Mixoff IV: Professor Maximillian Von Mixthoffen’s Expert Critiques Round 2!

From the Desk of:

Professor Maximillian Von Mixthoffen

Round 2 Thoughts and Grades

Welcome back……

Round one is over and the results are in.

12 entered……6 left.
Bearded dragon
Polar bear
Bengal Tiger
Crocodile
Puffin
and the round 1 MVP “Crow”

To start off well done for all who entered round 1 the standard was very high.
but I hear you ask what about round 2?

6 mixes are in and played on air.

This time I will try and go into a bit more detail and also grade the first round mix they did with the 2nd round mix.
Did they up the game or did they lose the game!

Also this time I will grade the matches!
yes I will give you my thoughts on who I think will take the win (unless its a DRAW!)
if that’s the case we make them fight with sticks at Dawn!
(shit that’s a good idea!) Gac remember that one.

Keep reading to see how I read the waves of mix in the 2nd round of mix off 4!

So we will start where we ended last time.

The best in class in round 1

The Crow

Track count: 11
Gac tracks
Menschen und Mauern by Shed
No No No – Phibes Remix by Deekline

2 tracks from different styles.

the use of the gac tracks were nice and smooth
the hot drop into no no no was slick
and I was impressed you managed to mix the shed track at all.

Crow had a very good first round and got Max’s MVP which is not given lightly.
first round mix was as I said almost perfect in form and flow.
track count was similar to the 2nd mix so its not hard to put them against each other.

Now lets get into this, Crow 2nd mix for me didn’t have the same feels as the 1st mix. now don’t take that as I think its bad in any way at all.
far from it this mix is a work of art and when you count up the track count and they are about the same 11-12 tracks each.
the 2nd mix feels more busy than the first one which is what made the first mix the better mix for me.
and when you start at the top sometimes its the only way to go is down.
but lets be honest its not even a full step down its more of a side step.

this set for me lost its effortless flow of the first.
but that being said it had a lot of content.
it sounds like a set that took a lot of time to make this does not sound like it was done on the fly.
Now before anyone starts hating many pro DJs would never do a set that had not been worked out or practiced ALOT! so its valid and if you work like that, that is your way.
this is personal preference if you over produce your sets they lack a bit of warmth.
there is little to complain about in this set from a technical point of view and nor should there be “this the 1st round MVP”
both Gac tracks were mixed well also the Helix track added into the mix in a smooth way.

the set its self had a good mix of styles (i.e how the mix was done)
some were smooth mix’s over time some were hot drops and hot swaps.
and if you can hear anything out of place you have bat like radar (prep is worth the time)

will crow get MVP this round? read to the end and see!

The Puffin

Track count: 10
Gac tracks
Vlad the Impaler – Zane Lowe Remix by Kasabian
Arrakis by Black Sun Empire

each track from a different style and speed. so balanced difficulty to crow.
indie dance vs DnB
the use of kasbian was ( smooth and ok but not amazing )
the use of Arrakis as a base for a mashup (or did they use a mashup?) was it a mashup they downloaded? or did they mix that live?
one will be a DQ and other is a bonus point! (I’m sick of talking to the East German judge about this mixer!)

First round mix was as I said a bit messy.
the first mix was showing its working (when you need to fix a mix while fader is up)
it happens when things are not stable or worse if you have not managed to lock the speed in (rookie mistake)
I said at the time this mix would have been scored much better had it been cleaner.
2nd round puffin listened to the me and really clean up the mix!
and I mean really cleaned it up.
if I didn’t know better I would say it was a different person (east German judge can we check this DJ’s papers)
so track count was about the same and this one is like night and day from its match opponent “crow”
this one is all raw and flow based would not be shocked if this was done in one shot.
now lets talk track selection.
this has a lot of stops on the train ride. big band, into DnB to techno to indie dance to dance rock to retro house.
it really didn’t feel like it left you bored and moved along well but also let the tracks breath. and the mixing was very tight.
only issues I had with this set were the drops from the DnB to techno (it was a random way to do it, ok it worked but also sort of didn’t.)
but how else are you going drop from DnB to techno and not make it sound like a car crash.
Also random fact “Fleetwood mac” chain track used in crow and puffin sets! I don’t even know the chance’s of that happening.
nice It was different remix’s.

