2009 in Review: Part 3/4

 [image via flickr.com/bestrated1/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0]

You may have noticed that we have slowed down our output considerably here over the past few months. But there is no need to worry, for our musical appetites are as voracious as ever, and, though we have been mostly silent, we have still kept watch over the sonic landscape that is the blogosphere. And thus, we are back once again to break our silence and share with you our brightest moments of third chapter of 2009.

In our first and second reviews (found here and here) we covered releases and live performances that tickled our fancy. But, as the seasons for album releases and live performances have both passed, we have recently been focusing our attention on the subtle art of the mix. Here are our choices for the best mixes to be released in recent months.

First up is Helsinki's Hannulelauri with their "Horses and Castles Mix". Opening with the track Moon Song by the London based group They Came From The Stars, the Finlanders set the tone for an off-the-wall disco session that culls gem after gem from a broad selection of classic and contemporary artists. You can find a download link for the mix along with a track listing at Hannulelauri's SeahorseAndCastle.com.

Next on our list of excellent mixes is Anoraak's Wild Geek Tape. As one of our favorite artists in recent years, Anoraak's dearth of output in 2009 did not go unnoticed. However, in one fell swoop with this release, Anoraak has rallied our confidence and reassured us that all is well in the world of dreamy pop disco. Featuring some of the more prominent dance acts of the year (Holy Ghost, Classixx, Siriusmo, The Twelves, Breakbot, Friendly Fires, The Juan MacLean etc...), this mix is a total crowd pleaser, and, as such, also serves as a great introduction to the current trends in disco pop. You can find a download link and a track listing at Anoraak's Soundcloud page.

Our next and final mix is another from the Valerie Collective. This live set from The Outrunners was recorded at Razzmatazz in Barcelona and features two hours of dreamy out-of-this-world disco. One commenter on Valerie's blog described the night as mythological. Yet, this praise only begins to describe the emotions that this set conjures in us - mythical, indeed. You can find a download link and track listing (check the comments) at Valerie's Blog.

Thats all we have for this edition of 2009 in Review. Thanks for reading. We hope you enjoy the music!