Straight up, I wouldn’t be in this scene as deep as I am, or maybe even at all anymore, if it weren’t for Ricky Ryan. I could go on forever about how cool I think this guy is, but really his music tells the story way better than I ever could.

But of course I still have a story to tell.

Last October we brought Ricky to EXPOSED to help us celebrate bringthebeats’ fifth anniversary. It was a night we all will never forget. Not because we finally had the opportunity to hear our favorite international DJ live, in a proper club, for the first time. It was for the absolutely magical vibe that saturated The Mod Club the entire night.

The feeling you have when hearing a DJ with extraordinary skill and instinct move a room, is the feeling that has most of us thirty-something clubbers still living the night life after many, many enduring years. But when it’s your friend up there orchestrating the sensation… well that takes it to an entirely different level. It’s like the first time all over again.

Moving a step beyond is when the DJ shares the same frequency and I truly believe Ricky was there that night. At least the seven mixes below tell me so.

Ricky put together the first three promos when we were planning for EXPOSED visit number two, having an extremely difficult time not talking about how f—cking incredible visit number one was.

Unfortunately, part of the conversations always included how it really wasn’t like it was in the “good old days,” even though from time to time an event could still live up to expectations (like Ricky’s EXPOSED appearance certainly did). But the parties “back in the day” were always about more than just extacy, they were ecstasy. And the music was always the driving force, but nowadays, it’s often the reason for a party’s decay.

In our glory days, it really was “all about the music,” cliché or not. The layers within the tracks and the layers of tracks; the depth and emotion… for us there was no other time like the new millennium, when in our opinion, the scene truly came into its own.

This time in both of our lives (way before Ricky and I had even met), is where the concept for these seven mixes was born out of. Ricky has always been a master of the mash-up, using classic tracks from this era as way more than just a cheap pop to get the floor nostalgic. With virtual perfection he takes the sounds of our memories and creates fresh vibes with new school grooves.

The January mixes are this with a housey tint and the June sets are the same but on a more progressive tip (broken down into genre for no other reason than the available music of the day led him this way). The concept of accentuating the sets with a classic influence is done in such a subtle fashion you really have no idea that the music is from varied times.

And this is where my inept skill to trainspot comes in handy because I have absolutely no desire to even try to pick out these “memory” tracks. Its best you just listen to how perfectly blended they are in the mix. I guarantee most of you will have absolutely no clue to what is old and what is new.

We all find inspiration in our own way and music like this motivates me like you wouldn’t believe. And hopefully Ricky will continue to be inspired as well; motivated by the fact that he makes many people like me incredibly satisfied and always entertained by the coolest music anyone finds, edits and mixes anywhere in the world today.

Download (left-click and unzip):
ricky ryan - www.EXPOSEDMUSIC.com – JANUARY 2008 –PART 1
ricky ryan - www.EXPOSEDMUSIC.com – JANUARY 2008 –PART 2
ricky ryan - www.EXPOSEDMUSIC.com – JANUARY 2008 –PART 3

Please (don’t download them all at the same time):
ricky ryan - www.EXPOSEDMUSIC.com – JUNE 2008 –PART 4
ricky ryan - www.EXPOSEDMUSIC.com – JUNE 2008 –PART 5
ricky ryan - www.EXPOSEDMUSIC.com – JUNE 2008 –PART 6
ricky ryan - www.EXPOSEDMUSIC.com – JUNE 2008 –PART 7

Where’s your happy place? After only ten days in the country, I can honestly say that because of the culture, our friends and most definitely the house music, mine is in Argentina.

It’s one part of the world where sexy, deep and uplifting progressive house music is still being consistently spun. Okay, the minimal craze has reached this hemisphere as well, but it hasn’t been at the expense of the music we love the most.

Three artists that are responsible for the maintenance of the best electronic music on the planet are Hernan Cerbello, Max Cagliero and Paul Dolan. I’ve only been lucky enough to meet Paul in person, but because of our deep passion for the music they choose to showcase; all three have lifetime membership in the bringthebeats brotherhood.

The sets below contain all the elements of a perfect club event. They have groove, they have funk, build, pace and grit. The tracks are fresh and there’s a depth that just doesn’t exist in the other genres of EDM.

I cannot suggest a better way to impress before and after your Canada Day parties… blaze these beats loud!!

Download (left-click and unzip):
Hernan Cerbello – Upcoming – June 19, 2008
Max Cagliero - Max Caglieros Laboratory – June 20, 2008
Paul Dolan – Promo Mix – Abril 2008

Soon to be superstar DJ / producer Jim Rivers has a lot of hype around him lately. With the launch of his new imprint Misfit Records late last year and an appearance on Diggers’ Kiss FM earlier this year, Jim seems to be on the verge of busting out all over the scene very, very soon.