The Match!

Crow Vs Puffin

this match was made to happen.
had it been round 1 puffin would have been pushing up daisy’s end of story no contest.
but due to the clean up of style and content on the 2nd mix this is a match to watch.
crow is again spot on totally technical.
puffin was more organic and flow (almost more like crows first round mix)

both sets had a lot going on and plenty of style changes.

in the end the choice will prob come down more to personal style and music choice than technical.

The Call!

I cant call it and I’m not happy to say that. and if I’m right and this is a draw, I stand by the sticks at dawn idea!
only shame here is they both cant be in the final to see what they came up with next.

Bengal Tiger

Track count: 12
Gac tracks
Hear Me – Dope Ammo Remix by Slipmatt
Breathe – Mefjus & Camo & Krooked Remix The Prodigy

interesting pull on the gac tracks.
both are DnB but different ends of the spectrum.
slipmatt is rave/breaks style
and ofc
prodigy is very dark industrial DnB
but speed is on par so not a major ask to mix.
the Helix track will ofc mess up that Pure DnB flow….

first round mix got a honorable mention.
the energy of that set was super dark and it worked for the animal and left a mark on anyone who listened to it.
2nd Round mix… did not manage to carry that power or energy over into the 2nd round.
Its always a problem of peeking to soon but it happens.
Now like crow don’t think I’m saying the 2nd round mix is bad in any way its just staked against the first one its not “as good”
this means in essence that the bar was set at the top and unless you hang onto the bar you have to drop down.
mental note don’t peek to soon 🙂

pulling 2 DnB gac tracks I would have expected a full on DnB set but it kicks off pretty mellow electro house/ tech house vibes.
first mix was a little off beat. (subtle not crash level)
this mix was into the first GAC track “slipmatt” which was slowed down to a house beat! I had to go back and check the original to make sure it was the same track.
Bold move or missed opportunity your call listener, the speed drop was considerable but didn’t destroy the tracks sound quality.
personally the speed drop has made a rave banger into a mellow squib losing all its power and presence.
3rd mix was cleaner but bass was late coming in on the new track.
4th mix was a nice tidy drop and swap.
5th mix was a bit off key the vocals didn’t blend well, but it was In sync.
6th mix was sharp and on point, the energy of the mix is rising, tiger wakes while the lion sleeps tonight.
7th mix is a classic mix over blend with a drop off to a moist bit “remember to spit on that thing!” things are really being taken in hand now.
8th mix into DnA smooth and tidy bass maintained and then going a bit to hot on the bass.
this is making it distort a little, be careful on your trims for each track before you drop it in.
once again.
green is good.
Red is bad.
yellow is making it sweat a bit (tickle the yellow by all means)
9th mix good bass change over and the incoming track is not hot/red also in sync. feeling a bit of that tiger style now.
10th mix again feeling the tiger vibes with the drop into “titanium” amazing track and I like this remix its got a darkness.
11th mix mix into small town boy (tell me why) very nice mix over on this one and a cracking remix of the track (east german judge integrate this mixer for the version please) don’t shot them this time!
12 mix 2nd Gac track Prodigy breath… this mix sounded forced and not to tidy great remix to end on but not the best final mix of the set.
very odd loop at the end.

Polar Bear

Track count: 21!
Gac tracks
Terminator – Goldie Presents Rufige Kru Goldie 150 bpm
Galaxies and Stars Doctor P 110 bpm

pulled to at odds gac tracks not going to be easy on this mix.

polar bear had a few issues on the round one mix.
most notable was the levels being hot, and causing a bit of light distortion.
that being said the set its self was a lot of fun and had good energy and was good enough to make it through into the 2nd round.
The 2nd round set is much cleaner on the levels and the energy levels on the 2nd set are off he scale!

