Summer Nights

Posted verbatim from my Last.fm journal.

One of my very first compilations that I mastered on CD was a Summer Days album. A few tracks from it have landed on more recent compilations I’ve done, however with the exception of Cruise – Summer Edition, most of the compilations I make these days will suit any season. This year though, in December, I was duly inspired enough to make a Summer compilation. Further to the seasonal theme, it is intended exclusively for driving at night. To be honest it probably flies really well during the day, but in the context of this playlist, I regard it as a specifically summer night-time vibe.

1. Junior Boys – Hazel (Ewan Pearsons Extended Disco Edit) (7:06)
2. Samantha James – Breathe You In – Rise (5:17)
3. Telefon Tel Aviv – The Birds – Immolate Yourself (5:04)
4. Arnej – The Beauty That Lies Behind Those Green Eyes (Opus Outro Mix) (6:30)
5. Planet Funk – Chase the Sun (Extended Club Mix) (7:00)
6. Genki Rockets – Star Line (Blue Line Mix by Floor on the Intelligence) (7:11)
7. Empire of the Sun – We Are The People – Walking On A Dream (4:23)
8. Lisa Miskovsky – Sing To Me – Fallingwater (4:37)
9. Magnus Birgersson – Mirror’s Edge Main Menu Theme (Remixed) – Mirror’s Edge (5:47)
10. Lisa Miskovsky – Still Alive – Mirror’s Edge (4:14)
11. Oceanlab – Breaking Ties – Sirens of the Sea (5:14)
12. Bent – As Seen From Space – Intercept! (2:28)
13. Bebel Gilberto – All Around (Telefon Tel Aviv Remix) – Remixes Compiled (4:31)

A few stars aligned to inspire this one. The three most important ones are the opener Hazel, and Telefon Tel Aviv’s offerings of The Birds and the remix of All Around by Bebel Gilberto. The other tracks have been floating around, some for quite a while and others only recently. This has been a good, slow forming of just the right tracks for just the right, specific atmosphere. I should probably also nominate Magnus Birgersson’s work for Mirror’s Edge as a major contributor, as I simply adore the menu theme.

Perhaps the most odd track in this playlist is Lisa Miskovsky’s Sing To Me. What on earth is a country-rock song doing in an electronic compilation??? Well, either I’m becoming a pretnetious DJ wanker, or I just love to dial up the quirk a bit. To be honest it just really fits well after Empire Of The Sun’s divine We Are The People. It’s also a good bracket ender and transition into the Mirror’s Edge theme, which in turn leads into Still Alive, a track that doesn’t exhibit Lisa Miskovsky’s otherwise strong lyric-writing talents, but nevertheless is made of several shades of musical awesome. On the subject of lyrics, Oceanlab’s album seems to be full of silly ones, but honestly I don’t mind. It’s more about the sound and Breaking Ties was probably the final nail that concreted this compilation together, which was always going to end with the amazingly intimate remix of All Around (which has inspired me to do a Lover’s Lounge… though it will fall under the Romance Nouveau series which is already crowded with slow, sultry music).

I spent a lot of time topping and tailing this one, probably more time than I’ve ever spent working on the flow of a compilation with perhaps the exception of J-Pop Sunshine 4, though all of my editing work was on the first, rocky half. I spent a lot of time getting Summer Nights flowing just right, but in particular I worked on the two tracks from Mirror’s Edge. I always listen to them together and in this order, but wanted them to flow into each-other. And so began the long, arduous but phenomenally rewarding process of pasting the last synth hook from the menu track onto the opening piano doing the exact same line at the start of Still Alive, the only difference being in the timing of a few notes which works really well to complement each-other. It sounds easy, but was a long process of having everything match time-perfect, and getting the initial waveform not to clip-out when I pasted them together. I’ve done long beat-mixes before including some time-consuming time-stretching, but of all of my subtle cross-fades and transitions, this is my favourite to date. It’s almost as if the two tracks are being performed live, with people enjoying the menu-music and expecting it to just end, but instead the performers flow right into Still Alive without missing a beat – to a wave of screaming fans!
Good times.

Breaking Ties is such a nice track, so smooth and graceful with real levity. It was the latest addition before finalising the playlist and entering the editing phase, but I don’t think the compilation would have been the same without it.
Bent’s As Seen From Space is one I’ve actually had for ages, but never got to because I really didn’t like Intercept! Stupid me bought it again from Beatport, but I don’t mind giving Bent another US$1.50 of my money, especially considering how much I adore the previous album Ariels.

All Around is one of those miraculous tracks, but it makes sense seeing as Telefon Tel Aviv were one of those amazing musical partnerships. Like many things, I’m late to the Telefon train but am now wholeheartedly on-board. The remix of All Around is not only perfectly balanced as far as mix and production goes, but it’s just one of the most sublime and beautiful pieces of music to exist.