Mix of the Week – Ben Sims

We start the new year with the UK’s Ben Sims, one of techno’s most exciting talents – a DJ who has stayed true to the genre’s funk, groove and electronic fused origins whilst continuing to embrace and nurture its development over the past 25 odd years.

Schooled on a diet of Hip Hop, Reggae, Soul, House and Rave in the 80s, he played a huge part in defining British dance music in the 90s and continues to be an ardent champion of new music, producers and DJs via his many nights, record labels, radio shows, podcasts and relentless touring endeavours. As a DJ, Sims commands your attention, both visually and musically with anything from 3 to 5 decks running near constantly and hands, faders, effects and EQs a blur as tunes overlap to create a dense and quickly evolving collage of sound. Whether playing to 50, 500, or 5000 this unbridled energy and commitment to the art of mixing never falters and shows why Sims is regarded as one of the true masters on the circuit, both a DJ’s DJ and a straight-up party rocker in equal measures.

In the studio, Sims has notched up over 50 original productions as well as countless remixes and edits in the past two decades. Embraced by techno’s originators and Detroit ambassadors he’s been, uniquely for a UK artist, called upon by Jeff Mills, Robert Hood and Kevin Saunderson for remixes as well as contributing to the majority of influential European labels from Mote Evolver to Drumcode to Cosmic to Token via Tresor, CLR, and his own (now completed) Theory imprint. Most recently, his disco/house leanings have birthed Ron Bacardi, an alias that has quickly established itself and resulted in 12”s dropping on Bass Culture, Karlovak, Way Back Wednesday and Hardgroove.

Outside of the studio and club, the dedication, enthusiasm and search for the next great record/ talent continues. His monthly Run it Red radio show on NTS Live is devoted to new music, his club night, Machine (co-founded with Kirk Degiorgio), was set up to only showcase new music and his label activities, currently taking in Symbolism and Hardgroove, continue to provide rock-solid platforms for new producers whilst also showcasing his own studio experiments. Never resting on his laurels, Sims continues to challenge himself at every turn. From a succession of dynamic b2b sets with other highly respected Techno DJs like DVS1, James Ruskin, ROD or Truncate, through his small-room b2b club night Kabuki, countless label/release projects, or devotion to actively seeking out interesting club nights to play alongside the tried and tested, there’s always something fresh to get excited about with Ben Sims and you can trust that when the current boom (and its converts) move on, he’ll still be here, doing his thing and pushing his vision of techno.

Tracklisting

1. Vera Logdanidi – Euphoria. Semantica
2. Simoncino – Dub Theory IV. Quintessentials
3. JR Disc – Thrust. Detroit Basics
4. Carlos Nilmmns – IRL (Lo). Distangled
5. Francesco Mami – Stilgar (Reboot Remix). Rhythm Cult
6. Sound Stream – Off The Rack. Sound Stream
7. Sound Stream – El Acetato ’94. Sound Stream
8. DJ Sneak – A Taste Of The 90s. Heist
9. The Oliverwho Factory – Feel. Faith Beat
10. Scan 7 – VII. Tresor
11. Flabaire – Life Flow. Bass Culture
12. Nathan Kofi – Wekū. De Lichting
13. Fred P – Vibe To The Rhythm. Synchrophone
14. Taelue – Deviancy. Synchrophone
15. Sound Stream – Make It Right. Sound Stream
16. Carlos Nilmmns – Cabana. Distangled
17. Stroef – Lost Hallways. Boomstraat 1818
18. Mark Williams – Oh Boy (Dub). Hardgroove
19. Uncertain – Feel. RSPX
20. Adlas – Open Question. Hayes
21. Oruam Zior – Torrente. Illegal Alien
22. Stephen Brown – Replika. Synchrophone
23. Scan 7 – Planet Energy. Tresor
24. Operator – Up, Then Down. Mord
25. Fhase 87 – Minimalism 04. Unreleased
26. Massimo Logli – Open Wide. Superbra
27. Stephen Brown – Compare. Synchrophone
28. Mark Williams – Take My Love. Hardgroove
29. Linkan Ray – Flight To Tokyo. Be As One
30. Mella Dee – Fiedel Played A Big One. Warehouse Music
31. PAB165 – Domination. Planet Rhythm
32. Operator – Running From The Man. Mord
33. A Thousand Details – Queimadela. Ear To Ground
34. Mike Dehnert – Berlin Rush. Matter+
35. G-Man – Throw. Synchrophone
36. Mark Williams – Your Eyes. Hardgroove
37. Rethe – Momentum Shift. Inner Tension
38. KiNK & Raredub – Time To Change (Marcel Dettmann Universal Raw Mix). Mutual Rytm
39. Private Press – Very Cosmic. Hardgroove
40. Kaiser – Ozono (Kriz Remix). KSR
41. Fhase 87 – Minimalism 05. Unreleased
42. DHÆÜR – Chapter 03 (Deluka Remix). Supercinema
43. Dynamic Forces – Holding Out. Pleistocene Future
44. Dold – Slate. The Third Room
45. Sarf – Orden Disruptivo (Lidvall Remix). Analog Section
46. Kaan Pirecioglu – Magnet. Float
47. Dimi Angelis – Intergalactic (Decka Remix). ANGLS
48. Lidvall – Too Serious!. Symbolism
49. Mal Hombre – Titan Eclipse. Reverse
50. Taken – Ice Truck. TH Tar Hallow
51. Vertical Spectrum – Jej Fizymatenta. Edit Select
52. Møntero – Staying Strong. Liberta
53. A4 – Four Rays. Edit Select
54. Stanislav Lavskyy – LTA-1. Corpus Black
55. Border One – Gazing Eye. Border One
56. Stroef – Widow’s Lair. Boomstraat 1818
57. Dimi Angelis – Chrysalis. ANGLS
58. DJ Lily – Succumb To The Algorithm. Lilies
59. JØHRN – Morning Has Broken. Faut Section
60. Pyramidal Decode – Freshwater Use. Warm Up
61. Lidvall – He Scares Me. Symbolism
62. Milo Radd – Memory Quest. Edit Select
63. Detroit In Effect – Tear The Roof Off. M.A.P.
64. Usurp – There Is Someone Else. Headset (Edit)
65. Neil Landstrumm – Before AMS. Unknown
66. Techmarine Bottom Feeders – We Cannot Help You (The Exaltics Remix). EPM
67. Peverelist – Pulse XIV. Livity
68. Shadow Child & DJ Haus – Magic Waves. Unknown To The Unknown
69. Forest On Stasys – Magnetismo. Aura Sonora
70. Synkro & DYL – Last Chance. Relation Reset
71. Finalversion3 – Todos Los Siempres (Oscar Mulero Remix). Gordo Trax
72. Forest On Stasys – Domo. Aura Sonora
73. Brendon Moeller – Radiation. Samurai Music
74. Ruff Cherry – Exonda. Midgar
75. Etch – Clockwork Romance. Ilian Tape
76. Galaxian – Sterile Vision. Herrensauna
77. Crossing X – Back. Avion
78. Vril – Habit Forming. 1800 Haight Street
79. Dialog – Better Way (Vocal & Version). DOT
80. Uun – Never For The Ever. Mord

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