From the opening buzz of radio static at the start to the twisted tones of The Organism at the end, Defcon’s latest resident’s mix guides us on a rare musical journey that will leave you with lasting memories. We start with a mash-up of Shaun Rudman’s ‘Wash Over Me’, Trancesetter’s acapella of ‘Roaches’, and Rodrigues’ ‘New Realities’ which sets up a sophisticated soundspace right from the off where it seems anything is possible. After this brief orientation, Defcon lead us into darker, more experimental realms, bringing deep minimal tech house and breakbeat together in a way few dare to try. ‘Bouks – Kilos’ is a perfect example of this, playfully mixing into Voiski’s, ‘She Was Running Late’. This ingenious variety of trip beats and tech sounds is unlike anything you’ll have heard in a while. Stepping it up a notch with Giuliano Rodrigues’s ‘U Must Be Mine’, we soon find ourselves in the more melodious realms of progressive breakbeat with Raphael Mader’s beautiful, ‘Fading Still’, before gliding into a tidy mash-up of Gilberto’s ‘Harling’ and Versa’s ‘Chanting Souls acapella’. We’re above the clouds now cruising with some emerging 4/4 beats, the tech breaks still there but more an echo as the pace gets more toasty with the techno-sounding, ‘The Breakfast Club’ by 214. At this point in the mix, it’s time to strap-in as Defcon engage the hyperdrive. Max Bertolas & Avikal’s ‘Global Effect’ acts as an immediate, goose-bumping attitude adjuster - deep, driving, means business. Pilatus isn’t freeing Barabus any time soon either, with the joy-beans on both these tracks and the next (Tali Muss’ wonderful ‘Garip’) coming from the Heinz Music record label, known for their absolute bangers. Warning: at this point, you will be bouncing around your room. Missus’ ‘Born in a Time of Adversity’ comes in perfectly at this point terrorising your speakers, your neighbours and anyone within earshot to get grooving. It’s the kind of tune that makes you turn your sound system up in the hope you don’t get a complaint any time soon. That’s not before Defcon’s own, ‘Humans Are A Virus’ grips you by the face asking where Morpheus is and why you’re not dancing, before dropping into Pavel Petrov’s powerful, Ayahuasca. If things weren’t otherworldly enough, Pavel Petrov’s remix of Tomy Wahl’s ‘Just Machines’ propels us into the future and pounds us into mechanical submission. ‘Stockholm’ takes up the batton and there’s no loss of pace or flow, joy-beans a plenty with this little beauty. ‘Persistence Of Time’ maintains the deepness and richness of this progressive part of the mix with ‘My Love’ bringing the pace up even more while maintaining a rich funk - it’s goosebump time again. (The ‘Cowboy-Western’-sounding guitar sample in it is just delightful!) And so we find ourselves in the last three tracks. ‘Boulder City’ picks up the pace of ‘My Love’ while cleaning the palate for more exotic flavours. This comes with Frankey & Sandrino’s ‘Boson’, which provides an unusual, somewhat ‘industrial’ march to the finish line that is a perfect example of Defcon’s innovative sound. Finishing with ‘Jhana’ by The Organism, Defcon isn’t letting you go just yet. Erupting out of the darkness ‘Jhana’ plunges us back into a maelstrom of rhythm and melody, a monster of a track. An altogether fantastic mix that shows the class, versatility and range of these great DJs. (McMo)