I like it when we get these mixes in from Azonica. Those of you that have seen him play or have downloaded his BITS mix will know that both his selection and mixing ability is top draw. However, it would seems that even this isn’t enough to get him the kind of recognition he would like.

Being a nosey bugger, I wanted to find out more, not only about the mix but also Azonica’s views on the Oxford music scene right now.

Why did you do this mix?

There is a lot of really good DnB around at the moment, and I like to do a mix every month or so to showcase the kind of tunes I’m into in the moment. Like most music scenes, the DnB scene is fickle, I don’t want to sound big headed but I think this is a pretty decent mix. If it was by someone who was more ‘in’ than me at the moment it would get a lot more feedback and listens. I guess I’m just not flavour of the month at the moment. Maybe I’ve become a little detached from the Oxford music scene recently as I’ve been concentrating on work and other commitments. It’s annoying because every promoter who downloads the set always says they really like it but will only give me a set at their night if I offer them a set at HQ in return. Sometimes I just wish people would book me on my DJing rather than my association with HQ, it kind of makes me wonder about my ability as a DJ sometimes.

I think it would be fair to say that that fickleness runs through most music scenes. However, it is a shame when the output isn’t able to speak for itself. So, more about your August mix, how would you describe it?

Moody would be the first word that springs to mind. I really love the moody and minimal sound that is coming out in DnB at the moment from people like Sabre, Data, Icicle and Survival. It’s just stripped out, beats and bass just like it should be for me personally.

Nice, and with that in mind, which tunes stand out for you?

Data - Blowpipe, definitely. Just minimal rawness. The D Bridge remix of Plastic Soul is a great tune also, the breakdown sounds like it should be something out of the soundtrack for the Judgement Day war in Terminator and I love that.

Haha, cool. Well, the mix is wicked, no question. So tell the good people you there what’s on the menu for HQ?

We’re got a really good second half of the year coming up, we’re keeping some of the line ups under wraps but they are ones that we’re really excited about and are sure everyone else is going to be excited about too. We’re really happy with where HQ is at at the moment, its hard promoting it sometimes because all three of us lead really busy lives and Manik and myself live outside of Oxford but we feel we do our best. Our next couple of shows are Total Science (Fri 29th August) & Alix Perez (Friday 26th September) at The Cellar Bar, Oxford.

Tracklisting:

1. Shy FX - Plastic Soul (D Bridge Remix) [Digital Soundboy]
2. Data - Blowpipe [Lucky Devil]
3. Sabre & Icicle - Sentry [Renegade Hardware]
4. Survival - Day Light [Audio Tactics]
5. Spectrasoul - Baby Steps [Dub]
6. Calibre - Sokitume [Signature]
7. System - Near Miss [Digital Soundboy]
8. Commix - Talk To Frank (Break Remix) [Metalheadz]
9. Survival - The Beginning [Critical]
10. Adam F - Metropolis [Metalheadz]
11. D Bridge - Morning Dawn [Exit]
12. Breakage - Clarendon VIP [Digital Soundboy]
13. Break - Vanishing Point [Eastside]
14. Nymfo & Proxima - Knock Knock [Frequency]
15. Sabre - Afro Infinate [Dub]
16. Ryme Tyme - We Enter (Optical Remix v2.0) [No U Turn]
17. Cern - Gods Song [DSM]
18. Break - Splash Step [Quarantine]
19. Calibre - Beat Goes On [Signature]

Download: Azonica - August 2008 Mix