Between the years 2003 and 2008 I produced drum & bass as Aqua-tek. Here's a selection of originals from the vaults.

Aqua-tek - Originals (2005 - 2008)

a vacation from my vacation

Album: AK1200 & MC Navigator - Mixed Live @ Moonshine Overamerica, San Francisco 2001
Released: 2001
Total time: 73:37 min.

Tracklist:

01 Moving Fusion & Shimon - Hangman 5:17
02 Usual Suspects - Body Count 3:36
03 Bad Company - Crucifixion 4:43
04 Dylan & Loxy - Evolution 3:14
05 DJ Kontrol - Forcefield 5:26
06 A-Sides - Crazy VIP 4:32
07 DJ SS - Lighter (Remix) 4:44
08 Wots My Code - Dubplate (Total Science Remix) 4:03
09 DJ Dara - Kilos 4:49
10 Phantom Audio - Remote Control 4:09
11 Total Science - Make Me Feel 4:06
12 Fire And Theft - Game 9 (A-Sides Remix) 4:38
13 Digital - Waterhouse (Dub) 5:41
14 Special K - Krossfire 5:09
15 Splash - Babylon (Dillinja Mix) 3:22
16 Cleveland Lounge - Drowning (AK1200 Remix) 6:01

AK1200 & MC Navigator - Mixed Live @ Moonshine Overamerica, San Francisco 2001

Aqua-tek & The Council - Discostep (2008)

AIM: aquatekdnb               

Aqua-tek - Borealis (2006)

.Shadybrain Recs.  

Aqua-tek - Nimbus VIP (2006)

Dubs

Aqua-tek - Leopard Print (2007)

Aqua-tek - Shades of Orange (Original) (2006)

One of my most personal mixes. For this one I really tried to go outside the box conceptually - who would have thought to do a fantasy role-playing themed drum and bass mix? Having been a life long Dungeons and Dragons fan, I thought it would be cool to basically let everyone know that I was into role-playing games. And for the intro I was able to lock down the voice of Optimus Prime himself Peter Cullen! During the recording process I was patched into his headphones when he was in the studio and was even able to direct him. It wasn't until later that I discovered he had voiced the character of Venger on the 80's cartoon series Dungeons and Dragons. Awesome! The artwork was once again handled by the legendary Akira Takahashi. One of the coolest parts of the art is the reoccurring image of a dragon which is an exact copy of the dragon tattoo on my back. I always thought Akira was very clever to incorporate that image so deeply throughout the design. Though you cannot see it here, I spent a lot of time working on the liner notes so that they kind of read like stuff you would find in Dungeons and Dragons rulebooks. One of the coolest things about this project was being able to get remixes made of popular non-dnb artists like Tiësto, Sasha, Josh Wink and BT. It really sort of pushed this thing over the top at the time. Finally there is something that needs to be said about one of the tracks on here. The Paul B + Subwave remix isn't of the Tiësto tune "Flight 643". It is a remix of his track "Lethal Industry". I can't remember why this happened in the first place, but there you go! Enjoy :)

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TRACKLIST

Dieselboy - Prologue
Cartridge - End Of The World
Break - Accelerate
Kaos + Karl K + Jae Kennedy - Soul On Fire (Concord Dawn Remix)
Basic Operations - White
Tech Itch - The Hand
Raiden - Infection (E-Sassin Remix)
Sasha - Immortal (Kaos + Karl K Remix)
Wink - Evil Acid (Gridlok Remix)
Teebee + Calyx - Follow The Leader
BT - Knowledge Of Self (Evol Intent Remix)
Dub Faction - Flightpath
Usual Suspects - Doorway (Gridlok + Echo Remix)
Dom + Kemal - Moulin Rouge (Dieselboy + Kaos + Karl K Remix)
Tiësto - Flight 643 (Paul B + Subwave Remix)
Concord Dawn - Take Me Away (Ill Skillz Remix)
Decorum - Contrax (Weapon Remix)
Dumonde - Human (Ill Skillz Remix)

