DJ Cruze

Ok. So it’s been a while hasn’t it?!

I’m sorry that I’ve been on an 8 month hiatus but life just got the better of me. A new baby, lack of sleep, lots of children’s illnesses, my redundancy, job finding, new business set-up… you name it and I’ve done it in the past few months. In all honesty I lost my mojo and love of doing the podcast as I just couldn’t justify nor find the time to fit it in. But I missed doing it and I missed the love and enjoyment that it gives to all of the house music fans out there that love the tunes. So I’m back. For good this time. I promise!

Hopefully you’ll enjoy this mix as you’ve got over an hour of my trademark funky and chunky tunes from the past few months. I’ve not gone for a totally up-front track selection as there have been so many great tunes that you might have missed over the past 6 months so I thought I’d just go for some of my favourites. Disco is back in a big way again and I’m loving some of the disco-looped productions that are coming out of Italy especially with hot producers like Marco Lys and Riva Starr hitting the spot. I’m also feeling the big room tunes from the likes of Axwell and the Swedish House Mafia guys, Dirty South and Max Vangeli. All of those guys are creating hot tracks for this year’s summer season.

The Cruze Classic this month is a slice of UK house music from back in 1994. It’s a classic Cleveland City Sound of tough synths and skippy drums with Rhyme Time Productions massive house track “You & Me”. I still hammer that track and I’m sure you’ll love it if you’ve never heard it before.

I hope you like the tracks on this month’s show and don’t forget to comment below and tell me what you think of them. You can also get hold of me on Twitter and I’ve created an official DJ Cruze Facebook fan page too. Go and “Like” me!

Get the latest podcast here:

Here is the tracklisting for the show:

• DJ Cruze big tunes:
  • [00:00:00] Louis La Roche – Malfunction (Original Mix) – Ever After
  • [00:03:15] Rasmus Faber & Alf Tumble feat. Candi Staton – Wilder Side (Original Mix) – Defected
  • [00:08:52] Roger Sanchez – 2Gether (Original Mix) – Stealth Records
  • [00:14:37] Marco Lys – Few Things (Original Mix) – Rising Music
  • [00:19:30] Riva Starr feat. Rettore – Splendido (Vocal Mix) – Snatch! Records
  • [00:24:52] Reboot – Enjoy Music (Riva Starr Remix) – Defected
  • [00:30:33] Cassius – 99 (Tim Green Remix) – Cassius Records
  • [00:36:03] Pocket808 feat. Nathan Hudson – Ghostship (Hook N Sling Remix) – Hussle Recordings
  • [00:41:48] DJ Eako & Robert Livesu feat. Malya Sykes – Shine On (Eako & Livesu Steel Mix) – CR2 Records
  • [00:48:40] The Temper Trap – Sweet Disposition (Axwell & Dirty South Remix) – Infectious Records
  • [00:54:56] Ellie Goulding – Starry Eyed (Russ Chimes Remix) – Polydor / Cassius – The Sound Of Violence (Acapella)
  • [01:00:00] Max Vangeli feat. Max C – Look Into Your Heart (Original Mix) – U-Boot
  • [01:06:00] Swedish House Mafia – One (Original Mix) – SHM
• Cruze classic from 1994:
  • [01:10:52] Rhyme Time Productions – You And Me (Hard Mix) – Cleveland City Records

Picture of me by my awesome photographer friend Klaus Dieter ‘KDK’ Kieslich.

Time for another hour of funky and chunky house music from the crates of the DJ Cruze studio with episode #54 of the DJ Cruze Podcast. This show is another great one and this month I’ve gone on more of a disco tip to start off. It seems like the disco cut-up is back in fashion with some awesome tunes from the likes of Fake Blood (aka DJ Touche), Duck Sauce (aka Armand Van Helden and ex DMC World Champion DJ A-Trak), Tee Sky and Ou Est La Swimming Pool.

Kicking off the show is a track which I really can’t get out of my head. It came out a couple of months ago but Boy 8-Bit’s “Baltic Pine” is a huge track in that folk-house vein which was popular last year. Lovely skippy drums and a cheeky sample make it a winner for me. Fake Blood gives us his massive “Fix Your Accent” EP and I couldn’t resist sticking two of the tracks from it in the mix as Touche is an awesome producer.

There are some fantastic non-disco tracks in the mix too in case it all gets too 90s for you! Wolfgang Gartner is back with another dirty slice of electro house with his new track “Fire Power”. There’s a massive new tune from top German house producer Eddie Thoneick featuring Andy P on vocals. We’ve also got the huge track “How Soon Is Now” from David Guetta, Sebastian Ingrosso and Dirty South. It’s a massive electro house track with a huge breakdown. After that I’ve got the Chris Lake remix of “San Francisco” by Italian producer Lys which I didn’t manage to squeeze onto last month’s podcast. It takes a while to build up but the breakdown is huge!

The penultimate track is something a bit different for the podcast. It’s Phonat’s dubstep remix of the Sharooz track “Adrenalize”. The original track is a huge, pumping electro house track but it didn’t quite do it for me and the Phonat mix, although not strictly a house tune, just hit the spot for me. It’s something a bit different so let me know if you’re feeling the track or not.

