August has been another one of those months where there is just too much good music to fit in to the length of this show. Fantastic exclusives in the mix this month from Silk Digital and Nellie Recordings along some other amazing tracks Anjunadeep, S2 Recordings, Space Walker, and more.
By far my favorite track in this month's Progressive Aggressive has to be Sunn Jellie's remix of Mango's Good Morning Track. Jellie seems to be unstoppable lately and I can't get enough of this guy's sound. He is someone to watch out for. Enjoy!
Tracklisting:
01. Avatars - The Air (David Borkmann Remix)
02. Deep Mariano - Lunar (Ricky Ryan & Ucleden Pub Mix)
03. Jaytech - Ganymede (Original Mix)
04. Claes Rosen - Boogie Breeze (Original Mix)
05. Tom Fall & Something Good - Reflections (Embliss Remix)
06. Andrew Bennett - Say Your Prayers feat. Tiff Lacey (Niels Van Gogh Remix)
07. Mango - Good Morning Track (Sunn Jellie Remix)
08. Andrew Bayer - The Taxi Driver (Original Mix)
09. Terry Da Libra - Enchanted Waters (Ayleon Remix)
10. Eximinds - About You (Original Mix)
11. Answer42 - Tucano (Original Mix)
Direct-download: Right click HERE and Save as.
As promised, here is my guestmix from Silk Digital's radio show "Only Silk" on Frisky Radio. Thanks to label boss and host Max Flyant for having me on.
Watch for my forthcoming Spark/Aura EP on Silk Digital this fall complete with remixes from some of your favorite progressive artists.
I've also got some remixes in the works for Silk so stay tuned for more on those! In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the mix.
Tracklisting:
01. Marsbeing - Drop Of The Sky (Dezza Remix)
02. Kaanturker - Beatific (Derek Howell Remix)
03. Deep Mariano - Lunar (Paul Mad Mix)
04. Berny & Guru - Protect Yourself (Original Mix)
05. Stan Kolev - On The Loose (Original Mix)
06. Schodt feat. Aida Fenhel - White Tiger (Matt Lange Remix)
07. Invisible Sounds - Miami Sunset feat. Duality (Alandanat Remix)
08. David Akermanis & Brad Menagh - Red Eye (Original Mix)
09. Eximinds & Mobil - Lost Dreams (Eric Shaw Remix)
10. David Akermanis - Aura (Original Mix)
The internets are full of success stories that demonstrate the amazing impact of thoughtful and well-executed projects. Lots of them originate from young businesses that are bold by nature or brands that are looking for mindshare among the 18-24 and 25-34 demographics. They’re usually held up as case studies that demonstrate the great rewards that come with innovation, risk taking, good planning and diligent execution.
Marketers everywhere want to achieve the same levels of success as the projects they envy. We set goals for ourselves. We build excitement. We have brainstorming sessions about the ‘big idea’ and get ourselves excited about the possibilities. But when it really comes down to it, despite there being a sense of urgency attached to the aggressive goals we set for ourselves, risks often aren’t taken and necessary change doesn’t materialize. Everyone wants to achieve the same type of results as those they look up to, but most aren’t willing to take the necessary steps to get there.
We’re risk adverse. I’m sure you’ve heard this statement hundreds of times – and there is nothing wrong with it. Some institutions like to stay as far away from risk as possible and prefer to make very deliberate, calculated decisions that they know they can control. It really comes down to who your stakeholders are and the management style of whoever is running the show.
The problem with sticking to this mentality when setting aggressive goals is that more time ends up being spent trying to prevent failure than to ensure success - undermining your goal every step of the way. Every great business started by someone taking a leap of faith. Many great campaigns are built upon foundations of change. Things that were once thought of as impossible have been achieved because someone decided to do things differently.
Setting aggressive goals without opening yourself to new ideas is like having an identity crisis or multiple personalities: one in pursuit of an ideal, the other more focused on protecting what is than what could be. Great success is often achieved through innovation. Think of all the standout success stories you’ve heard throughout your life – I am willing to bet that all, if not the vast majority, involve disruption or innovation.
So if you’re risk adverse, do yourself a favour: think about the level of risk you’re willing to take and set your goals accordingly. There are plenty of highly successful organizations that are extremely calculated when it comes to achieving their goals: think BMW or Hewlett-Packard. Instead, recognize your aversion to risk and focus on setting realistic goals.
