Prism
23. Gladio – Calligula
24. K Alexi – Vertigo
25. Aubrey – Spank Spank 2008
26. Factory Floor – Two Different Ways
27. Crash Course In Science – Flying Turns
28. A Homeboy, A Hippie & A Funki Dredd – Total Confusion (Heavenly Mix)
