Ahead of the release of The Closing Party 2013, mixer and selector Andy Daniell picks out 10 of his favourite records from the compilation.
Breach - Jack
Certainly one of, if not THE, records of the summer in Ibiza. No matter where you go you will have heard this record. Breach is the alter-ego of the exceptionally talented producer and vocalist Ben Westbeech and he has really his stride with this one. Jack was released just before Miami this year on Claude Von Stroke’s excellent Dirtybird label and was already turning heads at WMC. A bidding war ensued and Warners signed it and rocked it into the UK pop charts, all without a single note being changed. You know a record is pure quality when that happens. Oh and keep your eyes peeled for a rather naughty Eats Everything bootleg of this, big.
Hot Natured – Reverse Skydiving (Shadow Child Remix)
Another inescapable record this summer. The pedigree of artist behind this record is quite something, with Hot Natured being made up of Jamie Jones, Lee Foss, Luca C & Ali Love (the latter 2 also making up the excellent Infinity Ink as well) and then throw in Shadow Child and you know you are going to get something special. Anabel Englund’s uplifting vocals combined with Shadow Child’s rawkus bass have made this one a guaranteed crowd pleaser all summer.
Dennis Ferrer – Mind Ur Step (Original Mix)
Mr Ferrer doesn’t release music that often, but when he does it well worth the wait and Mind Ur Step is no exception. There are plenty of things I love about this record, the constantly moving high hats, the way the pressure builds in the pads, but most of all I love the arrangement of the record. It’s so unusualand& I think it throws people off initially, but once it clicks (and it will click) wow, what a record!
Rachel Row – Follow The Step (FCL’s Gentil Remix)
This was another record that came out of Miami with a lot of heat. The KiNK Beat mix is instantly recognizable for its lead synth line working in harmony with Rachel Rows vocals so it was always going to be a tough job to remix it further. FCL took up this challenge and made it look easy. This remix is incredibly Balearic, with synths that remind me slightly of Isloee’s Beau Mon Plage and with space to let Rachel’s vocals breathe wonderfully. The track constantly builds and builds before the bassline finally comes in. Love that!!
Simian Mobile Disco & Bicep – Sacrifice
The fantastic if slightly unlikely pairing of Simian Mobile Disco and Bicep gave us the superb Sacrifice. This record is just perfect for Ibiza. It builds subtly and then delivers an truck load of bass, I’ve heard this everywhere over the course of the season so far so this was a must have addition for the compilation.
Ten Walls – Gotham
This one has been the breakout record of the summer in the underground, out on the very influential Innervisions label owned by Dixon and Ame. Like Sacrifice this has been getting love from across the board and is following in the footsteps of records like Rej. It’s one of those records that you’ll know as soon as you hear if you’ve been lucky enough to make it out to the white isle this year.
Guti – Hope
The cosmic gentleman that is Guti really blessed us with this one. This record was the first ever release on our DFTD imprint and what a record to kick it off with. For me this song is made for either sunsets or sunrises in ibiza and I’m easy as to which one it is. It’s such a warm record and something that just straight up makes you feel good; you can’t say fairer than that.
Paolo Rocco – People Say
Paolo Rocco is an artist I’m a huge fan of and someone you should keep a close eye on. He first crossed my radar with his heavy ‘That I Am’ record on Real Tone and he followed that up with a great remix of Reboot ‘Enjoy Music’. Then this record popped up on Nic Faniculli’s Saved Records, keeping up the run of great releases. This one is being played by a wide range of DJs across Ibiza and was a must for me for this compilation.
T.E.E.D. and Eats Everything – Lion, The Lion
A pairing of two of my favourite artists; the lovely and hungry Eats Everything and the superbly named Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs. This one first roared on Eats Everything’s Essential Mix a few months back and has finally surfaced on Damian Lazarus’s influential Crosstown Rebels label in conjunction with TEED’s excellent Get Lost compilation. The joint is kind hard but it’s just got that funk for me and the nods to lions roars in the sound design makes me smile. I wanna hear this one at 4am in a dark room in Ibiza.
Full Intention - Icon
It’s really great to have Full Intention back. They are behind some of my favourite records of all time but the project seemed to be put on ice for a while as John & Michael pursued individual projects, but now they are back and as good as ever. Returning on DJ Shield’s superb Rebirth label Icon is a warm, summery house record with nods to the heritage but still sounding fresh and contemporary. Great record.
Defected presents The Closing Party Ibiza 2013 is out 8th September – order from iTunes