This is a good thing for two reasons:
The first being that you aren’t sending mixed internal signals. Successes are grounded in clarity, diligence and strategic thinking. It’s hard to be strategic without clear direction right?
The second being that if you manage to succeed at meeting realistic goals consistently over a period of time, your culture will gradually move toward being less adverse to risk – unlocking greater possibilities for future endeavors.
There is nothing wrong with learning to walk before you run, but you have to be realistic about what you can achieve. The alternative is, of course, to pursue the ideal by setting an aggressive goal and then actually doing what needs to be done to achieve it… in its entirely. One-hundred percent. No ifs, ands or buts.
The latter is a lot more fun and much more gratifying when it works out in your favour, but I’ll leave that for another day.
What about you? Are you a big ideas person or do you prefer to play it safe? Have you ever worked on projects with aggressive goals where people were unwilling to take necessary steps or change the status quo?
One of the challenges of being a huge lover/supporter of the Progressive sound is that my production sound and live sound rarely meet. I can get away with playing all sorts of random stuff on Progressive Aggressive because people expect to hear it. Most of my gigs are here in Toronto - I frequent small lounges and clubs on a regular basis. Sadly, Toronto is no longer the kind of city that appreciates trance and progressive (although it is coming back to some extent thanks to some awesome venues that are willing to take risks).
As much as I'd like to be holier than thou and play the high-brow music snob card, it just doesn't work when you're playing out. People want to hear songs they can sing to, familiar melodies... stuff they're comfortable with. A good DJ knows this and does what he can to get crowds moving.
I've found a happy place that I feel good about in funky house music - the feel good kind of stuff you hear Hed Kandi residents and UK garage legend Grant Nelson pumping out. It works really well at Vital events because we've got an awesome mix of regulars who are familiar with the dance music scene or just like to have a good time.
For the second year in a row I had an absolute blast playing on the Vital boat cruise. I played, I danced, I managed to spill beer all over myself (surprise, surprise). Anyhow... here's the recording from my set aboard the Klancy II from Pier Pressure, The 2010 Vital boat cruise. Enjoy!
It's hard to believe another month has passed, but sure enough today is the last day of July. My inbox was once again brimming with promos this month and as always, it's really hard to choose which ones to play on the show.
I get lots of music sent to me, ranging from downtempo to house & progressive, but because of Progressive Aggressive's 1 hour set format I have to find a chunk of tracks that work together in that way. I've considered moving toward a more radio-based format where songs are broken up by chatter and IDs with maybe a 3 or 4 track set in there somewhere. That would, of course, require a little more effort on my part and I don't really want to go down that road unless the people who listen to PA are in favour.
Please drop me a line and let me know what you'd think about shaking up the format of the show.
Anyhow, this month's show kicks off with a great track by Schodt featuring vocalist Aida Fenhel on Silk Digital. There is a stellar remix package on this EP as well - I Highly recommend any of you trance & progressive lovers out there pick this one up.
Also in this edition of Progressive Aggressive, Some great tracks from the Nellie Recordings Imprint. Swedish duo 'Something Good' have followed up their highly successful Solence EP with another two track release. There are also a couple of nice ones from the Nellie Remixed Vol. 2 that I've featured in this mix as well.
On the production side of things, if you were wondering when my forthcoming Spark / Aura release on Silk Digital might be out, you may have to wait until November... Sad face. Things have been a little quiet for me in terms of studio output. It has been a crazy busy spring & summer so far, but there are some new and exciting projects in the works! I'll save that for another post. I'm also working on pulling together a new website - this one is looking a little tired :)
Hope you enjoy the mix!
Tracklisting:
01. Schodt feat. Aida Fenhel - White Tiger (Vocal Mix)
02. BT - Forget Me (Michael Cassette Remix)
03. The One Hundred - Break Me Down (Bellatrax Remix)
04. Something Good - Cirque (Original Mix)
05. EDX - Thrive (EDX's Fe5tival Mix)
06. Playton - Silence (G-Tek Remix)
07. Audible - Moments (Shiftone Remix)
08. Adam K feat. King Sunshine - My Love (EDX's Ibiza Sunrise Mix)
09. JD Davis & DJ Ralph - Good Thing (George Acosta Mix)
10. Adam K & Soha - Save Us Now (Original Mix)
Diect Download: Right click HERE and Save As.
