As a matter of fact, no. Within the industry Andy Holt is the producer’s producer, valued for his sturdy, consistent and innovative approach. Beyond that, however, he is easily passed over in favor of more extroverted DJ personalities. Having produced only a handful of original releases and no full-length album or mix series, Redanka’s magic is scattered across a smattering of releases via 12″ promos, CD singles and digital exclusives. His name is the ultimate reward to diligent trainspotters, providing a fresh journey even in the most unlikely of material.

This mix began with over thirty potential tracks, each bringing something irresistible to the table. Over the last few weeks it was meticulously whittled down to the final 11 tracks in order to accommodate the 80-minute mix limit, and what a chore that was. There was enough proper material to do this three times over, but the end result is as diverse as the man himself. From Jimpy’s Talkin’ (one of Redanka’s first) to the textbook flawless reworking of U2′s Vertigo, to his very own unsung anthem In A State, it’s all here. Redanka has emboldened progressive house within the scene and provided avenues of exposure outside of it. And for that, he deserves the hat tip.

Running Time: 1:19:12
File Size: 182 MB @ 320 kbps

Tracklisting:

1. Atlas – Compass Error (Tarrentella & Redanka Remake) [Plastica RED]
2. Datar – B (Tarrentella & Redanka NYSC Mix) [Hooj]
3. Tilt – Seduction of Orpheus (Tarrentella & Redanka Remix) [Hooj]
4. Jimpy – Talkin’ (Tarrentella & Redanka Remix) [Whoop!]
5. INXS – Afterglow (Redanka’s Afterdark Remix) [Epic]
6. Snow Patrol – Open Your Eyes (Redanka Remix) [CDR]
7. Above & Beyond – Good For Me (Redanka Vocal Mix) [Anjunabeats]
8. The Spoons – Nova Heart (Redanka Plugged Mix) [Release]
9. Suicide Sports Club – Last Ghost In Town (Redanka Mix) [B_Rock]
10. U2 – Vertigo (Redanka Power Mix) [Universal]
11. Redanka – In A State (Vocal Mix) [RIP]

Grayarea has been something of a question mark in latter day times. They were a moderate success in their early years with ‘One For The Road’, and gained mainstream progressive notoriety when Nick Warren dropped ‘Yewminyst’ — a triumph — on his GU024 Reykjavik mix in 2003. Throughout the next couple years they remixed over a dozen artists, culminating with the original work ‘Gravity’ in 2005, released as a single 12″ and online as a free download. A full length album following the departure of Nosmo from the group was shopped around in 2006, but never picked up. The remaining members McRae and Ruin have held fast regardless, and with a remix for BT’s upcoming album in the works, may be on the verge of a rebirth.

Upon reflection of this 52 minute retrospective, I can say from the depths of my heart that I’d love nothing less than for the fierce return of Grayarea. The days of their prime remain some of my most beloved and cherished moments in electronic music. I recall the first times hearing each of these tracks with stunning clarity, knowing they were destined for greatness and longevity. Grayarea gave the late breakbeat scene of the 90s a reason to cheer again, fusing unconventional arrangements with beautifully-composed melodies and even better harmonics. It was a rare breed: Peak time dancefloor material that rewarded headphone listeners. Not a single new artist has come close since.

Cheers, Sunny. Thanks for the reminder.

Running Time: 52:08
File Size: 119.5 MB @ 320 kbps

Tracklisting:

1. Grayarea – Yewminyst [Hope]
2. Digital Witchcraft – Brindavan (Grayarea’s Purging The Inventory Remix) [CDR]
3. Billy Dalessandro – In The Dark (Grayarea Smart Bar Mix) [Kompute]
4. Blackwatch & Greed – Gentle Rain (Grayarea’s Dismembered Breaks Remix) [Release]
5. Benz & MD – Wonder (Grayarea’s America’s Hat Remix) [Hope]
6. Grayarea – Gravity [Hope]
7. Bedrock – Emerald (Grayarea’s Speakeasy Remix) [Bedrock]

The first is quality. The process of sonic craftsmanship has dwindled in electronic music, the only genre of music in history granted legitimacy without requiring an actual performance of any kind. You have limitless ability to rework, refine and experiment without requiring multiple takes, and with everything rooted in experimentalism there’s actually no limit to acceptable sound design and structure, so long as it’s coherent and well-organized. Your favorite floor barnstormer might actually be a time-corrected toilet flush coupled with your cat being picked up… with pliers. It was funny when Derrick May and Juan Atkins were doing it. The problem is, everyone else has figured this out. The application of logical extremes usually come with bleak forecasts and this was no exception. Like YouTube, on the fateful day they decided to add comments as a feature.

Genres are invariably flooded with a low signal-to-noise ratio, but it doesn’t make it any less offensive. The concept was once described to me by a friend as Lightning Strike Syndrome: When lightning strikes and an artist pioneers a new sound or approach, the masses flock to the point of impact waiting for lightning to strike again. Of course, it strikes someone elsewhere and the masses again flock to that very spot. What we actually have here is even worse: Artists feeding off the inevitable frenzy of bandwagon-hopping observers as they come rushing to witness the latest miracle. That’s not talent. That’s opportunism disguised as a Cult of Subgenre.

On the periphery, everyone understands this academically. It’s not until you review music on a regular basis or become addicted to the latest charts that you realize how much junk is really floating out there. Digital download shops have gone above and beyond the call of duty by aggregating all the trash, so we know where not to look. Granted it’s not possible to have every song in 200,000 be a revolutionary, groundbreaking piece of art — but it’s entirely possible (And should be expected) that artists push the limits of their knowledge, training, equipment and individual expression to bring us new and fresh ideas.

This is sadly lacking in a number of ways. What used to require the skill and invested time of jamming in the studio to find that perfect chemistry has been replaced by a series of formulaic builds and breakdowns, aided by out-of-the-box, widely-used sample packs in plug-and-play software kits. For an industry that grew up and sprung from rich, melody-driven sounds of 80′s-era FM synthesis and Yamaha DX7′s, today’s palettes are surprisingly insipid. There is rarely any original composition anymore, as preconstructed loops and patches do the heavy lifting, essentially leaving only arrangement and sound design to the mouse-clicking maestro.

And that leads us to our next problem: The electronic music umbrella as a whole is powered by technicians, not artists. Your classically-trained musicians represent a fraction of a percent of the industry in general, and even that’s not an actual guarantor that said musicians actually have any talent. It means they studied a lot of people who did. The remainder are programmers and geeks, Vulcans in a forum desperately in need of Scotty’s ingenuity. It’s no wonder these people turn to primes and fibonacci sequences for their cues on creativity — the inherent nature of analysis is counterintuitive to creative inspiration.

Similarly, the standard of skill has dropped to such a degree that DJs are now warp-marking their tracks to pass over that annoyance of actually having to mix two tracks together with different tempos. Today the trainwreck is poor beatmatching, tomorrow it’ll be out of key (One could argue it’s happening already). As is always the case, idiot-proofing breeds better idiots and someone will find a way to ground a set even after hitting play on the DAT and picking up a beer.

The standard of actual performance has become so low, hooks, movie samples and vocalists are picked up and arbitrarily exercised with reckless abandon. Breathy female vocalists kicked out of initial screening rounds of American Idol can suddenly become stars by setting the autotune, cranking up the vox and throwing up on the mic. Provided there’s some fresh-cut 4/4 beats and enough atmospheric reverb to wash the imperfections away, most people never know the difference and never care to find out. Vocals, as with innovative quality, are entirely optional and in fact, usually discouraged by minimalists huddling in the corner cursing any progression that threatens the high from their hallucinogens.

All said and done, it’s a whole whose sum of all parts actually results in a negative. The sad reality is that while some artists do genuinely handcraft their sounds and push the boundaries of experimentalism, they’re riding the only wave to shore. It’s never long before the hundred billion castaways looking for a trend come washing up behind them. And there are that many, because the output level in every subgenre has been pushed to its absolute maximum level of saturation.

The recent flurry of pressure to produce mixes and charts on a weekly and monthly basis have obscured the most important point of DJing in the first place: To create a unique, enjoyable, sonic collage of your favorite works. Any ding dong can stitch together two tracks at 132 bpm with friendly leads. The art comes from the era of the mixtape: The careful selection and order of tracks, the messages and emotions they convey, the joy of creating new combinations in transitions. A mix is personal, because it represents the DJ’s taste and conviction to share with others. Nick Warren’s Back to Mine was special not solely because of the fantastic tracks, but because it represented a over a decade’s worth of his favorite obscure and forgotten works. It was a 79-minute journey into time, and a view into a window we’d never known existed.

That’s the standard, and it should be upheld. Whether the frantic obsession with digital mixes ceases gradually over time or increases in intensity, my goal here will always be to contribute more signal and less noise. My mixes represent a compact, niche sound in electronic music that others may find droll and uninteresting, but if I can find more joy in hearing 14 songs together than separately in their respective, unmixed forms, then that mix is ready for prime time. Anything less would be a waste of a wait.