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Forest Drive West – TMS.456

  • Post Date
    Sat Dec 17 2022
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I remember reading about Forest Drive West in Resident Advisor a fair few years ago, a Computer Science teacher in London, as if he was the next hottest DJ – and we know that Resident Advisor are sometimes well ahead of the game, but at other times talking up absolute trash.

On Forest Drive West, they were well ahead of the game, as he is well ahead of the music game.

Somehow managing to make excellent jungle, forward-thinking techno and also dabbling with ambient – apparently he can put down a track in a couple of hours. That is quite some impressive productivity.

Especially considering the output – Static is probably my favourite track of Forest Drive West’s, released before the Resident Advisor article, but still they were well ahead of me. And I listen to a lot of new music.

Anyway, onto this mix, which showcases at least some sides of Forest Drive West.

It’s a patient and clever start to the mix, teasing as though it might flip into a jungle mix, but keeping the suspense so you don’t really know if that is the direction, or it is going into techno, or staying in this suspense-filled offbeat style for the whole 89 minutes.

I don’t want to give too much away, but in terms of suspense it peaks with S. English’s 1111 (on the wonderful LIES) before some form of unleash.

There are some really quality tracks on this mix, but really the mix is greater than the sum of its parts – this is why mixing is a thing, to be able to construct absorbing whole pieces as this mix from Forest Drive West.

Some people won’t get it, some people won’t give it a chance – but for those that do appreciate, you’ll love this mix.

Enjoyment rating of 7.97.

TRAX MAGAZINE · TMS.456 FOREST DRIVE WEST