The Cruze Classic this month takes me back to my breakbeat roots with the 1991 breakbeat classic “Way In My Brain” by SL2. It was always a massive track when I dropped it down to that big, dubby bassline and awesome synth stabs. An awesome track!

I hope you like the tracks on this month’s show and don’t forget to comment below and tell me what you think of them.

Get the latest podcast here:

Here is the tracklisting for the show:

• DJ Cruze big tunes:
  • [00:00:00] Boy 8-Bit – Baltic Pine (Original Mix) – This Is Music Ltd.
  • [00:05:39] Fake Blood – Fix Your Accent (Original Mix) – Cheap Thrills
  • [00:09:50] Duck Sauce – Anyway – Fools Gold Records
  • [00:14:38] Fake Blood – I Think I Like It (Original Mix) – Cheap Thrills
  • [00:19:19] Tee Ski & Shab Ruffcut – Iran (His Majesty Andre Is Very Lazy Mix) – ESP Records
  • [00:23:15] Ou Est Le Swimming Pool – Dance The Way I Feel (Armand Van Helden Club Mix) – Stiff Records
  • [00:28:03] Wolfgang Gartner – Fire Power (Original Mix) – Kindergarten
  • [00:33:46] Eddie Thoneick feat. Andy P – Love Under Pressure (Eddie Thoneick Remix) – Tonik Recordings
  • [00:38:09] David Guetta, Sebastian Ingrosso and Dirty South feat. Julie McKnight – How Soon Is Now (Extended Version) – F**k Me I’m Famous
  • [00:44:18] Lys feat. Mooli – San Francisco Rain (Chris Lake Remix) – Rising Music
  • [00:51:04] Sharooz – Adrenalize (Phonat Deconstructive Mix) – Mofo Hifi Records
• Cruze classic from 1991:
  • [00:56:00] SL2 – Way In My Brain – XL Recordings

Original picture by Julien, used under Creative Commons licence.

It’s been a while since I’ve done a new mix so I thought I’d make a sequel to last year’s progressive and electro house mix Ibiza Sunset. Many of you commented and emailed to say that you enjoyed the mix a lot and everyone seemed to like the tougher tunes in the mix. I didn’t manage to make it over to Ibiza this year but the mix is another hour of dark and pumping house tunes to get you in the mood for going out if you’re heading out there.

This years Ibiza Sunset mix kicks off with a great track from Ronnie Foster called “Devil’s Water”. It has great cut-up vocals, crunchy percussion and a great breakdown which sets the scene nicely for the whole mix. Up next there’s a big tune “Bon Bon” from John Dahlback and ATFC which is being hammered around the world at the moment. After that we have one of my favourite producers at the moment, Phonat, and his minimal house tune “Ho Visto Un Quadro Verde” (which means “I’ve seen a green picture” in Italian apparently). Phonat knows how to build a funky track even with minimal elements. Lazy Jay then supplies us with a big distorted breakdown on his track “Float My Boat” which has been a bit track for me for a while now.

We then head into tech-house territory for some heavy hitting tracks from some of house music’s biggest producers. First up is “Isabel” from Swedish House Mafia member Steve Angello with its deep and dirty bassline and sweeping effects. After that we’ve got an electro-house piano anthem from France’s Arno Cost with his new track “Cyan”. Arno never fails to impress me with his orchestration and build-ups which always make for a pumping house track. Next up is an old but great remix from Swiss producer EDX on Funkagenda’s “Breakwater”. Although it came out a lot earlier this year I had to put this track in a mix as I absolutely love it. EDX knows how to build a track with great chord progressions and this remix is no exception. After that we have “Laktos” from another Swedish House Mafia member, Sebastian Ingrosso on his Refune label. It’s deep and dirty but then a huge, emotional breakdown appears out of the mist only to drop back to dark, techy percussion. A monster of a track in the middle of the night!

Keeping with the Swedish House Mafia theme we have one of the biggest tracks of the year, in my opinion, “Melo” by Pryda (aka Eric Prydz). It’s a hands-in-the-air progressive house track which makes me feel happy inside when I hear it. After this we have a lovely summer house track from the Swiss producer and label mate of EDX, DJ Tatana with her track “Autumn Sun”. This track will make you think of the sun setting at Cafe Mambo if nothing else does. Next in the mix is a big track which is being hammered by Roger Sanchez called “Deaf Wax” by Mesa. It’s a pumping electro house track with a big, distorted, bit-crushed breakdown. Finally, we’ve got a bootleg track from Joe T Vanelli who has turned the Coldplay track “Life In Technicolour” into a minimal house track with a huge breakdown. Actually, I think the Coldplay track is known as “The Escapist” as it was featured in a UK film of the same name which I watched the other night, but I presume he’s named it like this as it’s a hidden track on the “Life In Technicolour” track on their latest album. Either way, he’s done great things to it!

So I hope you enjoyed the mix and if you did then get in touch and tell me. Also, why not consider donating some money so that I can cover the costs of producing the podcasts and mixes. And finally, don’t forget to comment on the mix using the comment form below and tell me what you think.

