But another series of albums, Balance, is one of the few outlets where a DJ's mixing skills and overall track selection are put under the microscope. The series has featured past mixes by Lee Burridge and Will Saul, and now French techno talent Agoria is behind the decks for its 16th installment.
His two-part set of mixes: Aller Retour and Rising Sine, use the art of mixing to create a true musical journey that seamlessly travels through several genres in the span of a few hours.
Both of these mix tracklists are busy; each containing 25 tracks and samples apiece, with some songs as short as five seconds. But as a whole, each CD has a story to tell.
So rather than doing this album review in my usual track review format, I've decided to break down the tracklists of both mixes into groups of the same or similar genre.
Take the genres of ambient, techno, minimal, electro, disco, house, add a variety of vocal and percussion samples, throw it in a blender, and set the timer for 70 minutes. Your result is Aller Retour.
Looking back at this mix, it's surprising to recall that I was hearing a certain genre in one series of tracks, and something completely different a couple tracks later. But Agoria finds a way to make it all happen, mixing an incredible variety of sound into Disc 1, although he hits a few speed bumps along the way.
1. Gregg Kowalsky - Ashes From Evermore
2. Alva Noto - Xerrox Monophaser 2
3. Mark Pritchard - ?
I'll admit it- I've never heard of Agoria before this two-disc album, so I was expecting to hit the ground running with a full techno sound for the opening of this CD. Instead, I got something unexpected- a complete ambient trip, and it's completely awesome.
"Xerrox Monophaser 2" and "?" are a great back-to-back combo. The former contains epic orchestral notes and heavily-distorted electro patterns, while the latter's spacey guitar chords evoke that 'drifting away in deep space' feeling.
4. Manvoy de Saint Sadrill - Soeheniona
5. Tosca - Joe Si Ha
6. Emiliana Torrini - Gun
This trio of tracks is where Aller Retour first reveals its reoccurring flaw: Agoria taking a small idea and running too long with it. In this case it's the vocal samples he chose, which lack strength.
"Gun" has a 'wild west' style guitar melody, "Joe Si Ha" is focused on cymbal patterns, and all three tracks are mixed together nicely, with new sounds coming in minutes before the next track starts. But I felt the vocal feel of this section dragged on a bit too long, delaying the heart of the mix.
7. Agoria - Parasite 2
8. Arandel - In D#5
9. Justin - Columpnam
10. 19.454.18.5.25.5.18 – When I Think Of
11. Pom Pom - 10
After a short interlude, Agoria goes into a series of minimal tracks that contain hints of techno, house, and electro.
"In D#5" has a variety of downtempo percussion patterns and electro bass undertones, making it one of the better tracks in the set. "Columpnam" is minimal electro, while "When I Think Of" is backed by some simple, yet effective, drum melodies.
12. Agoria - Altre Voci
13. Glimpse - Train in Austria part 2
The connection between these two tracks is the best in the mix, as the tribal drum and hand-clapping rhythms of "Altre Voci" build up nicely to the powerful "Train in Austria part 2", which is a frantic and energetic series of synth melodies.
14. The Field - Over the Ice (Live mix)
15. Olibusta - La Pazz
16. Cubenx - Mis Dias Y Tus Noches
17. Felix Laband - Whisitling in Tongues (Todd Terje remix)
Tech-house comes through in full force in this section. The most notable is Cubenx's "Mis Dias Y Tus Noches"- an interesting variety of synth notes, drum breaks, and reverb effects.
18. jozif - Back 2 My Roots (jozif's 5o'clock Fabric Shadow edit)
19. Bibio - Jealous of Roses
20. LCD Soundsystem - 45:33 (Trus'me remix)
21. Boozoo Bajou feat. Rumer - Same Sun (Prins Thomas Diskomiks)
22. Hatikvah - Synchronicty (Block Barley & Engin Ozturk Holmby Hills Remix)
Agoria uses this space to build a nu-disco vibe into the back half of Aller Retour, and the results are mostly successful.
The funky guitar and bass melodies "Jealous of Roses" are full of soul, but the song is hampered by terrible sound quality vocal samples. Other standouts include "45:33 (Trus'me remix)" and "Synchronicty (Block Bartley & Enging Ozturk Hombly Hills Remix)", two mellow songs with big-band jazz influences.
23. Rio en Medio - The Last Child's Tear
24. Tipper - Just as the Sun Went Down
25. Gregg Kowalsky - Ashes from Evermore
Agoria brings the Aller Retour to a close with three final tracks- one that seems tacked on, one that doesn't fit, and a reprise of the opener. Tipper's "Just as the Sun Went Down" is a beautiful chillout song, but it feels out of place following a series of nu-disco tracks.
