Music styles are constantly evolving and in the early ‘90s a new form of dance music was to begin its assault on the UK music scene. It took inspiration from drum & bass, jungle, urban and popdance vibes to create a new sound called garage! Despite a growing audience, it wasn't until the latter part of the decade when Garage music really took off with artists including Craig David, Artful Dodger and Tina Moore all scoring huge hits. As the music style continued to grow it saw spin-off styles including 2-step, speed garage and grime, but it's mainstream garage that saw the most success, both with the buying public and mainstream DJs.
Music often works in cycles, what may be fashionable for a period can find itself out of date very quickly, but occasionally a genre will come back and influence a new era of DJs and audiences, which is very much the case for garage music. Artists including AJ Tracey, Aitch and Jorja Smith have all recently released tracks using a UK garage sound and enjoyed huge chart success, and there have been a number of classic garage hits like 'Flowers' and 'Bodygroove' that have been re-worked for a whole new audience with many searching for more of the same and often enjoying tracks that their parents grew up with.
As with most music genres, there are some tracks that will stand the test of time and sound as good now as they did when originally released and the garage genre is no exception. Today’s audiences still enjoy tracks like 'Re-Rewind' , 'Do You Really Like It' and 'Never Gonna Let You Go' that are perfect as part of any dance set or to complement a modern set that includes tracks and artists who are influenced by the garage scene. Many DJs reading this will already be playing a large number of garage tracks for their audiences, whether classic, modern or a combination of both.
It's an infectious music style that effortlessly creates a unique atmosphere when played and I use it often on my events. Using popular garage anthems alongside forgotten gems can offer both you and your audiences a unique music experience with many guests appreciating the throwback to their 'clubbing days' or being introduced to new songs that complement the tracks they know. Whilst it's good DJ practice to play the big hits, I find dropping a few rare gems into your set is often greeted with huge appreciation from those on the dancefloor and can be the difference when it comes to standing out amongst other DJs.
The DJ Playlist: By Richard Lee Richard is the Label Manager for Mastermix and heads up the development team for The Music Factory Entertainment Group but still finds time to DJ at selected events across the UK & Europe. Presents : GARAGE ANTHEMS live entertainment equipment, catering to DJs, live venues and touring entertainers. ProMobile - KAM ad.qxp_Layout 1 12/02/ 11:32 Page 1 1 \ \ Bodygroove (Mix MC Version) – Architechs 2 \ \ Movin' Too Fast – Artful Dodger feat.
Romina Johnson 3 \ \ Re-Rewind – Artful Dodger feat. Craig David 4 \ \ Girls Like Us – B15 Project 5 \ \ Gotta Get Thru This (D'N'D Radio Edit) – Daniel Bedingfield 6 \ \ What Y ou Want – Industry Standard 7 \\ Fill Me In – Craig David 8 \ \ Gabriel (Live Garage Mix) – Roy Davis Jr 9 \ \ A Little Bit Of Luck – DJ Luck & MC Neat 10 \ \ Masterblaster 2000 – DJ Luck & MC Neat 11 \ \ Do Y ou Really Like It? – DJ Pied Piper & the Masters of Ceremonies 12 \ \ Straight From The Heart (Radio Edit) – Doolally 13 \ \ Buddy X '99 (Dreem House Edit) – Dreem Team x Neneh Cherry 14 \ \ Try Me Out – Sunship feat.
Anita Kelsey 15 \ \ Y ou Used To Hold Me (Original) – Scott & Leon 16 \ \ R U Sleeping – Indo 17 \ \ Garage Girls – Lonyo 18 \ \ Crazy Love – MJ Cole 19 \ \ Why? (UK Garage MC Radio Edit) – Mis-Teeq 20 \ \ Sorry (I Didn't Know) (Original Radio Edit) – Monsta Boy 21 \ \ Never Gonna Let Y ou Go (Kelly G Bump-N-Go Vocal Edit) – Tina Moore 22 \ \ Sweet Like Chocolate – Shanks & Bigfoot 23 \ \ Thong Song (Artful Dodger Remix) – Sisqo 24 \ \ 21 Seconds – So Solid Crew 25 \ \ Has It Come To This? – Streets 26 \ \ Flowers (Sunship Radio Edit) – Sweet Female Attitude 27 \ \ My Love (So Good) (10 Below Club Mix) – 10 Below & Kele Le Roc 28 \ \ Babycakes – 3 Of A Kind 29 \ \ Sambuca (Original Mix) – Wideboys feat.
Dennis G 30 \ \ Battle – Wookie Garage Anthems Legally download all of these tracks for just £6.50 from: [Using code: PMCC69] : GARAGE ANTHEMS