Get the mix here:

Here is the tracklisting for the show:

• DJ Cruze big tunes:
  • [00:00:00] Rennie Foster – Devil’s Water (The Youngsters Remix) – Rebirth
  • [00:06:03] John Dahlback & ATFC – Bon Bon (Original Mix) – Defected
  • [00:12:29] Phonat – Ho Visto Un Quadro Verde (Original Mix) – Mofo Hifi
  • [00:17:53] Lazy Jay – Float My Boat (Original Mix) – Big & Dirty
  • [00:23:12] Steve Angello – Isabel (Original Mix) – Size
  • [00:27:56] Arno Cost – Cyan (Original Mix) – CR2 Records
  • [00:34:21] Funkagenda – Breakwater (EDX’s Ibiza Sunrise Remix) – Toolroom
  • [00:39:01] Sebastian Ingrosso – Laktos (Original Mix) – Refune
  • [00:45:19] Pryda – Melo (Original Mix) – Pryda
  • [00:52:15] DJ Tatana – Autumn Sun (Original Mix) – Sirup
  • [00:57:55] Mesa – Deaf Wax (Dave Winnel Remix) – Vacation Records
  • [01:02:20] Joe T Vanelli vs Coldplay – Life In Technicolour (Vox Mix Funkfinders Edit) – CDR

Original picture by alexharries’, used under Creative Commons licence.

It’s been a busy month for me at DJ Cruze towers and episode #53 of the DJ Cruze month just misses July 2009 by a couple of days. Apologies for this episode being a bit late. I’ve had to contend with a house move, and hence very little free time while we unpack, and a lack of internet connection! But we’re finally in our new house and things are starting to settle down so it’s time for another selection of hot house tunes, promotional tracks from some hot house producers and plenty of chunky electro house beats. I’ve made this podcast a bit longer to try and make up for the delay.

So what have I got in store for you this month? Well, kicking off the show we’ve got a new promo mix of Calvin Harris’ new track “Ready For The Weekend”. Dave Spoon takes it out on a dirty breakbeat journey and I’ve been loving this track. Next up for we’ve got a hot promo from Funkstar Deluxe which came from my good friends over at Supratron in Germany. A wicked progressive / electro house track which is working for me.

We’ve also got some killer latin house collaborations from legendary house DJ Graeme Park and Nick Hussey and hot house producers Chris Lake and Lys. I’m loving their percussion driven piano and horn tracks “Samba Party” and “La Tromba”. Wolfgang Gartner is a producer who is featuring in almost every podcast and this month he’s given us a hot rework of MSTRKRFT’s “Heartbreaker”. Following that we’ve got a fantastic remix of the new Basement Jaxx track “Raindrops” by Funkagenda and Paul Thomas. Check out the wicked breakdown and vocoded vocals!

Australia’s TV Rock give us a hot house tune “In The Air” which Axwell has remixed into a tune which should have been called “Hands In The Air”!! An awesome remix as always by the hard-working Swede. I then threw a couple of old school sounding house tunes in the mix as I’m really enjoying the old piano tracks. First up is the new track from Benny Royal who takes us on an old school piano journey with “Pada Papaya”. Then we’ve got a hot new track from Barcelona’s The Requesters and their track “Chrisis”. A new school version of an old school rave track with cut-up pianos and old school samples. I love the bassline on it too! Awesome!

To end this month’s show I’ve gone a bit more pumping with a deep and dirty electro house track from Robbie Rivera. I love the horns and spoken word vocal on his track “Move Move”. After that is a cheeky reworking of Baby D’s “Let Me Be Your Fantasy”. He’s turned the old breakbeat track into a pumping electro house monster. Up next is the new release on Seamus Haji’s Big Love label called “I’ve Been Looking”. As always Seamus Haji turns out a fantastic track with a killer progressive house remix from French producer Romain Curtis.

There was only one artist that I could choose for this month’s Cruze classic after the sad passing of Michael Jackson back in June 2009. I’ve always been a fan of his music and the house remix of “Smooth Criminal” by Brothers In Rhythm was always a huge track for me back in the day. Plenty of funky drums, police sirens and the massive bassline and vocals help this to be a great remix. Enjoy!

I hope you like the tracks on this month’s show and don’t forget to comment below and tell me what you think of them.

Get the latest podcast here:

Here is the tracklisting for the show:

• DJ Cruze big tunes:
  • [00:00:00] Calvin Harris – Ready For The Weekend (Spoon Broken Remix) – Fly Eye
  • [00:04:44] Funkstar Deluxe & Alexandra Prince – Higher State (Continental Club Mix) – Supratron
  • [00:09:31] Graeme Park & Nick Hussey – Samba Party (Jay Kay Mix) – Muzik-K Records
  • [00:15:43] Lake & Lys – La Tromba (Original Mix) – Rising Music
  • [00:21:10] MSTRKRFT feat John Legend – Heartbreaker (Wolfgang Gartner Remix) – Dim Mak
  • [00:26:23] Basement Jaxx – Raindrops (Funkagenda & Paul Thomas Redux) – XL Recordings
  • [00:32:20] TV Rock feat Rudy – In The Air (Axwell Remix) – Axtone
  • [00:37:33] Benny Royal – Pada Papaya (Royal’s House Mix) – Spinnin Records
  • [00:42:40] The Requesters – Chrisis (Original Mix) – Moda Music
  • [00:45:58] Robbie Rivera feat Rooster & Peralta – Move Move (DJ Observer & Daniel Heathcliff Mix) – Juicy Music
  • [00:49:42] Carl Kennedy feat Baby D – Let Me Be Your Fantasy (Original Mix) – Wasted Youth
  • [00:57:01] Seamus Haji & Romain Curtis – I’ve Been Looking (Romain Curtis Club Mix) – Big Love
• Cruze classic from 1994:
  • [01:02:28] Michael Jackson – Smooth Criminal (Brothers In Rhythm House Mix) – Remiks

Original picture by Marie-II, used under Creative Commons licence.

