It seems somehow surprising that it’s only now that James Zabiela enters the fold of Balance’s compilation selectors. A perfect fit for the series, his unfeasibly intricate approach to DJing shines through on this sprawling two-parter, created through a back-and-forth process between his Pioneer DDJ-RZ and Ableton and featuring two exclusive new productions from the man himself.
Putting this mix together was a long, arduous process that spanned an entire year and coincided with some major incidents in Zabiela’s personal life, imbuing the mix with a sense of emotion and life.
“Something the listener could get lost in. Some people know me for my technical noodling but this really had to be about the music, whilst still challenging myself technically. My focus was very heavily on melody and combining songs that would have ‘conversations’ with each other.’ he explains. ‘My mission statement to myself with this project was that I wanted to make something that was rich and textured.
His microcosmic approach to mixing creates DJ sets within a DJ set. Take what seems like one track and listen to its constituent parts and it seems like they were destined to be together, such is the perfect harmony he creates between the bones of one track and specific elements of others.“There are many details in this mix that are quite subtle” he says, “and they’re probably things that only I will ever know or care about.” But while you may not notice them consciously, you will definitely feel them.
Track Listing And Details
A1. Earlham Mystics - Truth
A2. Pye Corner Audio - Dead Ends
B1. Lanark Artefax - Touch Absence
B2. James Zabiela - Vines
C1. Ecco Foul - Gloss
C2. James Zabiela X-ray
C3. John Beltran - Under This Sky
D1. Davis - Plenitude
D2. Grandbrothers - Bloodflow
D3. Sine Sleeper - Closing
NUMBER OF DISCS: 2
UPC: 9351384139550
RELEASE DATE: 6/15/2018
PRODUCT ID: BLNC22.1