Mix of the Week 29/8 - NECTAR MIX 001: Merph
“Blending together jazz, trance and house, the debut mix from Sydney outfit Nectar won’t have listeners partying until the break of dawn, but it’ll get them ready to.” @nectar.syd
Sydney based outfit Nectar has recently announced its mission to fill the ongoing gap in the music industry through their development of young, up and coming DJs and live electronic artists. As part of this vision, they have released a debut mix, giving exposure to Merph, who delivers a chill 35-minute set that is a perfect of how to perfect the difficult task of warming the dancefloor.
Where this mix excels is in its slow pace. Unlike other Djs or producers who are tasked with reinvigorating a depleted dancefloor at 3am, and seek to do the same in their recorded mixes, Merph here builds a mix that takes a languid approach, but one that gets the joints loosed for the night ahead. As such, the many different genre influences make this mix at times soothing and at others energising. Opening with a distant soundscape and heavy reverb, the jazz vibes work well at slowly and softly introducing a beat. This beat stays consistent through the mix, quietly thumping away in the background to connect each new effect, loop and sample. As the mix ramps up, it maintains its slow, methodical pace. Where other DJs are often tempted to dive straight into loud and bombastic house tracks, Merph is settling into a comfortable groove, taking the listener through a mix of genres, with influences from tropical house, trance, techno, trap and hip/hop, all of which combined give the smooth mix a sense of brightness. A polished musician, Merph seamlessly transitions between songs. With a slower tempo and chill groove, the consistent beat never speeds up or jarringly cuts in order to switch between tracks. Instead it seamlessly sneaks across songs, which points to the depth of research that Merph would have conducted to construct the tracklist. The pace is maintained and throughout builds anticipation before the bass heavy conclusion. This final bit of energy leaves the audience revved up, after 35-minutes’ worth of excitement slowly brewing.
Merph has delivered a mix that perfectly fits its role as a studied, but exciting, opener. With a wide variety of genres and a playful approach to maintaining a consistent groove, this mix warms up the dancefloor to the point of lightly toasted.