Here you go. Another hour of funky house, twisted disco and electro beats all served up in a handy little package we call the DJ Cruze Podcast Episode #52. I’ve thankfully managed to get it done in a month too which is always good!

As most people have probably realised, I name each of the shows after one of my favourite tunes in the podcast and this month I chose Haji & Emanuel’s “In The Moment” as the name of the show as it’s one of my favourite tracks in the mix. Never has a title been so apt as for this month’s show. I’ve been DJ’ing in Germany for over 16 years now and I’m met many people in my time over there. I had the pleasure to party with many people and sadly I found out last week that someone I knew, an ex-boyfriend of a good friend of mine, has died. His name was Philipp Lehberger but was better know as “Willy”. He died a tragic death after a fall whilst trying to break up a fight. I hadn’t seen him in four or five years but I still remember him with fond memories. He was a funny guy and great to chat to. He also liked to drink Jägermeister with me and I’m a man who always enjoy drinking that with my German friends. In fact I’m probably going to drink a Jägermeister in his honour once this podcast is uploaded! So it’s poignant that the title “In The Moment” sort of sums up how life should be lived and probably how he lived his life. Make sure you live life to the full and “in the moment” as you never know what’s round the corner. This month’s podcast is dedicated to his memory. RIP Willy. Mach’s gut.

As always, there are plenty of massive tunes in the show this month. We’ve got some dirty electro house from the likes of Spencer & Hill, Fedde Le Grand and Jean Elan. We’ve got some twisted cut-up disco madness from Don Diablo. We’ve got deeper house tracks from the likes of Michael Grey and Danism, Haji & Emanuel and The Viron Ltd. Hey, we’ve even got a massive cheeky remix of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony from Wolfgang Gartner. We cater for all tastes on this show!

Finally, I’ve got to apologise for some of the vocals in this show. It sounds a bit like I’m slurring my words. No, I wasn’t drinking – it was just that the battery was going in the microphone I was using and I didn’t realise until I’d finished most of the vocals. It was too much work to re-record them all so I’ve left them as is.

So enjoy this month’s show and don’t forget to comment below and tell me what you think of the tunes.

Get the latest podcast here:

Here is the tracklisting for the show:

• DJ Cruze big tunes:
  • [00:00:00] Spencer & Hill – Cool (Cool Mix) – Tiger Records
  • [00:05:12] Fedde Le Grande feat Mitch Crowne – Scared Of Me (Extended Mix) – Flamingo Recordings
  • [00:08:12] Michael Gray & Danism feat. Lisa Millet – Say Yes (Original Mix) – Defected
  • [00:14:19] The Viron Ltd. feat. Max C – Wanna Be Happy (Thomas Gold Remix) – Milk & Sugar
  • [00:19:42] Haji & Emanuel feat. Roachford – In The Moment (DBN Remix) – Big Love
  • [00:24:42] Jean Elan – Killer (Jean Elan Mix) – Shake Me Please!
  • [00:30:38] Timofey and Bartosz Brenes feat. Jerique – Don’t You Know (Club Mix) – Vector Records
  • [00:35:25] Don Diablo – Disco Disco Disco (Riva Starr Snatch Remix) – Sellout Sessions
  • [00:40:25] Wolfgang Gartner – Wolfgang’s 5th Symphony (Original Mix) – Kindergarten
  • [00:46:40] Lambda – Hold On Tight (PhonJaxx Remix) – Black Plastic
• Cruze classic from 2002:
  • [00:52:29] Archigram – Carnavale – Crydamoure

Original picture by Sera Leaving, used under Creative Commons licence.

Back once again with the renegade master DJ Cruze! Episode #51 of the DJ Cruze Podcast finally drops onto your iPod (or other MP3 player obviously!) How did I manage to let this one slip so late into May? Life gets in the way sometimes! Sorry about that.

Don’t worry though. This show is jam packed with the funkiest and chunkiest house music from my DJ box. Starting the show this week we’ve got the awesome Deadmau5 remix of Calvin Harris’ “I’m Not Alone”. You’ve obviously heard the original, given that it’s one of the biggest cross over pop-dance tracks of the moment, but Deadmau5 gives it his trademark groove and brings us something a little more laid back. I’m loving the vocoded vocals on this one. I went to see Deadmau5 at Manchester Academy last weekend and if you get the chance to see him live then do so. The man’s got far too much energy given that he’s wearing a mouse head!

