Red Lounge

They say, the older you get, the faster the time goes. Well, it’s true! I honestly can’t believe where the last four years have gone, and that our beloved SiGNAL Saturdays @ Lotus is now 4 years old! I am honoured to have been able to host/DJ at Vancouver’s underground dance club for all these years, and on a Saturday night for that matter.

This mix was specially created to mark this occasion. Each year for the anniversary, the resident DJs create special mixes that get put together on a double CD. We give out 200 copies of these as part of the celebrations, thanks to our sponsor: The Eatery.

My mix (below) is the second of the first CD, with our newest resident Joseph Martin, doing the first part. DJs Woodhead and Andy Clockwork created the first and second part of the 2nd CD respectively. Being the second part of CD1, my aim was to go for a slightly moodier sound, reflective of the latter part of an evening. As such, you will hear sounds of tech-house, acid-house, electro-tech, and electro-prog variety, by artists like Dave Pezzner, Hardfloor, Cirez D, M.A.N.D.Y. vs. Booka Shade, Popof, and our very own Villi Manilli and their newest remake: “It’s a Sin” (see complete track listing below).

Anyhow, hope you enjoy this mix, and if you got feedback, it is always appreciate!

Track listing:

12. The Tracks Are Alive (Rozzo Remix) [Pezzner]
13. Jack Your Body (Hardfloor Remix) [Steve “Silk” Hurley]
14. On Off (Sebastien Leger Remix) [CirezD]
15. I Said (Sergio Fernandez Remix) [Deadmau5 + Chris Lake]
16. Shakedown [Audiojack]
17. Rose Rouge (Original Mix) [Analog People In A Digital World]
18. Donut (James Talk Remix) [M.A.N.D.Y. vs. Booka Shade]
19. Invisible Light (Stuart Price US12) [Scissor Sisters]
29. Horse Power (Popof Remix) [Chemical Brothers]
21. It’s A Sin (Villi Manilli Remake) [Pet Shop Boys]

Well, after a whole lot of deliberation, here is Villi Manilli’s inaugural remake project: “It’s a Sin”.

Farshad and I are both enormous Pet Shop Boys fans, so we figured that one of their tracks seemed like the ideal subject for our first foray into the world of studio work.  We hadn’t come across any good remixes of it, figured the legendary local Sin City night could use a remake of “It’s a Sin”, and thought that a stripped down electro-techno crossover would go down perfectly with the crowds sweating it out at underground dancefloors around the world. We had planned to relase this shortly after it got previewed at a few local nights/parties, but my refusal to stop obsessively tinkering meant that we were still tweaking sounds way after the hangover from those party wore off. Hopefully we managed to capture a little black leather and low ceiling in those Cirez D-inspired synth stabs.

Did we totally butcher it? We’d love to hear your feedback.  If you’re a DJ, give it some dancefloor love and let us know how it goes over.