- Stuart McMillan and Orde Meikle, better known as Slam, are God’s gift to Scotland’s electronic music scene. Their latest offering, DMC presents Slam – The Mix, is their gift to us. In a year that has spawned some high quality mix releases such as MMII, and Tyrant 2, it’s time to add yet another must purchase release to the growing CD stack. The music in the 2 hours of this mix is dark, techy and funky as hell. It’s the kind of mix that made you wish you were in the middle of a sweaty, crowded club in the heart of the Glasgow underground.
Disc one, entitled Freelance Science, begins well, an early highlight being the throbbing baseline of Lil’ Mark’s “At That Place”. The bleeps and funk of Erick Morillo’s Dub of “Drug” by the Drug Punks is equally as impressive while the seductive “Baby Wants To Ride” by Frankie Knuckles should have listeners firmly in the right mood. DJ Vibe’s impressive remix of PIMP’s massive record “The Light” is a welcome record midway into the first cd as is Jay J and Chris Lum’s slamming peak time monster “Freaks Like Us”. The stabbing baseline of “Get High” by Tony Thomas takes the mix into overdrive while the hypnotic deep house of “Force” by Technasia concludes a very solid first disc.
Disc two, entitled Pressure, begins in evil fashion, with the very dirty “Poney Part 1” by Vitalic. “Vitalian House” by Phil Kieran indicates that this second disc is clearly more energetic and furious than the first, however, Slam’s very own remix of Samuel L Sessions “Merengue” also gives the mix a more melodic and uplifting edge. Dirty, roaring and sinister baselines are the order of the day yet again with “Sundown” by Arno Riva & DJ Speep. Oxia’s “Troisieme” is simply heavenly, and very reminiscent of Funk D’Voids Diabla. The tribal spectrum of Slam’s talents are also portrayed with the Ben Simms remix of “The Virus” by the Horrorist, as well as the pulsating tech house of Aural Emote’s “Third Eye”. The pressure is finally relents with Slam’s classic production, “Virtuoso”.
This is definitely one of the top mixes of the year as previously mentioned. Slam’s style is irresistible, building from the calm and structured nature to the sheer ferocity and dynamic nature of peak time Slam. If you aware of the talents of Slam, then this should come as no surprise, but if you are a first timer to the capabilities of these Scots, it’s time to see what all the fuss is about.