I guess it’ll do. Call it compromise. What may seem easy was not; this was a tougher challenge than the previous trio (HH1, HH2 and HH3).
I wanted to stick to a “no repeats” rule throughout all mixes, but am making exceptions. One is for a future anniversary mix (see Euromix 5), and the other would be Anything Box’s Living in Oblivion. Of all New Wave music, Living in Oblivion was my favorite before it was played out and used in just about every mix. There was a reason why I didn’t feature it too prominently in Vol.1, and returned it here with a more fitting transition.
As a result, I’m running out of New Wave tracks to choose from. Meaning, I brought back many of the classics I’ve neglected (and for good reason). And yet, this one took me awhile to get pieces to fit – the biggest pain was equalizer normalization. Every track was recorded differently; many from various analog sources with a significant loss of quality. So on that level, it didn’t exactly comprise a cohesive mashup. Maybe there’s a technique I’m missing but still made it work. Unfortunately, you may need to adjust your equalizers.
Throughout this entire process, I’ve experimented with more crossovers from 80s, Italo Disco and some Euro, but would prefer to stick to one genre throughout. I foresee an 80s mix somewhere down the line. Lastly, as for the remaining New Wave/Synthpop tracks I have, I’m more doubtful they could come together; energy mismatches (not BPMs) don’t blend or mesh too well. But we’ll see.
Credits and Thanks
How this all came together is indicative of my own creative process, which I enjoy as much as anything else. Shout-outs to VMC, JamminDownJD, DJ Rob, DJ Markski, DJ Bong, DJ Marcus, the Magsino brothers, Brian Clarke… all people who have influenced the Halo-Halo series indirectly. Up to this point, I’ve referenced and replicated only 4 of the now 60 transitions – which I’ve done out of respect to their collective genius. But as a creative, I’d prefer to find my own path. Setting the 16-track, 40-minute limitation seemed to help it all unfold.
Credit to Matt Pop, remixer extraordinaire of the I Before E Yaz/Yazoo dub.
Playlist
| 0:00 | I Before E… (Matt Pop Mix) | Yazoo | |
| 1:49 | Dancing Queen | Abbacadabra | |
| 4:03 | Living in Oblivion | Anything Box | |
| 6:44 | Who are You Gonna Run to? | Warren Rigg | |
| 9:17 | How I Need You | Bad Boys Blue | |
| 11:34 | Chains of Love | Erasure | |
| 13:41 | Jubilation | Anything Box | |
| 15:43 | Call My Name | OMD | |
| 20:19 | Never Ending Story | Obsession | |
| 23:18 | Heart to Heart | Sweet Connection | |
| 26:37 | A Little Respect | Erasure | |
| 30:34 | I Go to Pieces | Shooting Party | |
| 33:30 | A World Without You | Bad Boys Blue | |
| 35:00 | Give Me Your Hand | Red Flag | |
| 35:55 | Think | Information Society | |
| 38:43 | Welcome to Rimini | Ric Fellini |
Download
See Halo-Halo Vol.4 on House Mixes
About the Artwork
I realize there’ll be those who won’t understand at first glance. In case you’re one of them, there’s a parallel to the mix itself – it’s a tribute to the times. Kinda rushed, but I’ll let this one fly. I thought about dampening the mix to simulate Dolby. Or adding some garbled or hiss filter. 😛
Hoping you all enjoy this classic of a mix. It’s sure to bring joy to some of you.
January 10, 2013
going through every mix because I’m procrastinating on other things…dang Wysi I can really hear/feel the mixing/sound quality improvement exponentially throughout the series. Mix 7 sound quality 10 fold better, so much attention to detail that rarely gets appreciated. Two thumbs up for keepin’ the dream alive.
this mix in particular so far…that DQueen to LivInOblivion transition really good.
@Mark A: Thanks for stopping by, and for your kind comments as well. Great to read you’ve noticed progress, too. I suppose the techniques and various creative principles have all applied to the mixes. Definitely enjoyable to do; executing them how I feel/think is worth the effort and is even more rewarding when I hear others are enjoying them. So, huge THANKS for listening!
I wanted to do something different for Living in Oblivion here, and was pleasantly surprised to find this transition. Combining with Abbacadabra is something I’d never have guessed before. Just so happens that their keys are about the same, which is another one of the techniques I’ve adopted, and has been much less frequent to identify. It’s just a matter of whether or not I like how that segment works from the entire set’s perspective.