Mix of the Week 3/10: Babylon Fall Promo Mix
As the wide spectrum of bass music is only getting broader, Mystik has slowed things down in preparation for Babylon Fall’s first birthday at The Sub Club in Melbourne last Saturday. The result is a chill, laid back mix that delivers a smooth hour of soft reggae vibes. While this music won’t have you charging into the night, cutting shapes on the Melbourne dancefloors until the early hours, it will still have you on your feet, gently bouncing with the hour long groove.
The familiar slow beat of reggae music, with light drums softly tapping away in the background, gives this mix a firm foundation, and ties together the entire. That is the biggest strength of Mystik. While he mixes a variety of artists and dabbles in various genres, it is all grounded within a steady beat. The consistency of the drums is complimented by some nice bass guitars, bringing in elements of funk to layer in the rhythm and bass sections and round out this solid groove. It is easy to enter a hazy trance, lightly bobbing along. However, the mix isn’t just built on this bottom layer of sound. Where Mystik really shines is in the various instruments and melodies he layers over the rhythm section. Playing with both roots and dub and reggae genres, there is an exciting amount of variety in the music. With bright guitars in some parts and loud brass sections in others, there is a real sense of harking back to the foundations of older reggae sounds which have morphed through global club culture into dubstep, bass and hardstyle. On top of this, Mystik also plays with electric chimes, bass machines and synthesisers to modernise the sound, particularly towards the end of the mix. All these instrumental layers accompany the wide array of artists that are on display here, with the softer melodic notes allowing for their soulful vocal tones to wash over the listener like a smooth, relaxing wave.
This mix grounds itself in the strong but laid back reggae genre, making it a joy to listen to. Mystik delivers an easy-going hour of chilled sounds to gently energise the listener.
