WARMER MIXTAPES #539 | by Lee Webster

1. Lord Finesse | Check The Method
Hip Hop from the 90s was definitive of the genre. It will never be the same and I wouldn't want it to, that's the Golden Era and there it shall stay. I can listen to jams from this decade back to back for hours, endless head-nod boom-bap beats will have your neck snapping like a turtle. For me, Lord Finesse as a lyricist and producer contributed to the sound that defines this Golden Era more than any other. His style of rapping was Old Skool, he had flow and punchlines and that's how I like it. His beats were simple but full of vibes, and that to me is what making good Music is all about. This track in particular is, in my opinion, one of his best.

2. The Jimi Hendrix Experience | Red House
This could of been one of many tracks by Hendrix because the man is obviously one of the greatest musicians ever to walk the planet, I don't need to state the obvious. Jimi embodies passion in a way so pure and almost God-like it rarely fails to make everything else look pretty mediocre. I don't know what else I can say about him other than, make sure your children know who he is and they will turn out fine. Also watch the Woodstock director's cut and watch the expressions on the faces in the crowd as he goes off on a solo with ends in an off-key rendition of the national anthem. It's EXACTLY like Back II The Future where Marty plays that solo at the prom but goes to far and people are lost for words.

3. Medway | Resurrection
(On -8 pitch)... It's important that you play this record pitched down, I find myself pushing the pitch fader lower and lower every time I play this. It's synth break-down after the intro drops you into an ocean of tripped-out chords, pulsing over each other until the beat drops with its deep kick and bouncing bass, it's incredible if played at the right time. This record was on Hooj Choons if I remember rightly, I don't have much else from the label but this little gem found its way to me by accident while I was looking for something else and since then its been my secret little treat.

4. Scott Garcia | A London Thing (feat. MC Styles) (London Mix)
This is the best Garage track ever made. I LOVE the vibes on this. Before this track I didn't really get House Music. It's so Underground and remains so, in spirit, even after its brief commercial outing during the Pop days of Garage. Scott Garcia captures the Pirate Radio vibe that I love and am constantly trying to re-create in my own productions. A true classic for me that never gets old, I often find myself referencing this after a session just to remind myself of what kind of simplicity and bounce I should be aiming for with my own music.

5. Solid State | Just A Vision (Marcus Intalex & ST Files Remix)
I love Drum & Bass. There was a time in my life when it was everything to me, I guess I moved away from it a little in the recent years but still very much miss the raw energy that comes with it. Marcus Intalex is an amazing producer, How You Make Me Feel is another little gem from that rarely leaves my record box. Just listen to these tracks, even of you're not into Drum & Bass I'm sure you can catch the vibes…

6. Gregorythme | Isola
This is trippy Deep House at its best. It's for those special moments when Music speaks a language more appropriate than words, a time when conversation fades into irrelevance and all ears tune in, everything floats away and you become an Isola… This track came on one night in a mix just at the right time to catch me off guard and in a rather cliché way, touched me. It was an after party, must of been 11am and everybody was starting to zone-out a bit, I was sat in front of someone who wouldn't stop talking and this track came on and literally stole my attention to the point where I forgot where I was in space-time. True story.

7. Schmoov! | Playground
Amazing track. This is one of the most perfect tracks ever. If there was ever a track that I wish I made, it's this. Its atmospheric beginning gives way to a deep, funky bass line as children's mutterings ride over the spacey atmosphere like a misty dream. I love it, infact Schmoov! make a lot more of these. Their music makes me feel like I'm floating through space on a fucking banana, in a good way.

8. Klashnekoff | Its Murda
A UK Hip Hop track by Klashnekoff of the Terra Firma crew. This track is pure London slang, lots of rowdy talk - it's not what you would typically class as positive Hip Hop perhaps but since when does that matter when describing Hip Hop I ask myself… If I have to walk through a scary place this is the soundtrack playing in my head, it instantly gives me an expression like Yeah? And what you gonna do you c*nt?... I was torn between this and Parrowdice feat. Terra Firma crew which is also sick.

9. Nightmares On Wax | Les Nuits
I don't really know how to describe this song. If Music is Therapy then this is a Miracle Cure. It's so chilled, melancholic but with an undertone of everything's gonna be ok though floating through its notes. If prisons played this into peoples cells at night, nobody would re-offend. Also this track is perfect to wake up to in the morning.

10. Other People | Various
This track doesn't exist, but it's on my list to represent all the tracks I fall in love with every day and can't fit onto a list of top tens. My ears are slutty, they fall in love constantly and very often do not remain monogamous. So this last one is to represent all the tracks being made by extremely dope producers, you know who you are...