Big tunes are the order of the day in this show as next up is the big track “Leave The World Behind” from the Swedish House Mafia and their honourary Dutch member Laidback Luke. Chunky house music with a big old piano breakdown. Lovely! Next up is the Eric Prydz track “Lift” which harks back to the old anthems of the 90s. Large! Then a cheeky remake of “Bucci Bag” from Vandalism with Ian Carey on his electro-house remix tip. I’ve always loved the vocal on this track and I think Ian does it justice.

Next up is a DJ Cruze exclusive with my Funkfinders Electroid remix of DJ D & Will Dawson’s new track “Do It Tonight”. I’ve not heard the original track and I was only given one sample to work with so I think I’ve taken a disco cut-up house track and moved it over into electro house territory. Let me know what you think in the comments below. After that we’ve got the big new David Guetta track “When Love Takes Over”. A huge tune which features Kelly Rowland on vocals. Expect this one to hit the charts in the next few weeks. Coming in after that we’ve got a cheeky house track from German Wunderkind Wolfgang Gartner. His track “Push & Rise” takes us towards Daft Punk with it’s pitch-corrected vocals. Does anyone else think the electric pianos have undertones of Supertramp too? Or perhaps I’m just old enough to remember them!

Phonat then rocks the mix with his heavy hitter “Set Me Free” on The Young Punx Mofo Hifi label. It’s part hands in the air anthem, part rave track, part fidget house, part cut-up disco and is all mashed together to gives us a wicked house track which transcends traditional boundaries. Phonat is a genius producer who I’d advise you all to keep a close eye on. He’s going to blow the cobwebs off dance music this year! Next up is one of the biggest tracks at the moment for me. Eric Prydz gives us another anthem with his track “Melo”. He just knows how to produce emotional house tracks. I can imagine dancing to this on the beach by Bora Bora. Awesome!

The DJ Cruze Classic this month is a great old track from 1993 by Deadly Sins called “We Are Going On Down”. It’s got a great remix from Bottom Dollar who were two awesome producers from the North-West of England. Their hands graced many a fantastic remix during the 90s. This track gives us chanting vocals, breakbeats and a big synth-stabbed breakdown. What more could you ask for in a classic house track?!

So enjoy this month’s show and don’t forget to comment below and tell me what you think of the tunes.

Get the latest podcast here:

Here is the tracklisting for the show:

• DJ Cruze big tunes:
  • [00:00:00] Calvin Harris – I’m Not Alone (Deadmau5 Remix) – Fly Eye Records
  • [00:06:30] Steve Angello, Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso and Laidback Luke – Leave The World Behind (Original Mix) – Axtone Records
  • [00:11:45] Pryda – Lift (Original Mix) – Pryda Recordings
  • [00:18:37] Vandalism – Bucci Bag (Ian Carey Remix) – Vicious Grooves
  • [00:23:52] DJ D & Will Dawson – Do It Tonight (Funkfinders Electroid Remix) – Metrogroove Records
  • [00:29:38] David Guetta feat Kelly Rowland – When Love Takes Over (Electro Extended Mix) – F*** Me I’m Famous
  • [00:37:03] Wolfgang Gartner – Push & Rise (Original Mix) – Kindergarten
  • [00:42:17] Phonat – Set Me Free (Original Mix) – Mofo Hifi
  • [00:48:10] Pryda – Melo (Original Mix) – Pryda Recordings
• Cruze classic from 1993:
  • [00:55:18] Deadly Sins – We Are Going On Down (Bottom Dollar Club Mix) – Ffrreedom

Original picture by Sheila Blige, used under Creative Commons licence.

So how did March slip away without a DJ Cruze podcast?! Thankfully I’ve managed to get it done in time for the start of April though. So here we are with episode #50 of the DJ Cruze podcast and there are plenty of big tunes for you on this show.

Kicking off the show we’ve got the new track from Groove Armada who are back with a joint venture with Barcadi and their B-Live label. It’s a slice of indie-rock house music with a great remix from Rio De Janeiro’s The Twelves. Then my main man Fred Falke gives us the goods with his soulful remake of City Life’s “San Francisco”. A fantastic house track with a laid back electric piano vibe.

The Soul Avengerz bring us some more funky house with a pumping bassline which is then followed by a new UK singer called Emma Deigman. London’s Alex Blanco is on the mix and he gives us some funky keys and a chunky bassline. One of my favourite tracks of the moment comes from the US producers Live Element (aka Hott 22). They’ve cut-up a sample from Excile’s “I Want To Kiss You All Over” for their new track “Something About You” and they give us a monster disco house track. I love it!

Canada’s DJ DLG is always on top form with a big remix of Disco Wheel’s “Good Times”. It’s a similar feel to his summer 2008 smash “Where Are You Now?” but that’s not a bad thing. After that we’ve got a hot track from the big Dutch producer Dennis Christopher but with a cut-up electro house remix from the UK production team Dirty Secretz. I think they’re going to be big in 2009. Another Dutchman, Laidback Luke, then gives us a wicked rework of the 1978 track from The Korgis with it’s massive piano breakdown.