Like all of today’s new breed, Jim utilizes a wide array of sounds within his sets. Often very techy, but consistently funky, his music definitely has a distinct edge. A production partner of Paolo Mojo, you can definitely hear a correlation in their styles.

I came across this promo pack on his MySpace and have been blazing it from minute one. It contains two parts, one live and one studio; like all promos should be. Both mixes are super tight and extremely well programmed. If they weren’t labeled live and studio, you wouldn’t know which was which, a mark of a very special talent.

Download (left-click and unzip):
CD1 – Jim Rivers – Live at Club Vinyl – June 2008
CD2 – Jim Rivers – Studio Mix – Summer 2008

We close out this absolutely mad month of amazing promo sets with mixes from two of our all time favourites. Dory and Lucas Abadi are mainstays on this site and in our stereos. Each with a distinct sound, these two sets produce a similar vibe and of course, are of the highest quality.

Dory’s profile continues to expand with high profile gigs and a continuous stream of fantastic promo mixes that are always beautifully packaged by her representatives at Listed Bookings in LA. Her most notable appearance in ‘08 was at the WMC when Dory and Naveen G opened for the SOS Twilight on the Tiki boat cruise which was featured on Ministry of Sound TV.

This two-hour mix fuses her signature tech-house sound with progressive programming and even some funkier elements. We love her versatility and can’t wait to host her here in Toronto; which will be sooner rather than later… stay tuned.

Download (left-click and unzip):
Dory – Promo Mix – May 2008

Lucas Abadi has come through with one of the best mixes of 2008 so far and maybe our favourite all time from him. This is cutting edge music. And talk about fresh, Lucas continues to find the most incredible tracks. Whether they’re hot off the presses or passed over gems, he programs a mix as well as anyone in house music today.

It kills us that Lucas lives so far south because we’re dying to bring him to Toronto as soon as possible. With more sets like this he’ll force us to get it done, again sooner rather than later. For now, he’s blazing the beaches of Brazil on a regular basis and has began working on his first original tracks. I can only imagine the bliss that will come from his production.

Download (left-click and unzip):
Lucas Abadi – Promo Mix – May 2008

Kaspius & Jacob Jeffs are a young - and I mean super young duo - based out of Lithuania. These two emerging talents, who are still in their teens, have more going on than most vets in the industry.

They are part of the Twisted Motions promotions team pushing fresh house sounds throughout the Baltic States and Jacob has hosted his own weekly radio show and has been featured on globally recognized stations including Hungary’s Justmusic.fm. Jacob is also affiliated with Brown Eyed Boyz Records, which has had the support of Luke, Desyn, Jody, Hernan and certainly many more.

The mix we’re hosting below is on the funkier tip; however, they delve into some more hard hitting sounds as well. Kaspius & Jacob Jeffs are definitely a duo to watch out for and undoubtedly one we’ll feature on bringthebeats again.

Download (left-click and unzip):
Kaspius & Jacob Jeffs – Promo Mix – May 2008

Staying with the groovier styles, we’ve managed to get a hold of another sexy promo from our mate in Ottawa, Danny Kay. Danny’s a Ph.D Candidate in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, so he obviously doesn’t always have the time to put together mixes. But when he does, they always suit our tastes perfectly.

The smart ones always put together the most calculated sets (i.e. Naveen G). And when the track selection is timely for the season, as this one is for the warm weather that is finally creeping our way, the end result is a mix that we have no troubles leaving on repeat.

We’ve fallen in love with Danny’s energy on the dance floor and we can’t wait to be able to channel some of it in the booth one day. For now we’ll have to settle with his recorded promos, which are always a fantastic substitute.

Download (left-click and unzip):
Danny Kay – bringthebeats – May 2008

If you’re into progressive beats, man do we have a treat for you. Fellow Canuck Greg Benz has provided an exclusive 75 minute mix that exemplifies what the progressive genre is all about.

In pure Aurium style, Greg has touched down on a plethora of sound. From signature melodies to mega bomb floor fillers, this mix proves that Greg is still very much on top of things despite having so much going down in his life right now.

Greg and his hometown crew have recently taken their artistic talents to another level by opening a screen printing business in the heart of London Ontario’s stylish Richmond Row. They’re showcasing their illustrative gifts within some spectacular clothing and accessory designs and seemingly making a pretty penny in the process.

Add Fresh Ink Apparel to Greg’s DJing and production resume as part of Benz&MD, and Benzy has to be one of the hardest working, most successful entrepreneurs we know. We’re damn lucky to get such a slick mix from such a cool guy.

Download (left-click and unzip):
Greg Benz – bringthebeats – May 2008

One crew we’ve been super impressed with over the last year is the guys from Harem Records in Montreal. The digital label started by Sultan and Ned Shepard in January has become known the world over with consistent Beatport Top 10’s in their first four releases.

