It’s been a massive 10 years since Ministry Of Sounds The Annual compilation first bowed in the stereos and Discmans (LOL) of Australian dance music fans, setting the pace for commercial EDM compilations with a wide-reaching but quality-controlled offering that would become the standard for its, um, annual editions.

In 2011 we’ve now got the 10th Anniversary of the series which has been thrust back into the safe hands of old favourites Mark Dynamix and John Course to steer the ship and to do justice such a milestone ITM cornered the two DJs for a chat session which then evolved into some one-on-one talk between the two DJs, both keen to discuss what’s changed over the last decade in dance music and in Australian clubs. Read on!

What does returning to The Annual for its 10th anniversary celebration feel like to you both?

JC: “It’s hard to believe it’s been going for ten years, but it feels good to go through all those classics and also to be asked to work on it.”

MD: “I’ve had a fairly long break from doing mix compilations over the last three years, so getting down to a full length retail mix again, feels good; especially when there’s the prospect of touring Australia again.”

In what ways do you think it has grown since the first compilation in the series?

MD: “I think the series evolves – I mean, it’s always been a big release every year since 2001, so the latest Annuals are continuing this trend; but musically it evolves into different styles every year. Back in 2001, we were heralding progressive house and tech-trance to the masses… now it’s on a different tip altogether.10 years on from the first Annual release in Australia I think that now is a good time to look back and take stock of where Australia has been musically. Whilst getting ready for the upcoming tour I’ve been sorting through thousands of 12” vinyls and CDs and have been constantly reminded of a place and time that relates to each record I’ve found. It’s good to look back and remind yourself of where you’ve been and what you were listening to (*or still do!). Everyone loves the music they grew up with.

JC: “I wasn’t involved when it started, but from knowing about it and looking at it now I think it’s grown to be a real snapshot of the summer. The Annual has grown to be one of those CDs that LOTS of people buy.”

What sort of position and status does The Annual hold for both you guys and clubbers in 2011, ten years on, do you think?

JC: “I feel The Annual is the best indication of Australian clubbing through the summer. If a leftfield song grows out of the underground it will likely be on The Annual, likewise the biggest things from established producers. A good example is Out My Bitch by T-Rek. This grew out of the underground Melbourne scene and was handed to me at Revolver. I loved it and wanted it on The Annual. Overall I think The Annuals manage to catch that relevant Australian clubbing vibe better than many other mix CDs do and certainly better than many of the imported mix CDs.”

MD: “The same as it ever was – it doesn’t pretend to be outright underground…. it’s a collection of the most popular mainstream tracks from the year past, mixed by Australia’s current top DJ’s.”

The Annual really has a strong brand and connection with listeners who look to it to be informed about trends in dance music, how much weight of responsibility does that put on you to make it…good?

MD: “Ever since day one, I’ve always been insistent that we have to include those tracks that are a little left of centre…and not to just make the compilation a CD of hits. It’s those quirky tracks and one-offs that make a DJ mix unique in my view. Mixing wise, you always do the best you can in the time allotted and wherever possible I layer and sample tracks within the mix to add some creativity.”

JC: “Well, The Annual is not an underground CD but as far as representing emerging music it is where many people first hear about a new acts. As DJ’s who are part of the team who select the music we feel it’s essential to ensure new things are part of it and balanced with the bigger more well-known stuff. The Annuals’ tracklistings generally recognise when a sound, style or artist first gets noticed outside of their own world. Annuals have a mix of underground, crossover, big room and back room music, from tech to house to straight up club and at times the odd breaks tune, or trance-ish track or indie dance track, depending on what is emerging at the time, so it’s also a very flexible CD which we always make an effort to keep balanced between all these different sorts of tracks. Having that as a priority and some very healthy debates on tracks is what keeps the CD strong.”

Having been involved with it for so long, what trends and genre developments have you seen weave in and out of _The Annual and the greater EDM scene?

JC: “The first USB edition of The Annual was during my time mixing it but also the emergence of the general digital world of iTunes. It’s a basic fact that people consume music differently now than they did previously and The Annual has always adapted, be it with some interactive promo strategies, packaging or marketing. From a DJ side of things the actual mixing of it has changed dramatically with the emergence of very high quality computer based software to edit and mix on and for me I even delivered one of the mixes a few years ago by FedEx on a USB stick as I mixed it over about three days of DJing across Europe and sent it back from there.”

MD: “Back in 2001 when I did the first Annual, it really was mixed mostly off vinyl. The same vinyl I was taking out to the clubs and playing on the weekends; so there were clicks and pop and scratches that all had to be manually edited out. This used to take me a full week! I’d mix each track together with the next on your old standard DJ mixer and record it analogue onto the sound editor. Then I’d piece all the parts of the mixes I’d made together on the sound editor matching up individual beats and edit points to make it flow correctly. It was a fairly hectic undertaking to get it right. Sure, you could do the mix quickly in one take and record it, but I used to go over and over each segue to try and get the best take possible to edit into the final mix. Now of course, we have software like Ableton which you use to sequence and edit tracks digitally. It’s not necessarily an easier process, as the computer has its own way of doing things, but it’s more accurate and the editing of tracks (to make them all fit onto an 80 minute mix) is a much faster process. In regards to the music; well…you can see the developments just by looking at the tracklistings of the earlier Annuals compared to the latest ones. It all depends on your flavour as to whether you think music has developed for the better; I expect older clubbers will be into the earlier Annuals, whilst the younger clubbers will prefer the latest in the series. 2001’s Annual gave us: Fatboy Slim, Sander Kleinenberg, Laurent Garnier and Paul Van Dyk. 2006 gave us New Order, Freeform Five, Les Rhythmes Digitals and Mylo. 2010 gave us David Guetta, Calvin Harris, Bloody Beetroots and Crookers. I think the music speaks for itself.