Following on from the bleak desolation of the Dystopia mix, here's one that evokes happier times. 

Journey with me back to 1996 - a time when a young DJ Smart and his best pal MC/DJ Cruise (now a middle-aged Selectabwoy and Olly WiseGuise respectively) fearlessly ventured from the south-west to Northumbria uni, bringing the rolling vibes of our hometown to the north-east, armed with little more than a crate of wax and a big bag of skunk each - well, that's how I like to remember it.

It was a fantastic time of sheer abandon and wilfully outrageous hedonism - and as you might imagine, many of the memories are blurred in the fog of time and substance abuse. Without the ubiquitous tyranny of cameraphones and social media to preserve our nefarious activities, all I can really tell you is that we went for it, hard... but I can at least recall a few of the DJ sets at house parties and club nights (including our own Wax On Wax Off venture); spinning old skool hardcore that I was picking up for 50p a pop in 10-15 Music Exchange (that no other fucker seemed to know about); Olly on mic duties for luminaries such as Randall & A Guy Called Gerald (I have no recollection of the latter but am reliably assured it did happen); the two of us playing b2b supporting the likes of Ed Rush, Kemi & Storm; the mitsi-fuelled pride of seeing Roni Size's Reprazent tearing it up on stage in Middlesborough during their first UK tour. Not to mention all the townie nights out. It was the best of times. 

My cue for the selection here comes primarily from mine & Olly's record bags of the era, inspired in turn from an obscure Venn diagram intersection between the legendary Bristol Ruffneck Ting nights, the all-important One In The Jungle shows, and, 300 miles further north, my first impression of the northern D&B scene: L Double's trademark dreads bouncing up and down as he played to the half-empty upstairs room of some seedy topless bar in South Shields. He still rinsed it out proper though - Lee's selections back then really encapsulated everything I find great about this era: a weighty, crowd-pleasing mix of jump-up, rollers and techstep, blended to perfection. Forward a year or so and D&B was all over Newcastle as it was everywhere else, but it's those first memories that really stick in my mind. 

Big shout to Olly first and foremost, and our long-lost crew - Pottsy, Bailey, Jon Waco, Chris Weir, Mark Dowie... Scotty (howay play the game lads) - I hope this mix finds you again someday. Honorable shouts to a few of the Newcastle characters... Reewynd, MC Bly, Garner Harris (I chucked in a jazzy number or two to appease you... FFS lol), Justin & Elements of Noise, Hidden Agenda. Thanks for having us <3 

Lemon D - Subphonic [Prototype]
DJ Krust - Blaze Dis One [V Recordings]
L Double ft. D.Bo General & Robbie Rue - The Rider [Flex]
Dope Skillz - 6 Million Ways (Remix 1) [Frontline]
Concept 2 - Cause N' Effect [Ram]
Mental Power - Purple [Formation Colour Series]
Ed Rush - Check Me Out [Dee Jay]
Dillinja - Unexplored Terrain [V Recordings]
Hidden Agenda - 12 Seconds [Creative Source]
Shimon & Andy C - Genetix [Ram]
Nasty Habits - Shadow Boxing [31 Records]
Swift - Load [True Playaz]
Swift - On The Beat [Suburban Base]
Ill Figure - Style [Suburban Base]
DJ Hype - We Must Unite [G-Line]
IQ Collective - Mode One (Remix) [Trouble On Vinyl] 
Rufige Kru - T3 [Metalheadz]
Doc Scott - The Unofficial Ghost [FFRR]
DJ Die - Play It For Me [V Recordings] 
Freestyles - Play The Game [True Playaz]
Joint Venture - Take Away [Liftin' Spirit]
Roni Size - Dayz [V Recordings]
L Double - Slow Down [Flex]
Reprazent - Down [Talkin' Loud]

NESW

NESW: The Bristol-Newcastle Connection ('96/'97 D&B Selection)

* Message me if you have any copyright issues *

Home of my own mixes - predominantly jungle/hardcore with the odd bit of D&B, plus eclectic sample-digging, breaks and hip-hop, techno & electronica. 

Pre-2001, all mixes vinyl; Post-2016, all mixes digital (DJay 2); Post-2018, Ableton Live. Why? Why not?
I've got an old skool DJ's mentality, early influences ranging from Sublove, Ratty, Randall & Hype to Coldcut, DJ Juice, MK & Primo.  In the early 00s I turned my back on D&B, retired my turntables in favour of family/work commitments, and got into funk, soul, reggae and so on... a lot of this driven by curiosity around the sample roots of hardcore and jungle.  Forward another decade and an early mid-life crisis saw me messing around with virtual decks on my phone, and later acquiring a vinyl ripper, with one vision in mind: making mixes.
Although I'm partial to the odd DJay or vinyl mix when I get the chance, the progression into Ableton Live was a simple means to an end.  My ideas stretch further than the limitations of my physical collection and real-time mixing, and by sequencing I can pick, choose, chip away and structure mixes at my leisure. Which I do... a lot :)

Wait, there's more ... an absolute stack of classic golden era/old skool hip-hop/turntablism, jungle and d&b, hardcore, techno and house mixes retrieved from my dusty tape & CD archives.  This includes (by my reckoning) the most exhaustive collections of classic Full Cycle and Sublove Galaxy Radio shows, live Ruffneck Ting jungle tapes, loads of studio & compilation mixes, all manner of rave tapes, and so on. 
Use the playlist shortcuts (top of spotlight) to find your way around. 

Have fun, spread the love :)

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