Photek
Essential Mix (12/28/97)

★★★½

Another BBC essential mix; this one is a bit more dated and telling for the time. It is fairly long, more than two hours actually. Photek has been all around the electronic scene, recently even taking upon the task of composing music for television shows. But I recognize him best for his Drum n Bass. Which thankfully gets a lot of play time here.

It starts off pretty basic, using examples from the innovators and those who helped popularize jungle into becoming drum n bass. I noticed Digital for sure, who I mean seriously has some of the best tracks; as simple as they are. Then he gets into the newer, more sample heavy material of the time. Still being the mid 90s they might sound a bit dated today but that's what was fresh during this mix. 

I recognized Peshay definitely, with his song "Miles Ahead". My problem originates more from how Photek mixes in the song "Mother". I've seen people praise it a lot but it doesn't sit quite right with me. It is literally mixed in and out for half an hour and there have been multiple times where it gets on my nerves. I don't think he's being lazy or anything but it's just a concept that doesn't sit well. And it ends up just being a long drone. 

This is a pretty unique mix, especially for drum n bass, as it doesn't all inhabit that genre. There's splashes of ambient, techno, house, and everything else happening during that time. But they're surrounded by this cloud of drum n bass that ultimately reigns supreme. 

Favorite Song: It's a mix

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