Finally we finish off the show with a massive progressive house track from Sweden’s Eric Prydz on his Pryda Recordings label. “Miami To Atlanta” has been heavily bootlegged on the net since a ripped version from one of his DJ sets appear in the middle of last year. Thankfully he’s finally released it and given it a bit of a rework since then and it’s set to be one of the biggest tunes of the year. The Cruze Classic for this week is an awesome old breakbeat track called “Lock Up” by Zero B. Originally released in 1991 it was a hot tune for me back in the 90s with it’s dubby bassline, sloppy breakbeats and hands-in-the-air breakdown.

So enjoy this month’s show and don’t forget to comment below and tell me what you think of the tunes.

Get the latest podcast here:

Here is the tracklisting for the show:

• DJ Cruze big tunes:
  • [00:00:00] Groove Armada – Drop The Tough (The Twelves B-Live Club Remix) – B-Live
  • [00:04:10] City Life – San Francisco (Fred Falke Remix) – Onelove
  • [00:11:03] Soul Avengerz – Someday (Soul Avengerz Club Soda Mix) – Soda Records
  • [00:18:04] Emma Deigman – Tell Your Mama (Alex Blanco Mix) – Storm Records
  • [00:24:20] Live Element – Something About You (Live Element Remix) – Gossip Records
  • [00:30:05] Disco Wheels – Good Times (DJ DLG Mix) – 3Beat Blue
  • [00:36:50] Dennis Christopher – Set It Off (Dirty Secretz Mix) – Spinnin Records
  • [00:43:09] Korgis – I Need Your Loving (Laidback Luke Bootleg) – White
  • [00:49:54] Pryda – Miami To Atlanta (Original Mix) – Pryda Recordings
• Cruze classic from 1991:
  • [00:55:37] Zero B – Lock Up – Great Asset

Original picture by Thomas Hawk, used under Creative Commons licence.

As always it’s been far too long since the last podcast. After making two best of mixes (part 1 and part 2) for you I decided to not publish a podcast in January to give me a brief rest! But I’m back now with another hour of funky and chunky house music for 2009.

So kicking off the show this week is a great new track from Jimmy D Robinson, a grammy nominated musician and poet, with a funky remix from Josh Harris. Coming in after that is the Bimbo Jones remix of the classic Kid Kudi vs Crookers track “Day N Night”. He turns out a wicked melancholic house remix which is a great contrast to the original. Following that there’s a heavy hitter from Doman and Gooding with their Carrie Lucas sampling “Runnin’”. The Ian Carey remix is the one that’s doing it for me and he brings out the pumping electro house bassline line along with the massive strings sample.

The biggest tracks for me on this show are Super Mal’s “Dow Dow” and Wolfgang Gartner’s “Flashback”. The former is a massive house track with a funky bassline and brilliant bit-crushed synth chords. I love it. And a big thanks to Sascha Lupeski for the tip on the Wolfgang Gartner track. Make sure you download his podcast too. You’ll love it it you love your house music phat and funky!

There’s also a DJ Cruze exclusive of a Bimbo Jones track called “Come On (Up)” which was sent to me by Lee Dagger from Bimbo Jones. It’s a bit of slow burner and it’s not the instant hit that some of their previous tracks gives you. I still think it’s a wicked track that you’ll grow to love. Finishing off the show this week is a huge Cruze Classic from Helicopter called “On Ya Way”. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I’ve played that track over the years. A massive disco-house monster!

So I hope you enjoy this week’s DJ Cruze podcast and I’ll be back in March with more of the same. Don’t forget to comment on the show below and tell me what you think of the tunes.

Get the latest podcast here:

Here is the tracklisting for the show:

• DJ Cruze big tunes:
  • [00:00:00] Jimmy D Robinson – A Tiny Shoe (Josh Harris Vocal Mix) – J Music Group
  • [00:05:54] Kid Cudi vs Crookers – Day N Night (Bimbo Jones Mix) – Fools Gold
  • [00:12:48] Doman & Gooding feat Dru & Lincoln – Runnin (Ian Carey Remix) – Positiva
  • [00:17:43] Rudenko – Everybody (Morjac Remix) – Data
  • [00:22:46] Steve Angello & Laidback Luke feat Robin S – Show Me Love (AC Slater Vocal Mix) – Data
  • [00:27:56] Super Mal – Dow Dow (Original Mix) – Bandito Records
  • [00:32:36] Wolfgang Gartner – Flashback (Original Mix) – Kindergarten
  • [00:37:32] Carlo Dall’Anese & Fabio Castro – Monday (Henry John Morgan Remix) – Oxyd
  • [00:43:34] Disco 12 – Maybe It’s Me (Original Mix) – Used And Abused
  • [00:48:36] Bimbo Jones – Come On (Up) – CDR
• Cruze classic from 1993:
  • [00:55:37] Helicopter – On Ya Way – Tic Tac Toe

Original Flashback picture by Ewan-M, used under Creative Commons licence.

Here’s part 2 of my “Best Of 2008 Mix” and it’s 70 minutes of electro and progressive house goodness! There were plenty of great tougher house tracks in 2008 and hopefully I’ve chosen the best ones for you.