The Dungeonmaster's Guide

Project Human was essentially the launch point for my drum and bass label Human Imprint (the name of the cd was meant to tie in with the label name). It was a culmination of what I had been trying to do conceptually over the past few years and really set the template for all future mix projects - Big, cinematic voiceover intros. Remixes done specifically for my mixes. Big big tunes. Music that I had a hand in. Around this time I had started to get serious with making music and had partnered up with my dear friend Chris “Kaos” Ritter. He is featured on quite a few of the tunes on here. The first 12” release on Human Imprint was the Stratus tune “You Must Follow” and this provided Chris and I a remix opportunity to get our production feet wet. This was followed by our remix of a hip-hop track I really enjoyed by Styles And Beyond called “Subculture”. Originally I had this track remixed by Dylan and Ink for this mix, but I wasn’t especially fond of their effort and they unfortunately refused to put any more work into it. This inspired me and Kaos to do our own take on it, which is what appears here. Pretty proud of the details in that one to be honest. Looking over the tracklist…there was just a lot of really cool stuff that came together for this mix. Lots of remixes of disco house tunes (Robbie Rivera, Funk Parlor, Billy Lo). Remixes of seminal Moving Shadow tunes (Quadrant 6, The Shadow). I helped create a short lived North American drum and bass production “supergroup” called Weapon that has two remixes on here. Such awesome memories working on those tunes. We were actually in the middle of the Reborn remix (one of my favorite personal projects) when 9/11 happened. Never forget indeed. The artwork on this release was handled by the amazing WeWorkForThem boys (Michael Young and Michael Cina). They used images from a photoshoot I did with famed photographers Kelly and Meyers. I asked WWFT to remove my mouth in the images so I resembled the faces from the Human Imprint logo. The voiceover for the intro was my first ever voice actor hire. Aaaand it was Don LaFontaine himself, the most legendary voice actor of all time (“The Voice Of God”). I remember when he sent me the DAT with his voiceover takes on it. I listened to it in headphones and literally got the chills. So fucking amazing. Unfortunately around the time I was working on this intro, another DJ (Bad Boy Bill) made an internet promo that was supposed to sound like a movie trailer. It used a couple of the exact lines from my Project Human intro by coincidence! So I had to go back and rewrite those lines and have Don re-record them. Sad to say the version of the script was better (and the sound quality on the voice takes were better) in the original. Oh well. Of all of the mixes I have released, Project Human has seemed to resonate with drum and bass fans the most. I am quite proud of it.

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TRACKLIST

Dieselboy + Joshua Ryan - Genesis
Optical + Ryme Tyme - Shapecharge
Styles Of Beyond - Subculture (Dieselboy + Kaos VIP)
The Funk Parlor - Something For The Dancefloor (Underfire Remix)
Stratus - You Must Follow (Dieselboy + Kaos Remix)
Stakka + Skynet + Friction - Altitude (Fierce + Ryme Tyme VIP)
Dylan + DJ Ink - California Curse (Technical Itch Remix)
Billy Lo - Carjacker (Ram Trilogy Remix)
Robbie Rivera - Harder And Faster (Weapon Vs E-Sassin Remix)
Kemal + Rob Data - Hostile
Usual Suspects + Loxy - Stalker (Danny C Remix)
Rob + Goldie - The Shadow (Hive VIP)
Dom + Roland - Soundwall (Dom + Roland VIP)
Dom + Optical - Quadrant 6 (E-Sassin VIP)
Rascal + Klone - Terminal Velocity
Technical Itch - Reborn (Weapon Remix)
Bad Company - Mindgames
Dieselboy + Joshua Ryan - Revelations

Project Human

System Upgrade was my 4th and final mix CD release for Moonshine back in 2000. I was on a roll at this point, given that my last CD “Soldier’s Story” had been released only one year before. I was super motivated by the freedom that I had finally been given to select all of the music in my mixes, and this tracklist reflects a truly diverse selection of really great drum and bass from that era. Being able to kick things off with the remix of “Mindscan” by the legends Ed Rush and Optical was truly an honor for me. At that time stateside artists and DJs were still struggling with garnering respect from the UK. I feel that this mix was sort of a transition for building trans-Atlantic relationships during that unfortunately tense era. Dillinja came through with a beast of a remix for American super producer Hive with “Ultrasonic Sound”. Decoder did serious justice to his remix of my tune “The Descent”. And E-Sassin was one of my favorite artists at the time and straight killed it with tracks like “Symptom”. A true American DNB classic. The rest of the mix was filled out with plenty of great music from the likes of Bad Company (the first time they licensed a tune for the American market), Kemal and Rob Data AKA Konflict and of course Dom + Roland, Tech Itch, etc. Was always super happy with the tunes I was able to get for this one. And yes, this was another mix I did in my pajamas sitting on the floor of my living room in my apartment in Philadelphia. Very classy! The artwork was handled by Justin Fines, otherwise known as Demo Design. I discovered his work on a flier at a rave in Detroit back in the 90s. He was way beyond most flier designers at that point in time. Currently he is killing it in the world of TV commercials here in NYC. Was very lucky to have him on board for this project. The concept of the mix was elevating consciousness through music. This theme played out through the title of the mix, the graphics, the liner notes, and the intro (which was a collaboration between myself and a Mr Justin Geller). Here is a fun story. The rainforest environment FX in the intro were recorded in binaural sound (that means in headphones they should sound like they are in true 3D audio). We also used a sample from one of my favorite new age / synth artists at the time named Steve Roach. Outside of the new age music scene I didn’t think he was well known. Buuut…Moonshine ended up getting contacted by his lawyers for my illegal sampling of his track. I had to forfeit all of my income from the CD to pay Steve Roach back for using his music in my intro without clearance. To this day I am still not sure how he found about it. Long story short, “System Upgrade” is a mix that reflected the vibe of drum and bass at the time and it was a very important stepping stone between what I had previously been doing before mix wise and what I would go on to do with the “6ixth Session” and future mixes. And, to this day, people still tell me that it is their favorite mix. I don’t disagree. I feel like this was an important moment in the progression of the  US drum and bass scene.

