Music Chart from Arkady Air

44100Hz continues to introduce readers to the music charts of our DJs. This time, Arkady Air presents his Top 3:

01. Sasha – Mongoose – EmFire
A new release from one of the main innovators working with Ableton Live, DJ Sasha. This is his fourth release on his new label EmFire. Electronic dance music at its best. Classic progressive house from the mid-90s of the last century, labels Guerilla and Jackpot, but with modern sounds. The term progressive house has now been completely perverted, but originally it appeared in English music magazines to denote a more electronic sound compared to the then-dominant American garage a la Masters At Work. Initially, the track was to be released on Rebel One, a sublabel of the record company Crosstown Rebels, owned by one of my favorite DJs since the time he played jungle/drum&bass – Damian Lazarus. Damian has always been known for his excellent taste and knack for new original interesting music, and even specially created a sublabel where well-known DJs/producers could experiment and release something fundamentally different from their traditional sound under various pseudonyms. The release was planned for December, but due to Amato Distribution's bankruptcy and the printed records being on sealed warehouses, Sasha decided to release the track under his own name and on his own label, but only as a digital release, available for purchase in various internet stores like Beatport.

02. Radio Slave – Bell Clap Dance - Rekids
The breakup of the duo and Serge Santiago’s departure from Matt Edwards due to musical differences, it seems, has turned out well for both. Matt kept the name Radio Slave, and under this pseudonym manages to create hypnotically futuristic techno-house tracks that are listened to literally in one breath, despite their length (at least 11-12 minutes each). This track haunted me since late summer, appearing in various mixes by top DJs with promos and torturing me with its ever-postponed release date. Finally, in December the record appeared with an excellent remix by Sebo K on the flip side. The best acid house track of 2007!

03. Skream -2d / The Black Ghosts – Some Way Through This (Skream Remix)
Both of these tracks blew my mind last summer at Sonar in Barcelona, plunging me, a seasoned music lover, into a state close to shock - real musical ecstasy, but they only got released in December. Skream is a young man around 20 years old with an enormous number of releases and new musical ideas, who despite his young age is already one of the founders and trendsetters of dubstep. An absolutely new British sound. A mix of garage, drum and bass, and dub techno. I also recommend his new mix Rinse: 02 mixed by Skream for the Rinse label and a fresh remix of the new solo single from Dave Gahan of Depeche Mode, called Saw Something.

As for my personal life, by the end of the year my health, unfortunately, has deteriorated a bit. I am actively treating my back now – manual therapy, various massages, acupuncture, etc. For a while, I will have to forget about heavy bags with records. I plan to start actively using Traktor Scratch, which I got myself as a birthday gift. Its sound quality is significantly better than CDs. During the New Year holidays, I plan to audit my vinyl collection and sort everything not by years, as before, but by styles, to make it easier to pick sets. I also plan to finish the mixes I started in mid-autumn for several foreign record labels shortly. A special 2-hour mix for the 44100hz podcast is already ready and I think it will appear in the air at the beginning of next year.

I plan to meet the New Year at home with a festive dinner with my beloved, then head to play for friends at the Gorod club from 1 to 3, then to Zona from 4 to 6, and then finally to dance at Solyanka to Rob Mello and Anton Kubikov, and if I have enough strength, maybe even make it to the Rooftop of the World.
I wish all readers to be original creative individuals, to believe in themselves, to listen to no one, to know more and to be better! Happy New Year 2008!