Artist: Jimmy Van M
Title: Balance 010
Label: EQ Grey
By: Chloe Harris | 11 December 2006
Tracklist:

• Disk 1
• Disk 2
• Disk 3

1. Bill Laswell - Ethiopia
2. Bill Laswell - Babylon Ghost
3. Future Sound Of London - Study Of Six Guitars
4. Laika - Coming Down Glass
5. Coldcut - Autumn Leaves
6. Union Jack – Water Drums
7. Casino Vs Japan – Slo Bid Bellwave
8. Nathan Fake – Falmer
9. Boards of Canada – Dayvan Cowboy
10. Anoushka Shankar – Beloved (Thievery Corporation Mix)
11. Wax Poetic Feat Norah Jones – Angels (Thievery Corporation Mix)
12. Autechre – Nine
13. Boards Of Canada – Everything You Is A Balloon
14. Brian Eno & J. Peter Schwalm – Rising Dust
15. Depeche Mode – Halo (Goldfrapp Mix)
16. The Egg – Walking Away
17. Bonobo – Everything You Do

1. Miles Tilmann – Floating Windows
2. Miles Tilmann – Minutes
3. Steve T – How Are You?
4. Cocteau Twins – Blue Bell Knoll
5. Speedy J – Oil Zone
6. Adam Johnson – Kriegspiel
7. Adam Johnson – Version 2
8. Ellen Allien & Apparat – Bubbles
9. Boards Of Canada – Skyliner
10. Peter Benisch – Desert
11. Babel – X-Equals
12. Aphex Twin – Delphium
13. Brandi Ifgray – Mono
14. I:Cube – Cash Conv.
15. LCD Soundsystem – Too Much Love (Rub-N-Tug Mix)
16. Saint Etienne – Cool Kids of Death (Underworld Mix)

1. Djuma Soundsystem – Les Djinns (Trentemøller Mix)
2. Djuma Soundsystem – 'Les Djinns (Def Jaguar Mix)
3. Solieb – Integrale
4. Ellen Allien & Apparat - Jet
5. San Lebowski – The Reducer 2
6. Jordano – No Gravity
7. Tom Pooks – Docker
8. Acid Test – Test One
9. 16 Bit Lolitas Feat Jennifer Horne – Ask Why (JVM Gold Mix)
10. DJ T & Booka Shade – Played Runner
11. Hug – The Chopper
12. Loafer – Dirt Bike (16 Bit Lolitas Mix)
13. Gui Boratto – Like You (Supermayer Mix)

Jimmy Van M "Balance 010"

Jimmy Van M is a name that is synonymous with dance music. He's had his hands in shaping America's scene for more than a decade acting as the hidden force behind bringing Sasha and John Digweed which developed further into some brilliant adventures such as the remarkable Delta Heavy Tour, and thier lengthy stay at the legendary club Twilo, in New York.

Jimmy has always been an amazing DJ. His music selections are couragous and he's developed his own blend of satisfying beats. Whether a slow building groove of headbobbing beats or an uptempo frenzy of mental sounds and imagery, his music transends genres. EQ pick a perfect way to chime in thier tenth Balance Mix with Jimmy Van M. Drawing upon his long standing within the music industry and the fact his career traverses many chapters of music throughout the years, 'Balance 010' showcases the music that not only influenced and shaped Jimmy Van M as a DJ, but in some cases contributed to or defined music in general throught the past two decades.

The Downtempo mix starts in with ethereal sounds by Bill Laswell and travels lightly through vocals, dubbed out bass and warm slow beats before the twinkly bits of 'Study Of Six Guitars' float in. This lush tune by the Future Sound Of London was taken from their classic album from 1995, I.S.D.N. Guitars mingle in beautiful ambience before Laika pops in with a clever little tune laden with sassy vocals and a groovy bassline that warms things up before dropping away and into the seminial, 'Autumn Leaves'; a gem from moons ago that captures a depth and sadness that we've all felt before. The beautiful orchestral sounds, swingy high synths and emotional vocals take us deep into a mental mixture of ambient sounds. Union Jack, who is notoriously known for their trance, comes in with a sleepy number called 'Water Drums'. Bumps of beats filter in while sounds from Nathan Fake twist with Casino vs. Japan and Boards Of Canada. This layered section of music melts together seamlessly so it's very hard to know what is happening. A beat finally drops once Thievery Corporation's remix of Anousha Shankar's Beloved comes in but falls short when Angels arrives. Another classic song from ages ago that fits perfectly here. Norah's sultry vocals fit perfectly in the jazzy beats and bass, creating another sweet dreamy depth that fades into Autechre's 'Nine'.

