Our friend Downlink recently dropped a fantastic 77 song DnB studio mix that features some amazing tunes from his collection that he’s built up over the years. This is definitely a mix you’ll want to have on repeat this summer! Below is a write up he’s included with the mix and a link to the full track list. Please share with friends and likeminded people who love DnB.
FROM DOWNLINK:
“JUPITER JAZZ”
I put this studio mix together last summer but for some reason I just didn’t feel comfortable releasing it. Maybe it was the pandemic. Maybe I was unsure of the reception due to Downlink being a dubstep name. Maybe I was waiting to finish the neuro / jump up companion mix to this. Maybe I was waiting to make a custom intro. Maybe I was just too busy with other things in life. Whatever it was, it just didn’t feel right to put it out last year…
Fast forward and we are on the cusp of summer 2021. While the pandemic rages on, many parts of the world are starting to heal and move forward with live events. Excited by the prospect of getting back out there I’ve begun to accept some live bookings and some of these have been for DNB sets.
I want to be clear that this isn’t a fad for me and I’m not riding some fucking wave. I started DJing with DNB over 20 years ago when I bought my first set of turntables in 2001. From there I essentially lived and breathed drum n bass up until dubstep came around and I randomly found success producing it (by that time my production skills had come around a bit). Even while my career took form as Downlink, I kept my ears on the DNB world, collecting tunes and mixing it at home and at shows whenever I could sneak it into my sets or find at the occasional jungle booking. I tried to tour with dnb artists like Andy C or Dieselboy (heroes of mine) whenever the opportunity presented itself, and even though I primarily focussed my production efforts on dubstep I always continued to dabble. Check the end of this mix for a little bootleg I made of the underwater level from the classic SNES game Donkey Kong Country (yes, I know another remix of this song exists from ages ago). Donkey Kong loves jungle too 😛
Also, I want to make it very clear that I’ve got nothing for respect for all the hardcore junglists out there.. The DJ’s and producers and promoters who have poured their life force into this music despite what seems to be an uphill battle at times. I unexpectedly found success in dubstep and after falling in with some other successful artists, I chose to pursue it as a career. But that being said I’ve always maintained the highest respect and admiration for all of the talented drum n bass artists of the world. This music is about love and true passion, not about what everyone else thinks is hype. True heads know this and for many of us the unapproachable underground nature of the music is part of the appeal. Fuck outta here if it ain’t in your blood and you’re just trying to cash in on hype.
This mix isn’t the style of DNB I normally play out live, it’s more of what i vibe to on my own time at home or in my car. The tunes lean towards liquid, but on the whole the mix is not overly atmospheric. Expect to hear classic cuts spanning the last couple decades interspersed with some newer material that has caught my ear as of late. I actually recorded some of my old vinyl because I couldn’t find digital files for some of these older songs. It’s got a bit of everything – Jazz, Funk, Soul, Vocal, Disco, Atmospheric, Melancholic, Uplifting, Bright, Hopeful. I’ve been listening to this mix over the last year from time to time and I’ve become attached to it the way it is now. It would be weird to me to add or change anything so I’m just going to put it out there in the same state it was last year. Summer is on the horizon and the time for this mix is now!
77 songs in 77 minutes
TRACKLIST —> tinyurl.com/w6zvzdt4
Artwork/Graphics – Downlink
