The 15 best mixes of 2015
All hail the DJ mix. They get us through the good times, and they get us through the bad times. It would be impossible to give praise to every single mix that we enjoyed in 2015, so we kept it short and sweet with a pretty relevant 15 of the team's all-time favourites this year.
It would also be impossible to rank these mixes in any sort of numerical order because it's all about the mood, baby. One mix might hit the spot when you're getting ready to spend five or more hours deep in the belly of a sweaty warehouse yet the next day when you're regretting it all, probably not so much. With that in mind, here are the 15 mixes that really pushed Dummy's buttons this year. You'll find them laid out in front of you in no particular order, but each are worth every single minute of listening time.
Check out the list below or listen to a majority of the mixes via our Soundcloud playlist.
The most desirable quality for me in a DJ is an ability to present tracks that I’ve never heard before and instantly love. It’s something that Palms Trax has done so consistently – mostly through his monthly Berlin Community Radio show. His Solid Steel mix goes through a pile of mellow, jazz-inflected house records but it’s Joshua's Let The Spirit that comes out as the highlight with that distinctive slap bass and soul vocals. Aurora Mitchell
As an unabashed Motor City Drum Ensemble enthusiast, it was tempting to include his Dekmantel 2015 selectors stage set into this list based purely on a nostalgic attachment to his 2014 Dekmantel performance. However, the added bonus of Jeremy Underground jumping on B2B duties with MCDE halfway through this Dimensions Festival set was a crucial inclusion. This mix is guaranteed to drain your iPhone battery after a solid 2 hours of waving your Shazam app in the air screaming “CAN I GET A TRACK ID?”. Mia Besorio
Fan favourites The Beautiful Swimmers dropped a cassette for South London imprint The Trilogy Tapes halfway through 2015 that was blink-and-you-miss-it material. Fortunately for those of us who enjoy sleeping in past 7am, it came with a download code and was pretty swiftly uploaded to YouTube for everyone's enjoyment. The Swimmers take us on two 45 minute excursions into the wave pool of unknown musical gems. Joe King
Berceuse Heroique did a lot of things in 2015, some of which they'd like to be remembered for and others…possibly not. However, they did host this mix by seldom seen junglist DJ Persuasion a.k.a Mitchell Michaels, and it really set the world alight. The selector took a niche approach and only included records from 93-94, some of which have long been gathering dust and others lacking the recognition they deserve. Joe King
If there's one thing that this guy knows how to do, it's mix records. Over the past decade, the Glasgow based selector has dropped an uncountable number of mixes, each one bettering the last. For his 2015 Mastermix, he took things right across the board. I thinks it's safe to say that everyone reading this list has listened to at least one mix by the one they call Jackmaster! Joe King
When it comes to in-demand DJ’s, these guys are definitely in the the top half of every dance music enthusiasts list. They joined forces for a night of pleasure at ADE and this mix was the result. "Nothing screams 'pure vibes' like a back-to-back from Move D and Gerd Janson." There has never been a truer statement. This was a very late addition to this list but I think we'll all agree it definitely deserves a spot. Joe King
2015 has undoubtedly been the year where Ben UFO became an unbeatable DJ force. Listening to his weekly Rinse show, recorded live sets and seeing him in the flesh – every listening/dancing session with him has shown a progression and one of his most personable sets is his Dekmantel x IR Set at Sonar festival. From the springing steps of opener and now set staple Jean-Marie Bolangassa – Rikkida, Ben had daytime dancers’ bodies moving throughout the building’s arches. Aurora Mitchell
As it’s a very selective process to get into the invite/members only Wales festival Freerotation; it was a lovely gesture from Hessle to upload their recorded set so that everyone could hear it. It’s the crowd noise that really makes it, those echoed “woo’s” during AFX’s Elephant Song adding a special moment that wouldn’t be there without it. Aurora Mitchell
The most interesting and elusive figure rising in ambient music, Yamaneko manages to craft a new enchanting world to peer into with each of his mixes – there’s always a clear vision. His Fader mix, full of unreleased gems from his Daybreak crew, had an enticing atmosphere that was equal amounts menacing and misty eyed. Aurora Mitchell
The monkunian better known as Chimpo is no stranger to mixing it up in the dance. This Manc-heavy mix he did for 1Xtra repping the LVLZ crew is a perfect example of this. There’s not many other mixes that came out in 2015 with a tracklist boasting Lisa Stansfield, Paleman and Oasis mere minutes apart. You need to listen to this one to believe it…Joe King
I’m really into the fact that The Boiler Room have been broadcasting from Dekmental Festival for the past couple of years…it’s been saving me a small fortune. I now tend to find myself in the back garden, lying in my paddling pool with a couple of moderately cold Heinekens over the first weekend of August. Hunee’s set from this year’s festival was without a doubt one of the highlights. Being able to to see the DJ and crowd reaction definitely gives the mix a completely different dynamic. Joe King
If you’re looking for a techno mix from this year, this journey of a live recorded set with enough thumping 4/4s to displease your ear canals from Avalon Emerson should be right at the top of your Soundcloud listening pile. Two hours of brilliant breakneck techno that manages to never feel too intrusive or overwhelming. Aurora Mitchell
The last time I smoked weed was when I was at Tim & Barry's ramshackle Ridley Road studio, watching Teki Latex tearing Just Jam apart. There was a moment when he pulled off a blend so terrifying that I left my body and entered a hitherto unexplored mental space that I never thought I'd escape. And then he played an Abba record. Who else can do that? Josh Baines
The unthinkable finally happened: everyone's favourite beardy balearic disco demi-god Harvey William Bassett was finally lured into the Boiler Room. The result was better than we could have dared imagine, with old Harv joining the dots between Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, 10cc, elasticated boogie and deep, deep disco obscurities. A master at work. Josh Baines
Every Floorplan set is pretty much the same but when your set is as transcen-fucking-dental as Robert Hood's two hours of storming gospel house and thundering techno is, then you don't need to fuck about too much. Running through his own productions —including We Magnify His Name, aka the greatest song of all time— and a slew of suitably uplifting peak time jams, this is proof if proof needs be that Robert Fucking Hood is one of the all time greats. Spellbinding, spine-tingling stuff. Josh Baines
One of the founding members of Chilean label Modismo, Imaabs knows his game and sits tight within the ranks of Mexican clique NAAFI and London's very own Trax Couture crew, where he made his UK debut at their House of Trax night back in October. Ahead of his set, Imaabs shared a baile club, cyber-ready-reggaeton and Jersey club inspired Dummy mix that dipped into new and upcoming producers like Toxe and Moslem Priest to bind together sirens, high energy and hella bass – making this selection a certified choice for getting loose. Natalie Davies
You can listen to a selection of the 15 best mixes from 2015 via our Soundcloud playlist.