A song from their brilliant Amber album, Nine is a meloncholy ambient tune with swingy synths and slight vocoded vocals that leads into another Boards Of Canada song. 'Everything You Is A Balloon' is a pretty downtempo tune with scratchy beats and nice thumping bass that falls away as 'Rising Dust' comes in. Brian Eno is a legendary musician with a strange taste but here, his lovely guitar licks and spaced out synths ride on top of big booming bass. Goldfrapp's remix of Halo comes after and what a sweet remix it is. Deep layers of ambient sounds fade softly with Dave Gahan´s vocals before being scooped up and into the rocking beats of The Egg. 'Walking Away is a great way to start rounding down the mix. The vocals are catchy and cute, while the bass and guitars rock out a bit before the last tune sums up the Downtempo mix. Bonobo's 'Everything But You' is a synthy delight with little acidy bits and good breakbeats leaving you wanting more.

The Mid-Tempo mix leads off with Miles Tilmann's 'Floating Windows' and 'Minutes'. These two songs fit together perfectly with their layered break beats, beautiful synths and moody but groovy basslines before Steve T's vocals come out on top. His voice has a similarity to a melancholy Perry Farrell and fits perfectly with sitars and very organic sounding beats. The Cocteau Twins' classic 'Blue Bell Knoll' creates a surreal mood of mental vocals and rocking beats and guitars before fading away into the rolling sounds and thunderous beats of 'Oil Zone' by Speedy J. A fantastic drive through an older techno break beat sound that drops away as 'Kriegspiel' by Adam Johnson comes on. The low bass booms while metallic synths twinkle and play with the high hats, before fading off into sweepy synths. 'Version 2', another Adam Johnson tune, takes on the same mood and fades into the beats of 'Bubbles' by Ellen Allien & Apparat. The slight vocals play with lovely synths followed by 'Skyliner', another offering from Boards Of Canada. Their lofty backward synths play with a heap of high hats and cool hits that mixes perfectly into Peter Benisch's 'Desert'.

Long drawn out synths sweep across superb breaky electro beats preparing us for Babel's 'X-Equals', which is more of the same. Break beats infused with electro sounds and a classy melodic hook takes us deeper in the mix, while high synth sweeps in and falls into the arpeggiated sounds of Aphex Twin which Jimmy mixes perfectly with Brandi Ifgray, Mono. The sounds and keys are similar, but when the vocals start in the mood shifts with a groovier bassline. I-Cube keeps with that vibe with a slippery tripped out bass heavy tech house gem called 'Crash Conv' which is continued by Rub & Tug's fantastically fun remix of LCD Soundsystem. The vocals and acid play with each other while they bounce along a fat bass boom before the mix comes to a close with Underworld's remix of Saint Etienne. Cool Kids of Death is a perfect way to round down this mix with its driving bassline, slight vocal snips and delaying synths that fade away with sexy saxophones and a late night vibe.

The final Uptempo mix features some great dance music, starting with a will-be classic, Trentemoller's remix of Djuma Soundsystem's 'Les Djinns'. Another remix comes quickly after the country-esque guitar licks wiggle in by Def Jaguar. A house kick slides in with sweepy synths and cool arpeggiated rhythms which leads into Oliver Lieb's 'Integrale'. This is an amazing twisted world of squishy synths and popping sounds that follows a buzzy scratchy bass boom before a cool LFO takes charge bringing us into 'Jet', another gem from Ellen Alien & Apparat. Sweet twirling keys play with a backdrop of thick lead synths and air effects that ride along a bouncy groove before the keys fade away into a heavier sound courtesy of San Lebowski. 'The Reducer 2' is a techy monster of a tune with quirky highs that play with a large wash of buzz before crashing into Jordano's 'No Gravity'. Sinister vocals slither in while the beats and bouncy hook take everything further into a darker dramatic break.

Tom Pooks' 'Docker' and Acid Test's 'Test One' stay with that vibe as acid eases through techno beats layered with sparkling synths and mental arpeggiated sounds. Jimmy's own remix of 'Ask Why' featuring the lovely vocals of Jennifer Horne comes in with crazy twisted sounds and a fat groovy bumpy bassline before wiggling into 'Played Runner' by DJ T & Booka Shade. This slap happy techy tune full of stabbing synths and an analog lead is followed closely by 'The Chopper' from Hug. Cool plucked synths play with arpeggiated rhythms and a bouncy beat before falling into Loafer's 'Dirt Bike' remixed by the 16 Bit Lolitas. This jumpy acidy workout with roaring race car vrooms brings the mix closer to the end but stops short letting Supermayer's remix of 'Like You' step in closing it down. Gui Boratto is a fantastic way to sum up this mix with its stabbing synths and vocoded vocals swept up in a mysterious wash of tones.

Jimmy Van M is a force to be reckoned with. This mix is a perfect refection of what he can do with its timeless appeal and accessible but interesting music. The shift through various music styles is easy on the ears, but also deep and layered enough that you’ll find sounds you can grow with, making this a lasting mix.