the sunshine mix_

Summer is here - the real summer, not that weird global hotting thing we've had in spring here the past few years. I'm talking about the actual seasonal Pacific NW summer of sun, low 80ºF temperatures, low humidity, and ample urban and rustic adventures that tire even most restless of acolytes. That summer is here.

And so in warranted fashion, I made another mix. I say that as almost an apology because it's something I love to do, yet making mixes chews up so much of my time and creative energy that I get little else done. I get obsessed once I start. And making this one, aptly named The Sunshine Mix, was no different. Once I decided to pull the trigger on this idea I had a continuous stream of late nights among an Apple-blue-lit face, toggle-happy keyboard fingers, and earbuds permanently installed like braces on a overly-smily teenager. But there was good impetus for this obsessive burst: sailing.

Some good friends of mine are members of a sailing club in Portland and the offer (slash-forced-invite) was extended to join them for a sail among the wind-crested waters of the Columbia River. The date for this adventure ended up being on the longest day of 2016, June 21st. I could imagine no better inauguration to summer than this experience, that is, unless that imagination also included a mix of sounds made for sun, sand, blue waters, and amnesia of the past and future (yes, let's forget the future too). I've had a backlog of beautiful tracks that didn't fit well into my previous mixes, partly because I typically approach such endeavors with an over-thinking intellect that errors on the side of strict editing to eliminate anything that may disrupt the intended mental continuum. And many of the more summery tracks at my disposal were simply too...well, sunny. But I've been mired in sullen melancholia displasia maxima for too long at this point. I've become a rather unnatural recluse, I've caved into unnatural introversion, I've recorded and released a 21-track acoustic hemorrhage of heartbreak and general disillusionment (see below posts), and the last electronic mixes I put out there (also below) required so much planning and articulation that I found myself scribbling notes about chromatic theory and syncopation. It was time for some pure, guilty emotion of pleasure.

This mix is precisely that: it's nothing but stream-of-consciousness emotions geared to precipitate a summer of love. Of course, some of the lyrics on these tracks deal with minor-chord heartache (which is probably why I love them), but the sonic canvas drips in yellow and magenta hues. It's like framing the moon in broad daylight. But to be honest, plenty of these tracks are just straight-up happy. And there's nothing wrong with that.

The result is a two-hour-plus mix that transcends old and new tracks to provide a soundtrack to the summer of 2016. In fact, one of my favorite anthems appears aptly in the middle: "Summer of Love," by Myon & Shane 54 -- yes, it's a couple years old at this point but there is no better solstice anthem than this. I also threw in plenty of mini-mashups (a new favorite production nuance of mine) to blend all sorts of sunshine into one cohesive, gooey mess of happiness. The songs selected here are bright, extremely catchy, and made for summer. Highlights for me are Matt Darey's "See The Sun" (as old as it is, I can't get enough of this song and its ethereal vocals), Myon & Shane 54's Summer of Love remix of Lana Del Rey's "Young & Beautiful" (which somehow makes her gloomy sound float above, rather than in, the clouds), the (very) new "Sleeping Lions" by Kyau & Albert (amazingly catchy vocal syncopations), and Myon and Shane 54's Round We Go (I absolutely love how this remix sandwiches beautiful lyrics and melodies between an unforgivingly brutal machine factory). 

So dial in your setting -- whether that's a bike ride, a drive towards the coast, a sailing adventure, or even just some beautiful wine on your veranda -- and enjoy. Summer is here.

click for free DOWNLOAD [just ignore the standard Google scan warning - it's simply an .m4a file made in iTunes] // artwork is above_

track list >>

1/      feathers by eskai feat. karlina covington & jhuana

2/      outshine [nigel good remix] by myon & shane 54, natalie peris

3/      cool you off by EDX

4/      thinking about you [EDX's belo horizonte at night remix] by calvin harris, ayah marar

5/      see the sun [aurosonic remix] by matt darey presents urban astronauts

6/      everything by EDX, hadley

7/      endless summer [blood groove & kikis remix] by jimmy roqsta, thyla hill

8/      i'm in control [throttle mix] by AlunaGeorge

9/      down for you by lika morgan

10/    lie to me [juventa remix] by myon & shane 54, cole plante, koko laroo

11/    jealous [tristan chase remix] by M.E.L.

12/    dusk by MMX, x-vertigo, bass king

13/    summer of love [club mix] by myon & shne 54, kyler england

14/    now or never bytritonal, phoebe ryan

15/    young & beautiful [myon & shane 54 summer of love remix] by lana del ray

16/    surrounded by BT, aqualung

17/    nothing to prove by rodg, patrick baker

18/    sleeping lions by kyau & albert feat. grey

19/    runaway by late night alumni

20/    lucid dreams by mat zo

21/    creation by seven lions

22/    round we go [tom crusher remix] by myon & shane 54, haley

23/    strangers by myon & shane 54, seven lions, tove lo

24/    if i fall by cole plante with myon & shane 54, ruby o'dell

25/    wings [myon & shane 54 summer of love remix] by tom swoon, taylr renee

26/    outshine [radio edit] by myon & shane 54 with natalie peris

27/    crown of thorns [aurosonic album version] by matt darey featuring kate louise smith
28/   good for me [matt lange remix] by above & beyond
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