DJ Micro – Tech-Mix 2000

Artist: DJ Micro

Title: Tech-Mix 2000

Label: Moonshine

Rating: 7/10

Those familiar with DJ Micro know that this man spins together high energy progressive trance that keeps people moving on the dance floor from start to finish. DJ Micro has been a top-notch name in the rave and dance circuit for nearly a decade. Putting out his third DJ mix, TechMix 2000, he has continued to wake up the ignorant, still pleasing the circuit in the process. DJ’s get knocked for not creating their own music, but what the misguided do not know is that the ability to beat-match and to piece together perfectly one song after another is an art form.

Micro blasts off the mix with one of his own superb creations, appropriately entitled “Sound Barrier”

. Fittingly, the first three songs eat up fourteen minutes of intense trance then roll into a little break with Yukoozu’s “Drugs” (DJ Jag Mix) vocal sample. The song has a nice short layover for about a minute, then transcends back into an incredible bouncing dance beat to stimulate your feet. The bounce continues as Micro drops the hard pounding Onkels remix of Dumonde’s “See The Light” at the end of “Drugs”. Much of Micro’s tech-mixes and performances are loaded with underground artists and acid breaks to push the music to a new level. The first few songs are more geared toward progressive trance, while the middle section of the mix is more on the danceable side. Over the past year, the club hit featuring Ferry Costen’s mix of Matt Darey’s “Liberation” has strongly become a house favorite among the DJ circuit. And though this is a cd, you can still hear that authentic vinyl sound as the needle hits the groove of the record, creating a warm hissing and popping texture. Thanks to DJ’s, vinyl will never die!

For the last four tracks, Micro dives back into progressive trance to cap off the mix. Doran vs. Joshua Ryan (“Unreal) is a shock wave of sound with building drum and bass throughout. Micro showcases his producing skills with the retroactive mix of Deepsky’s “Stargazer”. If you heard the original mix of “Stargazer” on John Digweed’s Sydney Global Underground release, wait until you digest what Micro cooks up here. The mix preludes with the drum and bass craziness of Oscar’s “M.A.D. (Mental Ability to be Different)”.

The release of Tech-Mix 2000 just goes to show what a man can do with his turntables and a sampler. The weaving and selection of artists was masterfully done by Micro, adding to his creditability as a producer and DJ.

+larry sarzyniak