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TRACKLIST

Dieselboy - Loading Program
Ram Trilogy - Mindscan (Ed Rush + Optical Remix)
E-Sassin - Symptom
Hive - Ultrasonic Sound (Dillinja Remix)
Biostacis - Brain Hack
Dom + Roland - Can’t Punish Me
Decoder - Road Rage
Future Cut - Overload
Kemal + Rob Data - Konspiracy VIP
Stakka + Skynet - Side Effects
Dieselboy - The Descent (Decoder Remix)
Jonny L - Selecta
Decoder - Dumb
Facs + B-Key - Antics
Technical Itch - Deadline
Bad Company - Sentient 
Absolute Zero - The Code (Usual Suspects VIP)

System Upgrade

SixEleven DJ MixSeries Volume 1 was my 3rd mix CD. At the time I had just relocated from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia and was living in an apartment with my friend Nigel Richards, a fellow dj and owner of the record store and label 611 Records. I was working at the shop during the week and playing shows on the weekends. Nigel decided that he wanted to get into the mix CD market and we conceptualized the idea of a “mixed series” of music that highlighted good DJs that were also personal friends. For me, this was an opportunity to really start learning the ropes of licensing music, doing better graphic design (I designed the artwork for all of the CDs...and yes that's a picture of my turntable) and putting a more personalized stamp on the music I was pushing on these compilations. I had little to no input on the track selections of my first two mix CDs, so this project was my first real foray into total artistic freedom. To be honest, I don’t completely remember how I was able to lock down all of the music for this tracklist! I just remember that it was a pain in the ass dealing with the various labels and artists and artist egos and budget restrictions. Most of the tracks on the compilation were unreleased when it was made, so I had to cut acetates / dubplates of all of the tunes. Sidenote - every time you play a dubplate you degrade its sound quality. I had to make doubles of every tune, practice with one set, and then try and nail a perfect mix with the unplayed set. Talk about stressful! I mixed this thing sitting on the floor of my living room, turntables in front of me and fingers crossed. It was my first time doing a mix on a mixer that actually had EQ and FX (the Pioneer DJM-500). I used the tight flange FX quite a bit in here for a metallic sound. Also, my turntables were modified and pitched up to play faster. That’s why this mix sounds like it is around 190BPM. I always liked my drum and bass extra fast for some reason! Besides “Messiah” from the 6ixth Session, the track “Tough At The Top” is the one I get the most comments about from people that are familiar with my music. Overall, DJ MixSeries Volume 1 represented a very specific touchstone in my musical career. It was a transition point that really helped jumpstart later projects with crazy intros (this one had none), better graphics, more esoteric and unique track selections, etc. A belated super thank you to Nigel for believing in me and giving me this opportunity. This was definitely a fun art project and a big dip into the deep end of music development.

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TRACKLIST

Hoax - The More I See You (Urban Flavour Remix)
DT - Serious
EZ-Rollers - Tough At The Top (Origin Unknown Remix)
Concept 2 - Unlock The Secrets
Dom + Matrix - Foot Steps
Facs - Rupture
Technical Itch - Hidden Sound (Dom + Roland Remix)
Solar Nine - Audio Distortion
Embee - The Power
Secret Methods - Animation
Swift - Mission
Decoder - EKO
Decoder - DHR
Vagrant - Space Boogie
Sharp Scientific - Stratocruiser

SixEleven DJ MixSeries Volume 1

FOR SALE
NOTE: Clips encoded at 128kbps
EMAIL for Beats/Mixing/Mastering/Booking: ovxrlxrd@gmail.com
SC/IG/FB: ovxrlxrd

Untitled10

As I've forgot to record my recent a tribute to 90's Atmospheric DnB live streaming on my facebook page. I've recorded a similar set. Enjoy ;)

Makoto - In Memory Of 90's Atmospheric DnB Mix - Level 1 (2020)

Tracklist:

BT - "Fibonacci Sequence" 
Paganini Traxx - "Zoe (Timo Maas Mix)" 
Cass & Slide - "Perception" 
Pob - "The Fly" 
Sasha - "Xpander" 
Bluefish - "One" 
BT - "Mercury and Solace" 
Acquilla - "Dreamstate (LSG Mix)" 
Junkie XL - "Future in Computer Hell, part 2" 
Bedrock - "Heaven Scent/Lifeline" 

Original Release: 28 september 1999
Catnr: GU013

Global Underground 013 - Sasha - Ibiza - Disc 2

Tracklist:

Raff 'n' Freddy - "Deep Progress"
MRE - "The Deep Edge" 
Resistance D - "Feel High (Humate Mix)" 
Dominica - "Real Time" 
Medway - "The Baseline Track" 
Sander Kleinenberg - "My Lexicon" 
Orbital - "Nothing Left (Breeder Remix)"
Christian Smith & John Selway - "Move!" 
Jimpy & Sarah - "Talkin' (Tarrantella vs Redanka Remix)"
Space Manoeuvres - "Stage One (Pariah Remix)" 
Sander Kleinenberg - "Sacred" 
Natious - "Amber"
Original Release: 28 september 1999
Catnr: GU013

Aqua-tek & The Council - Discostep (2008)

EX SUPERA

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