Sultan recently compiled an exclusive promo for Mercuryserver’s 6th Anniversary. You can download it from their anniversary page along with sets from Chloe Harris, Taucher and Gustavo di Tomaso. If don’t have an [ms] account, trust us it’s worth it to get one, 90% of the music we download from the web comes from this forum.

I talk to Harem artist Maher Daniel on a daily basis and am lucky enough to get some sneak peaks of his stellar production and mixes. He recently put together a super bad ass tech-house set for the Space Miami DJ contest second round. He’s holding it back for the contest but he’s served up another on the techy tip, quite the contrast from the housier vibe you hear in his In Demand submission from earlier this year.

Download (left-click and unzip):
Maher Daniel - Something from Something

Ned’s set is a product of the gold mind that is the [ms] Promos & Recommendations section mentioned above. The mix originates from the progresshouse.com progcast and is aptly named as it’s pure progressive house perfection, a rare find in the commercial electro / minimal world we’re living in right now.

Download (left-click and unzip):
Ned Shepard - Progcast 101

We’re working incredibly hard to have some bringthebeats promoted Harem Sessions here in Toronto. Hopefully we’ll be able to sort something out soon because as you’ll hear from these mixes, this is Canadian talent worth talking about.

Nial Kirk has been providing us with sexy house mixes for a few years now. Each and everyone is a joy to receive, as they often come in a timely manner, right when we’re at our wits end with dark and plodding beats. This mix stays true to form, it’s smooth, sensual and funky, exactly what sooths our soul.

Download (left-click and unzip):
Niall Kirk- Spring Promo Mix - 2008

Late last year Jesse Potts added bringthebeats to the Recient Records promo list. Admittedly single tracks get lost in the shuffle for us, as we’ve always been a mixed set kind of site. However, we always make the effort to download any promo we receive and the Recient sound has intrigued us quite often.

But maybe even more impressive is Jesse’s passion and the number of releases coming through the label. I knew someone influence by the likes of Slam, Sasha & Digweed and the early days of the Toronto scene at Industry would produce a wicked promo set if we could ever get a hold of one, and we were right. Here’s a fabulous two-hour bringthebeats debut from Jesse Potts.

Download (left-click and unzip):
Jesse Potts – Promo Mix – April 2008

And then there were three. Another absolutely fantastic mix has been dedicated to the new bringthebeats, and go figure it’s from another Luc… Lucas Abadi!!

As with Luke Morrison and Luke Fair, Lucas has littered us with fantastic funky house sets throughout the years. And exactly like our Canadian Luke’s, this Argentinean is one of the coolest cats we’ve met in the business. This mix came our way at the beginning of our WMC trip and was blazed in our condo over and over and over again.

We felt guilty for not getting to the promos that were handed to us in Miami immediately, but we just couldn’t get enough of this fine, fine 70 minutes. I distinctively remember moments where both Luke Fair and I cut off conversations in mid sentence to point out sickening portions that needed instant attention. I guarantee you will do the same.

Download (left-click and unzip):
Lucas Abadi - bringthebeats - March 2008

Virtually from the very beginning bringthebeats has had two very special Luke’s in its life. Luke Fair and Luke Morrison have supported us from day one and we’ve always been hyped to spread the love when it comes to their music.

The Luke’s have a lot in common. They’re both veterans in the Canadian club scene, with Luke Fair’s beginnings here in Toronto and Luke Morrison a long standing force behind dance music in Edmonton, Alberta.

Both are extremely successful in their chosen career paths. Of course Mr. Fair has achieved global recognition as a DJ, producer and fierce fantasy sports GM. And Mr. Morrison has become a legendary west coast underground talent and is only a few months away from being a full fledged lawyer in a big fancy firm.

But in the end, our undying respect for Luke Fair and Luke Morrison stems from their music. Time and again these guys come through with mixes that melt our hearts and move our feet. You can only imagine how pumped we were to be able to score exclusive promos from them both to launch the newest version of bringthebeats.

So without further ado, here are the beats. Thanks so much Luke times two, we owe you both big time.

Download (left-click and unzip):
Luke Fair - bringthebeats - March 2008
Luke Morrison - bringthebeats - March 2008

Argentina is full of wicked under the radar talents and Max Cagliero is right at the top of this list. His mixes continuously rock, with a Dubby Progressive House sound that absolutely gets the chugga rolling. This is most definitely a name to watch out for.

Of course I found this and another killer Warung Waves mix in the mercuryserver Promos and Recommendations section.

Download (left-click and unzip):
Max Cagliero - September 2007 Promo

I first heard the tatted up Emjae at the Sick Watona party in Miami, and then again at Porterhouse where he ripped a hole right out of the middle of the dance floor. His pumping Electro, Disco Funk style of House is super friendly to the dance floor. I found this and other very cool sets on www.organictheory.com.

Download (left-click and unzip):
Emjae - Organic Sessions 015