One last winter mix before a change of gear and hopefully season! A small filling of deep house sandwiched between distinctly chilly vibes, including a couple of down-tempo classics. Inspired by winter drives around the coast of Ibiza, best enjoyed with fresh air and a spectacular view.

Vedella Inspiration

The intention for Alma 4 was to open with some serious summer chill vibes and with that in mind there can’t be many artists with a better pedigree than Brazilian jazz funk maestros Azymuth. Back in 1980, my first ever 12 inch vinyl purchase was their classic Jazz Carnival (check this boiler room set if you can’t remember/weren’t born https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZH0wREBPNc ) and the B side “Fly over the horizon” served as a great introduction to what would later become classed as “chillout”. This track from couple of years  later (“Last summer in Rio”) perfectly matches the opening vibe I was looking for so was a shoo in for pole position on the mix.  From the same era, “A Long Way To Reach Heaven” from Supermax follows with just a touch of Pink Floyd dreaminess about it, which in turn blends seamlessly into The Average White Bands soulful smooch classic, “A Love Of Your Own”. Resisting the temptation to go for Luthers’ later and equally lovely version, Toto & Cheryl Lynn waft in to keep the mix horizontal, before Michael McDonalds “I Keep Forgetting” completes an early set of chill from an era before the term “chill” was actually applied. 
A reworked version of the Tavares finally kicks this mix into first gear before another rework, this time from Gwen McCrea, slowly starts to imprint a different mood into the groove. A couple of reworks on and after Linda Clifford the ante is upped once again with Ingram’s (James) superb “DJ’s Delight”. An awesome bassline from my favourite era, I heard this for the first time in at least 20 years just a couple of months ago and knew immediately that it had to find its way onto a mix soon. So here it is. Moving up through the gears, Ingram provides the perfect lead into a couple more current remixes from last year, before switching back again in time with Quincy Jones’s underrated “Bet’cha Wouldn’t Hurt Me”. Written by Stevie Wonder and sung by Patti Austin, it’s hard to believe that this was put out a B side (!), but the whole album (“The Dude”) is class act – and only to be expected of Quincy Jones. Then up another gear again with Jocelyn Brown and a reworked “Moment Of My Life” from her “Inner Life” time.  It’s disappointing when no mention of the original artist is mentioned on the rework (especially given that this is just a slightly more up-tempo version), but the groove is good so it’s in.
Having juggled the old and the new throughout, the mix finishes in the same way, moving into top gear for the penultimate tune, Joey Negros light retouch of the ever-superb Gladys Knight. Finally, for the Soul Boys and Girls who know their stuff, the last tune is such a classic that you should be able to name the tune on the very first note.  I’ve looped it to give you 32 chances to test your knowledge – answers at the bottom of the page.  With a guest vocal by Stevie Wonder this provides the perfect finale to this latest Alma mix, inspired by lazy days on the South West coast of Ibiza.
Enjoy with sunshine and a cold beer.






Gary Byrd 

PETE WISDOM