2nd round set.

again kicking off with some funky house vibes.
This sets has to be the most aggressive mixing I have heard in a long time.
it mix’s and mix’s and mix’s some more
running at the speed of insanity.
the track count on this set is double that of every other set in round 2.
that’s a track mixed every 1.5 mins on average!
that some pace and keeps the music rolling and roll it does.
the mixes are tight and sharp not that its possible to do long mixs when your cramming that many tracks into a set!
speed mixing (this is it)
as the mix runs it gets more and more energy like its picking up speed as it runs away down a very big hill.
you cant go into technical detail on a set this fast, just the fact a mixer can move that fast from track to track and not make it sound like a bag of nails is impressive.
the styles of music were so varied I don’t know start but its always fun to hear some bolly wood styles in a mix set (god I want a curry now)
Galaxys and stars (edited out most of the vocal and went for the rap)
also the 2nd gac track (goldie was slowed down to 140 from 150) lots of huge speed changes in the gac tracks this round…
DnA was mixed in on a double beat, that’s the 2nd time that’s happened (not the same mixer)
little random reprise of the DnA track (did they think they had not played enough of it to qualify)

loved the song 2 dropping into smells like teen spirit at the end and I have to ask how the hell do you have 2 mins left on a mix and manage to cram in 3 tracks!.

The Match!

Tiger Vs Polar bear.

this is a lot like puffin vs crow, had these met in round 1.
Tiger would have killed polar bear.
but this is round 2 and tiger got softer and polar bear got manic.

for me I think polar bear was the tight mix and the speed mixing made for a whole lot of energy.
so my call is polar bear for the win.

Bearded Dragon

Track count: 9
Gac tracks
Sweet Love M-Beat
Israelites – DJ Kane Remix – Edit Desmond Dekker
Both DnB bangers

first round was not a perfect mix for this dragon but it was still a solid entry.
from being recorded in mono and some odd use of Fx making the set feel a bit off.
to the 2nd round where stuff got Real.
this mixer loves the Drum and Bass.
definite improvement from first round!

2nd round set.

kicking off with a very different remix of “pendulum” another planet.
very light blend into the first Gac track “Desmond Decker done right”
very short sharp mix into a 3rd track that is half beat DnB dropping the vibe for a break down then kicking back up to full DnB.
smooth mix again into track 4 this is a set to drive to even though its DnB its not going to make you drive angry.
2nd gac track dropped in very light vocal drop.
DnA! WTAF! space balls ludicrous speed! Gabba/happy hardcore, only way this would have been more mental if the mixer had turned off the keylock and had it play out like a proper happy hardcore track. (crazy frog style) ding ding ding!!!!!!.
now into a some raga business. the set is gaining some weight now.
and breaks back down to smooth half beat DnB with a nice female vocal ramping back up to full DnB speed.

solid set nice flow much improved from first round.

Crocodile

Tracks:8
Gac tracks
Genesis – Justice
Original Nuttah 25 Uk Apache
at odds tracks again. one house track and one DnB

round 1 vs round 2

crocodile got a special mention in round 1.
this was due mostly to the set being so full of fun stuff and its vibe it rolled along really well.
round 2! I don’t know if this mixer was on LSD or sleep deprived but something went very very strange on this set.
much like a van Gogh painting, is it genius or madness.

Round 2

starting with the first Gac track (had to use that as an intro, not to would have been a crime.)
uk apache is classic DnB royalty.
dropping the heavy DnB 2nd mix.
3rd mix nice vocal mix shame the beat was a bit off.
dropping the Dna vocal into the DnB track was a bit of a shock and it was done very well all be it a different mix from the given track.
ahhhh and then drops into the original version. (I was about to call the East German judge)
and then ramping the ever loving shit out of DnA for a 3rd kick of the ball!
indeed that was diabolical!!!!
into this mixers mix animal “bad boys”
the justice track ramped to crazy speed as well.
the bag of F*cks is empty!
so the basic idea of this set…..
I’m playing DnB even when I’m not I’m still playing DnB ok!

and ending on Chipmunk Abba! LSD I’m telling its Drugs! with game of thrones for one last YAY!
is crocodile the Dragon slayer?

The match!

2 ends of a very different round.
dragon was all about the flow and smooth vibes.
crocodiles was on DRUGS!

now for me I’m a purist so its dragon all the way.
but knowing the people that listen to this station!
god only knows and he isn’t telling.

Good luck to everyone.
Its been a hell of a ride this round.

See you for the final, but only if you get through!

Second Round Final thoughts: