The Best Free Sets Of The Year

Three distinct winners in three distinct categories:

Best Complete Techno Headfuck: JAMES HOLDEN – Live @ Loft Electroclub (02-18-06)

There’s a line from one of Michael Moorcock’s JERRY CORNELIUS books that says something about “complete psychological disassociation in under a second!” This set is the sonic equivalent of that…except it’s two hours long, and you’ll love every second of it. Holden is a mad genius, pure and simple, and here he delivers the dance floor goods that he was missing on AT THE CONTROLS.

Best Masterful Progressive Journey: HYBRID – Kiss 100 FM Mix, February 2006

They’re not really known for their DJing chops, but hot damn, sometimes Mike and Chris hit one miles and miles out of the park, and this is one of those. Mixed for Digweed’s show on KISS, it’s half breaks and half 4/4, and is pretty much a perfect thing. There’s topsecret Hybrid remixes, some still-unreleased Opencloud, hordes of Lostep, and so on.

Best Emotional Collection Of Songs To Break Up / Get Back Together To: JJJD – Madtriggerish

As I recall, JJJD is Jonathan David, from San Diego, who posted this gorgeous collection of ambient/pop/prettyness on the now defunct Border Community message board earlier in the year. It sounds like a love song from John Lennon, after he was teleported 3500 years in the future, along with Ulrich Schauss and Sasha’s classy half.

Honorable Mentions: C79, DJ Soo, Slacker, Obeah, Graeme Park & Mike Pickering, Z-Trip, Ewan Pearson, Perc, Micah, Chloe Harris, Limbo, Naveen G, Robsounds, Chris De Luca, Phil K, and so on.

(Kick around on Google and you should be able to find the first two. I’ve put up a YSI link to JJJD’s masterpiece here.)