Get the latest podcast here:

Best Of 2008 Mix – The Electro House Mix Tracklisting

[00:00:00] Marco Demark feat Casey Barnes – Tiny Dancer (John Dahlbäck Mix) – 3Beat Blue

Tiny Dancer is one of my favourite Elton John tracks and this electro house version was a big hit in 2008 for Marco Demark (and not Marco Denmark as I called him for a long time!) Hot Swedish tech-house producer John Dahlbäck turned this track into a jumpy electro house track with a nice breakdown. Lovely!

[00:05:39] Pryda – Rafunk – Pryda

Ask most people who the hottest electro house producer of 2008 was and I’d guarantee that a high percentage would say Sweden’s Eric Prydz. The Swedish House Mafia producer released so many high quality tracks in 2008, most on his Pryda label, and “Rafunk” is no exception. A chunky and funky bassline and some haunting strings make this a winner.

[00:10:22] Deadmau5 – Hi Friend (Original Mix) – Mau5trap

Ask the people who didn’t say Eric Prydz was the hottest electro house producer of 2008 who it was and they would probably have told you Deadmau5 instead. The hot Canadian producer blew up to be one of the most in-demand DJs and producers in 2008, producing loads of big tracks and remixes. The track “Hi Friend” features MC Flipside on vocals and takes hip-house into the 21st century with its dirty beats and bassline. A massive track!

[00:15:49] ATFC feat Yasmeen – Tell U Y (New Jack Swing Original) – Strictly

Aydin The Funki Chilli has been a huge house music producer since the mid 90s and has always featured heavily in my charts. This year ATFC reinvented himself, moving away from the older disco-house sound and moved into tougher, electro house territory. This track came out towards the end of the year and features a dirty, bouncing bassline and a great vocal.

[00:21:43] Inkfish & David West – Hello Piano (Sébastien Léger Remix) – Mistakes Music

Another big French house producer blew up in 2008 and Sébastien Léger was his name. He’s been around since the late 90s and like AFTC, made a name for himself with more of a disco-cut up house sound. In the past few years he’s been playing and producing a tougher, tech-house sound and this track on his own Mistakes Music label is a great example of his work. A progressive house track which builds and builds and finally drops down into an epic breakdown.

[00:28:07] Passenger 10 – Mirage (EDX’s 5un5hine Remix) – White

Swiss producer EDX is another of 2008’s success stories and last year was the year he became a household name for his remixes and productions. His name appear on remixes for lots of bigger named artists and his productions had a similar feel to Deadmau5’s production style. Passenger 10’s “Mirage” rocked my floors with its building bassline and awesome strings.

[00:34:35] Buy Now – Body Crash (Laidback Luke’s Remix) – La Mode

Dutch producer Laidback Luke had a fantastic year in 2008 and his remix of “Body Crash” by Buy Now (aka Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso) was huge. Featuring a disco sample of “Let’s All Chant” and a dark and moody bit-crushed bassline it featured in the charts of all of the A-list DJs.

[00:40:18] Arno Cost & Norman Doray – Apocalypse (Sébastien Léger Remix) – CR2

This is probably one of my favourite tracks of 2008. Young French house producers Arno Cost and Norman Doray gave us “Apocalypse” and Sébastien Léger turned it into an anthem! Awesome arpeggiated synths take us to a massive breakdown. A fantastic track.

[00:48:11] Erick Morillo & DJ DLG – Where Are You Now (Original Mix) – Subliminal

This was the summer anthem in Ibiza and was hammered by loads of the top DJs. Canada’s DJ DLG teamed up with the infamous Erick Morillo for this electro house monster. Check out Morillo dropping it at WMC to see the crowd’s reaction.

[00:57:18] Dirty South & Axwell – Open Your Heart (Vocal Mix) – Axtone

Two of the biggest producers, Dirty South and Axwell, teamed up to bring us this massive electro house track on Axwell’s Axtone label. Featuring an old school vocal, a massive bassline and big strings it blew up big time and cemented both producers reputations for producing anthems.

[01:04:25] Sebastian Ingrosso & Laidback Luke – Chaa Chaa (EDX’s Marakesh Souk Remix) – Size

EDX gave us another great remix of Sebastian Ingrosso and Laidback Luke’s “Chaa Chaa”. It ends my electro house mix with a quality progressive house track with EDX’s trademark string sound. A great end to a year of quality electronic house music.

So I hope you enjoyed the tougher “Best Of 2008″ Electro House Mix as much as the “Best Of 2008″ house mix too. Hopefully 2009 will bring us another year of top notch tracks and I look forward to compiling the “Best Of 2009″ mix next year.

Awesome picture of a Moog Little Phatty by Synhack, used under Creative Commons licence.

Happy new year to all of the DJ Cruze podcast listeners!

It’s that time of the year when I give you the “Best Of…” mix for the year that has just gone and apologies that it’s a day late. The main reason for this has been trying to choose all of the fantastic tunes to put into the mix. It took me about 4 hours of listening to the great house tracks from 2008 to whittle it down to around 60 tracks which I wanted to use. There’s obviously no way I can get these into a 1 hour house mix so I have decided to do two “Best Of 2008″ house music mixes. This one is the first and it features the best house tracks from 2008 into one CD-length mix with no talking. Hopefully I’ve chosen some of the tracks you love too!