Disc 2 - Rising Sine
Balance 016 Disc Rising Sine "Soundcloud Edit" by AGORIA
While Agoria uses Aller Retour as an avenue to explore his experimental interests, he uses his time with Rising Sine to create a more upbeat, dance-friendly mix.
Of the two CD's in Balance 016, this is the stronger one, as it contains a nearly endless stream of catchy tracks while replicating some of the variety found in disc 1.
1. Sylvain Chauveau - Hurlements En Faveur De Serge T.
2. Aphrodite's Child- Loud Loud Loud
3. Taron Trekka - Shirol
A slew of piano melodies serve as the opener for Rising Sine, creating a mellow tone for a set of tracks with weird vocal samples.
"Loud Loud Loud" features a female monologue about society unraveling, amidst crowds chanting "No! No! No!", while in "Shirol", a man is speaking in a foreign language. It sounds weird on paper- but it totally works when put together.
4. The Same - Szarpiesz Minerwa
5. Ogris Debris - G-Thong (You and Me remix)
This section is a bit of a downer before going into the middle of the mix. "Szarpiesz Minerwa" sounds like filler, while "G-Thong (You and Me remix) is a decent deep house track, although its ruined by an annoying vocal sample that doesn't do the song any favor.
6. Francesco Tristano - Knee for Thought
7. Different Gear - One Thing More (Dub mix)
8. Michael Forzza - Abstractor 2.0
9. Chris Carrier and Jef K - Morning
10. DVS1 - Running
11. Drama Society & Vladislav Delay - Almodrama
Francesco Tristano's "Knee for Thought", with its improvisational guitar rhythms, kicks off the strongest part of the mix. The song is followed by the variety-filled tech-house track "One More Thing (Dub mix), before heading into the one of catchiest melodies in Balance 016.
"Abstractor 2.0", "Morning", and "Running" blend together to create several minutes of a back-and-forth percussion melody that I found difficult to get out of my head.
12. Agoria - Libellules
13. Avril - French Kiss
14. Gadi Mizrahi- I Know
15. Jonny Greenwood - Tehellet
16. Avril - French Kiss
This section has a strange, haunting vibe, first introduced with a steady keys rhythm in Agoria's "Libellules". The mysterious "I Know" and orchestral "Tehellet" are sandwiched in between two renditions of "French Kiss", an upbeat, drum-filled electronica track.
17. Mark Broom - Twenty Nine (Broom 09 mix)
18. Einmusik - Atlantis
19. Perc & Passarella Death Squad - Temperature's Rising
20. Aufgang - Sonar (Spitzer remix)
21. Shit Robot - Simple Things (Work it Out) (Serge Santiago remix)
Agoria brings the mix back to Rising Sine's house feel with another series of interesting tracks. Highlights include the spacey "Atlantis" and the highly-melodic "Sonar (Spitzer remix)", which contains hints of nu-disco.
My favorite song here is Serge Santiago's remix of "Work it Out", which features electro patterns that spiral in all directions on the note chart.
22. Efdemin - Acid bells (Martyn remix)
23. 3 Chairs - No Drum Machine part 2
24. Kid A - Lonely
25. Sylvain Chauveau - Hurlements En Faveur De Serge T.
The mix winds down with the piano sounds of "Acid Bells (Martyn remix)", before heading into the indie-rock inspired "Lonely", which is carried by a decent vocal performance.
Final Verdict
The good: Balance 016 is filled with music from an incredible variety of genres, so if you aren't a straight-up techno fan, don't fret- Agoria more than likely has made a few selections in both mixes that you'll enjoy. His second disc, Rising Sine, is very strong from start to finish, both in mixing and track selection.
The bad: Disc 1, Aller Retour, is commonly hampered by clunker track choices that take a particular theme in the mix and drag it out longer than it needs to be. I felt the track selection for Aller Retour was much weaker melodically compared to Rising Sine. Agoria also has a few track transition hiccups throughout both discs, where the contrasts between songs are highly apparent.
Rating: 8 out of 10 [Great]
Balance 016 - Agoria, is available for purchase at CDWow (UK), Play4Me (AU), Amazon (US), FYE (US), and soon on all major EDM download stores.
Agoria will also be playing at WMC on 3/26 at Hotel Victor and on 3/28 at Made Event's Sunday School for Degenerates. In May, he'll be in NYC for an album launch party (location TBA).
[Image credit: Stomp.au, special thanks to PlexiPR]
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