Okay then children, quiet at the back please. If you’re sitting comfortably, then I’ll begin… Once upon a time, there was a young boy named Timmy Trumpet, who liked to combine his passion for DJing with his prowess on the instrument of his sobriquet. Timmy came from a place called Alliteration City, where he always liked to hang out with his mates Tommy Trombone, Fanny Flute, and Billy Bugle, and where there were cool cars, animated animals, tall trees, and pleasant people. One day, Timmy awoke to find that Postman Pat had delivered him a letter. Hardly able to contain his excitement (as Timmy rarely received any post), he ripped open the letter to find an invite from Ibiza institution Pacha, asking him to mix their latest release. He immediately got down to work, selecting some of the very best house and electro tracks around at the time. The problem for Timmy, however, was that in mixing a CD for such an overtly commercial release, he had to bow to the demands of the market and include some of the very worst house and electro as well.

Timmy’s mix started in great fashion with one of his own productions, a delicate slice of deep house called Sunset, but then the mood was completely destroyed with Steve Aoki’s woeful I’m in the House. Remember children, swearing in songs isn’t clever, it’s just rude. Fortunately, Timmy managed to get his mix back on track with some uplifting tunes from Sam La More, Ida Corr, Deadmau5, and David Guetta, but then the wheels fell off again with the expletive-heavy Who Da F**k from Schenetti vs Rivaz. Timmy redeemed himself with the inclusion of the shimmering Closer to the Sun by Robbie Rivera and the sensuous Stay Close by Tommy Trash, but when he resorted to dropping Vandalism’s scratchy electro cut She Got It, no one was amused in the slightest. There was much enjoyment to be had with the mighty Christian Luke remix of Zoe Badwi’s In the Moment, which seemed to add another magical level to the original, and everyone found it hard to resist the bouncy trance charms of Chicane’s Sigur Ros-referencing Poppiholla, but ultimately, that just wasn’t enough to save the mix. Timmy’s mix contained some interesting moments, but the overall impression was one of a largely uninspiring journey through some of the more commercial dance tracks. So then children, I guess you’re wondering what the moral of this story is? Well… there isn’t one really, other than maybe don’t give yourself a toy-town DJ name, otherwise some know-all who thinks they can write will review your mix in the style of a pseudo-kid’s story.

Right then, back to reality, as Sydney gal and international Pacha ambassador Sarah Main has a normal name, and I don’t think I have the space left to waste another two paragraphs on something semi-fictitious. It’s always fun listening to Sarah’s mixes. While she follows a similar commercial path to Timmy here, as always she manages to fuse the more well-known tracks with the less familiar to create something intriguing and captivating. A subtle remix of La Roux’s Bulletproof gets things started, and then the disco-infused We’re All Clean from Joris Voorn and the pop-house of Dirty South’s We Are increase the pace a notch. There’s a delicious remix of The Temper Trap’s Sweet Disposition that drips with charm and sophistication, and Chicane pops up again with Hiding All the Stars, which splices Gary Numan’s Cars with some ethereal female vocals. Mark Knight’s electro re-work of Chic’s disco classic Good Times is a little flat, but balanced is restored with the rolling, euphoric intensity of Matan Caspi’s Sunshine in My Mind. The re-make of Livin’ Joy’s Dreamer seems pointless, in that it’s vastly inferior to the original, but again things soon come good, this time with TV Rock’s surging In the Air, which gets a tweaking courtesy of Luke Chable. The remix of Morgan Page’s Fight for You is an absolute gem of progressive, melodic house, a beautiful vocal surrounded by layers of lush synths and atmospheric effects, while the mix draws to a close with Mobin Master’s funky update of Livin’ Joy’s other big hit Don’t Stop Movin’. Overall, yet another impressive, consistent, and balanced set from Sarah Main that is certainly worth exploring, with a nice mix of beats, vocals, and melodies.

The third disc is mixed by South African duo Goldfish. Prior to getting hold of this, they hadn’t featured at all on my dance music radar, but I’m impressed by what they have done here. The sleeve notes describe them as an “electronica phenomenon” in their home country, coming from a jazz background, fusing bits of deep house, funky house, chill-out, and electro, winning various awards, and travelling the globe to play alongside the world’s biggest DJs. With this mix, they’ve eschewed the commercialism that characterises the other two discs, and opted for something a little more eclectic. Of the sixteen tracks in the mix, six are their own productions, which may be a little self-indulgent, but for the most part, their material is good stuff. The understated Timmy Trumpet remix of the duo’s This is How it Goes introduces the mix in a deep house, electro-infused manner, while the dusky hues of the synth-driven La Vida from Carlos Jimenez lend a slightly sinister, edgy tone to proceedings. A few jazz vibes ripple through the percussive textures of Goldfish’s Wet Welly, and then the boys drop the driving, progressive, tribal Dino Moran remix of their track Coming Home to take the mix to a higher level. Another remixed Goldfish track, Fort Knox, then twists things in the direction of fuzzed-up electro, and then it’s into powering house territory with their remixed Soundtracks and Comebacks. Bob Marley’s Sun is Shining gets a nice, bouncing dance makeover, while Switching Lights by Nicolas Ojesto is an irresistible piece of shimmering vocal house. Things get a little funky with Rob Nigro’s bass-heavy Hold On, and there’s a respectable update of Candi Staton’s house classic You Got the Love with Andrew Roachford on vocals. The mix draws to a close with two sublime, soulful, deep house tracks from Kiko Navarro, and then in complete contrast, there’s a slamming breakbeat-style remix of Goldfish’s Cruising Through to finish things off. As you’ve probably worked out, there’s quite a mix of styles on here, but rather than being a confusing mess, the whole mix hangs together nicely, and certainly represents a fine alternative to the other two discs.

All up, this is a release worth checking out. It’s probably a bit too commercial in places for some tastes, but then with the Pacha name emblazoned across a picture of two girls sucking on cherries in a provocative manner, you’d expect nothing less. For its sheer uniqueness, the Goldfish disc stands out, and you kind of wish more releases of this type included such an idiosyncratic mix. Saying that, it’s always good to hear some commercial dance, and there’s certainly lots of that on offer here, and in that respect, the Sarah Main disc works best.