30 years of the Essential Mix! Post your favourite

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still the greatest. 

Heh, listening to that now in the pub hence the thread 🙂

I dunno if I could pick a single favourite instantly.

Probably listened to this the most:

Paul Oakenfold Goa mix 1994 - whole 2hrs - YouTube

It's got to be the Goa Mix. I hadn't heard anything like it before and it still sounds great today.

Sooo many and Goa mix is a given surely.

This is one of the more recent ones...
https://soundcloud.com/chaos-in-the-cbd/chaos-in-the-cbd-bbc-radio-1-essential-mix

Krafty Kuts...

Jim Masters Techno retrospective. Utter genius

https://soundcloud.com/techno-7e7/jim-masters-essential-mix-bbc-19-12-1999

The Goa mix is right up there I’d suggest, though Oakenfold’s Havana mix isn’t far away either.
https://www.mixcloud.com/pondering2012/paul-oakenfold-essential-mix-live-jonis-havana-cuba-02-21-1999/

another winner

https://soundcloud.com/siliconesoul/silicone-soul-e-mix-2001-part1

I also have a memory of a Judge Jules mix from 1999 ish that was awesome, it was just when hard house was almost becoming mainstream and so his mix was much harder than his usual fair. I’ll try and find it.

In the mean time, for those of a harder style of house, have some Tony de Vit.
https://www.mixcloud.com/DJ_Mix/tony-de-vit-essential-mix-1995-01-08/

Edit: +1 for Silicone Soul posted above (not the 2005 mix I'd posted)

*fist bump* for MrCrispy

My ears are still ringing from Tony de Vit at Sundissential

Dave Clarke circa 1999. Think it won mix of the year and had an audio of John Peel on it saying "Dave Clarke the baron of techno, for those who know the difference".

I used to buy 120min cassette tapes from HMV to especially to record the essential mix and as I was either asleep or in a nightclub when was broadcast, I would set my stereo to come on and start recording on a timer. Only problem was that I had to remember to turn the volume on the stereo down completely otherwise Pete Tong's voice shortly followed by a kick drum would wake up the whole family at 2am, which happened all too often for my parents.

Sasha Maida Vale (2005?)

My ears are still ringing from Tony de Vit at Sundissential

I suspect we were in the same room. I have similar memories (or lack of...) of a Tidy Boys mix at the Que Club.

I've said this before @houns, but there is no way we haven't crossed paths at some point given our respective locations and interests.

https://www.soundcloud.com/culture-shock/essential-mix

Perfect length for the Great North Run this year, ended just as I hit the finish line, and perfect tempo to keep me at the pace needed for that time.

Of the ones they've put up here

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/p0gqmfzd?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

Helena Hauff and Nicholas Jaar

Joris Voorn 2009, Darren Emerson 2004, Jon Hopkins 2014, James Lavelle Glastonbury 2004, Sasha 500th essential mix 2010 + loads more but that’s enough

All essential mixes here

@lunge even more so now given our fondness of proper beer (currently 5 pints in at the Swan on Brettel lane)

can’t recall if I ever saw the tidy boys, maybe at the ‘Gale??

DJ Krush, Gilles Petersen and UFO:

Adam Freeland:

Portishead:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGxJ3YlrsQU&t=3303s

snap essential mix 1995

https://m.mixcloud.com/DJ_Mix/snap-essential-mix-1995-05-07/

My ears are still ringing from Tony de Vit at Sundissential
I suspect we were in the same room.

Good chance I was too.  Studied at Brum 96-99 and spent a lot of time in nightclubs!

Moneypennys Saturday night,  home, disco nap, shower, change,  and back out to Sundissential 

The 93 David Holmes mix still gets played regularly here.

and 4 years later he'd gone in a completely different direction and served this up

Moneypennys Saturday night, home, disco nap, shower, change, and back out to Sundissential

I think that if the weekends worked you could do Gods Kitchen as well or am I making that up? We certainly drove up to Storm at The Emporium in Coalville some Friday's to see Fergie (not the one from Black Eyed Peas or the royal one) before either Gods or Moneypenny's Saturday and Sundissential Sunday.

Wasn't there some Godforsaken night after Sundissential at CODE on a Monday morning as well? Poly Sexual maybe? I have a vague memory of a lot of people in K-holes and Lisa Lashes playing really nasty hard house.

Good times...

Here’s my favourite Essential Mix, James Lavelle & Darren Emerson Glastonbury 2005, Lavelle for the first hour then Emerson. <br /><br />
James Lavelle & Darren Emerson Glastonbury Essential Mix

I never ventured much south of the border, no need when you have The Arches, SubClub and Soundhaus (where anything goes) in Glasgow

Yeah Code! Went there on opening night (Danny Rampling maybe? Urgh I used to worship him, now he’s an anti vax nut) Babooshka, and got paint all down the back of my black shirt, belt and trousers from leaning against one of the support poles. Forgot about Lisa Lashes!

what was the place in derby that always had great fliers/logo of a house? Never went but always wanted to

@ac505- good call! I’d forgotten about that Snap mix! It’s an absolute blinder and we played it to death at the time.

That’ll be revisited over the weekend

Goa Mix, for sure. Oakenfold had moments of total genius.

+1 @t3ap0t - Dave Clarke '96, The Baron of Techno.. that was a belter, opening with 2 copies of Energy Flash. "Searching... searching..." 

I'm sure I've missed loads of great EMs though - going to look up that Sasha Maida Vale mix now 

I'm on the Dave Clarke mix now (Jan 200). Messier mixing than I remember... but proper driving techno.

It was 1994 for that classic Dave Clarke mix that I still listen to from time to time. Wow. Time flies.

The Baron of Techno -

https://soundcloud.com/dave-clarke-dj-sets/essential-mix-11-06-1994?in=dave-clarke-dj-sets/sets/radio-1-mixes

Ta! Will get that on tomorrow. There's been some new of the red series floating around recently by the way.

I think that if the weekends worked you could do Gods Kitchen as well or am I making that up?<br /><br />

I think you could, with drinks at Circo first and chips at Mr Egg after.  One of the best club nights of my life was Tall Paul at GK. 

Even falling out of 52° North which was pretty much  adjacent to Mr. Egg i never went in. I feel that’s the only part you Brum nightlife I missed out on 

Gimme a hard copy right there...

"Mum! Grandad's talking about acid house again..."

Trentemoller's 2006 effort is right up there.

Not necessarily my absolute favourite, but this one from Faithless in 2010 is often returned to when having a kitchen cooking rave:

“Mum! Grandad’s talking about acid house again…”

😂

Photek's 1997 mix is pretty special. I love that he plays Goldie's Mother in its entirety to fill the last half.

@somafunk your link is amazing!! Thank you for sharing.

Essential mix been a lifeline for me especially throughout the 90's.

Anything Sasha really for me and the oakie Gia mix, but standout for me is the Greg Wilson mix 🎧 Off to listen to many more. Old school all the way ❤️

Spent a fair bit of time with the many Oakenfold mixes on YouTube (memories of formative years at Cream) and have settled on this as the best. 

What a flipping awesome thread….
Portishead DJ SET
https://m.soundcloud.com/domokosart/portishead-bbc-radio-1-essential-mix
Full on scratcherama deep trip hop.
I had it on tape.
Balls, link not working but I see someone already got there.

The greatest intro of all Essential mixes and some of the rapping in the first song is just class!

So many classics over the years!! Some excellent work already posted.
This mix sticks in the memory because she did it at the beginning of lockdown and for the first time ever due to no traffic, I played music while out on the road bike.