Get the latest podcast here:

Best Of 2008 Mix – The House Mix Tracklisting

[00:00:00] The Ting Tings – Great DJ (Calvin Harris Remix) – Columbia

It’s been a massive year for the indie band The Ting Tings and also for Calvin Harris as an artist and remixer. I loved this cheeky house mix with its infectious “the drums” repeated vocal. It sounds like a house track which has come from the 60s or 70s with its almost psychedelic bassline. A fantastic track.

[00:06:18] Harris & Spoon feat Sam Obernik – Baditude (Club Mix) – Toolroom Records

Dave Spoon is one of my favourite producers from the past few years and he’s teamed up with Dirty Vegas’ Paul Harris and awesome vocalist Sam Obernik for this killer house track. It’s got a dirty bassline, some Spanish guitars and a quirky vocal. I love the percussion on it too – fantastic drum programming from those guys. It definitely rocked Miami and Ibiza this year.

[00:12:07] Tim Deluxe – You Got Tha Touch (Original) – Skint

A somewhat underrated track from one of the UKs biggest house music producers. Tim Deluxe can turn his hands to anything, be it speed garage, US garage, tech house or progressive house. You name it and he can produce a phat track around it! This track is just totally different than anything that came out in 2008. Great ethnic percussion, a chunky bassline and a really interesting vocal. Great stuff!

[00:18:22] The Whitest Boy Alive – Golden Cage (Fred Falke Mix) – Modular

Ah Fred Falke. How much do I love you? Well, not in that way but as a producer of the best house tracks in the past couple of years. Fred stands out from the pack with his fantastic musical abilities and unique production style. Taking a leaf out of the French producers handbook but moving it on to new heights. He takes The Whitest Boy Alive into a fantastic Moog lead funky house track. Probably my most played track of the year (…I’ll have to look at my Last.fm account to check!) The breakdown almost makes me cry too! Shhhh! Don’t tell anyone!

[00:24:52] Machines Don’t Care – Afrojacker – White

Another great house track which pays homage to the old rave and speed garage tracks of yester-year. Machines Don’t Care is a collective of some of the hottest new producers around like Herve, Trevor Lovey, Sinden, Fake Blood, Toddla T (and lots of others I think). This is a great percussion led track with a killer horn breakdown. I’m a sucker for those horns!

[00:29:56] Till West & Eddie Thoneick – Hi N Bye (Smax & Gold Remix) – Phunkwerk

Eddie Thoneick, Eric Smax and Thomas Gold. Three of the best producers of the moment. Team them up with Till West and you’ve got a killer house track. The breakdown on this one is amazing. Great strings and a cheeky disco sample in the background combines really well with the vocals.

[00:37:11] Rihanna – Take A Bow (Seamus Haji Remix) – Mercury

Probably the best remix that Seamus Haji has done so far. He’s turned a rather dull R&B track (in my opinion) into a brilliant electro house track. I hadn’t heard the original and I was so surprised at how he’s changed the track – and for the better in my opinion. Three gold stars for this remix!

[00:44:56] Adele – Hometown Glory (Axwell Club Mix) – XL

I love Adele. She’s got a brilliant voice and when I first heard Hometown Glory back in 2007 and knew she was going to be big. XL finally released this track as a single and asked the hot Swedish producer Axwell to do the remix duties. The results are just stunning. The club mix uses the vocal to great effect and leaves the haunting piano riff intact. If you’re looking for a tougher mix then check out his remode version too as featured in my Ibiza Sunset Mix.

[00:49:20] Axwell & Bob Sinclar feat Ron Carroll – What A Wonderful World (Club Mix) – Defected Records

A somewhat contentious track in my charts this year with some people loving and some people hating it. I’ve been playing a tougher remix but I love the original too. Anything that Axwell touches turns to gold and this track is no exception. Great crunchy percussion and a killer breakdown combined with a soulful vocal make it a huge track.

[00:55:22] Max Linen – Neon Lights (Original Full Vocal Mix) – Phonetic

Another underground hit for me but I love this track. A very punk-sounding vocal and lots of 8-bit synths make it a great house track.

[01:02:07] The Montanas & DJ Roland Clark – Music Talking (Fred Falke Remix) – Strictly

Fred Falke is back for his second massive remix of the year. This is disco-house at its best. It’s a simple formula – repeat the disco riff and “music talking” refrain over and over again but there’s few people that can do this to great effect like Fred Falke. Combine that with some phat rhodes keyboard playing and some bitcrushed strings and you’ve got one of the biggest house tracks of the year.

[01:08:00] Eric Prydz – Pjanoo – Pryda

What can I say about this track. It originally came out at the start of the year and it went on to be one of the biggest crossover tracks of the year but still kept its underground roots. This track “Pjanoo” has made Eric Prydz one of the hottest producers in the house world right now. Anything he touches absolutely rocks and I can’t wait for his Pryda album in 2009. Massive pianos. Massive strings. A killer synth bassline. A HUGE tune which has been caned by all of the biggest DJs around!

Right, I hope you’ve enjoyed part 1 of the “Best Of 2008 Mix” and I’ll be compiling and mixing part 2 “The Electro House Mix” in the next week. It should be online next Sunday (11th January 2009) with any luck!