Turbotito and Ragz’s new compilation focuses on an overlooked era of house and electronic music released between ’88 and ’94. Our good friends at Naya Beat continue to […]
Getting Lost in Classic Cassette Mixtapes of the 1990s
Happy New Year from all of us at In Sheep’s Clothing! Thanks for your support, good taste, enthusiasm, curiosity, and generosity. We appreciate you attending our events, record fairs, pop-ups, listening sessions, and casual hangs. Thanks for dancing at our parties. Thanks for listening silently, and with intention. If you’re reading this, know that we don’t take your time and attention for granted.
We’ve got brilliant things in store for 2024, and we can’t wait to share them with you.
In the short term, here’s something simple: A bunch of cassette mixtapes from the 1990s (ok one’s from 2000). Created when tape demos were the primary means of making waves in the rave and club scenes, booking gigs, and earning attention, the mixes were hand-built using rudimentary technology and often designed to display beat-matching skills, a crucial way to convey curatorial expertise and deliver the goods. Some, like the great Andrew Weatherall’s mixtape from Cream below, were recorded at parties, the truth of which conjures images of kindred spirits lost in dance floor bliss.
Andrew Weatherall – “Live at Cream” (1994)
One of the great events of the British rave scene, Cream originated in 1992 and expanded to become Creamfields a few years later. The brilliant Weatherall (Two Lone Swordsman, Sabres of Paradise) delivered acid and proto-techno thrills during this mix.
DJ Soul Slinger – “Ambient Vol. 1” (1994)
In mid-1990s NYC, producers inspired by a stew of house, hip hop, jungle, Latin funk, dub, and ambient combined to create a deep subgenre known as illbient. Alongside DJ Spooky and DJ Wally, the label-head, producer, and DJ Soul Slinger was among the deepest. This mix from 1994 maneuvers through various tones and texture, emphasizing heavy bass at every turn.
I-F – “Mixed Up in the Hague” (2000)
Born Ferenc E. van der Sluijs, the artist known as I-F stormed onto the electro scene with the epic party anthem “Space Invaders are Smoking Grass,” and has been crafting magnetic techno bangers for more than 30 years. Originally issued as a CD mix, this wild 2000 amalgamation draws from the entire history of electro.
Jeff Mills – “Live in the Mix”
Detroit. Jeff Mills. Speed. Second wave techno. Make sure to drink a lot of water on the dance floor.
Paul Johnson – “I Need Another Plan” (1996)
Those of us who experienced first-hand the ways in which Paul Johnson built sets and worked crowds knew that on a good night he was the best house DJ on Earth. A master on the mixing board who could lock beats with a few finger flips and worked the pitch-control to speed up a cappella voices with glee, the legendary Chicago producer-DJ was a staple at Midwest raves in the 1990s — I saw him in an abandoned St. Louis warehouse space back in the day — and could move dancers like no other. This mixtape is frickin’ wild.
