| Renaissance: The Mix Collection | |||||
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| Compilation album by Sasha & John Digweed | |||||
| Released | 14 October 1994 | ||||
| Recorded | 1993 | ||||
| Genre | Progressive House | ||||
| Length | 225:32 | ||||
| Label | Renaissance Records | ||||
| Producer | Sasha, John Digweed | ||||
| Sasha & John Digweed chronology | |||||
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Renaissance: The Mix Collection is the first mix CD set by Sasha & John Digweed.
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [1] |
| This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information. | |
Contents |
Presented in a card Digi-Pack, the case unfolds into 4 faces; each CD section has a separate flap that folds over it, while the case packaging itself folds like a bible, continuing the Renaissance theme. Pictured on the front flap is a typical renaissance painting by Michelangelo, while a landscape portrait of a colleseum under a bright blue sky stretches inside the packaging. The CDs are arranged by colour; blue, orange, and green. The story behind Renaissance, the club, between 1992 and 1994 is written on top of the CD flaps. Due to the case's heavy faces only being held by card, it's rare to find an original completely intact from damage to the seams.
Renaissance: The Mix Collection is a mix of House and Trance of the early 1990s. The songs chosen were supposed to give the listener "an idea of what Renaissance was all about" (quoted from packaging). As suggested by the albums name, it was given the title "Renaissance" for two reasons. Firstly, it reflected a surge of Italian piano/funky house that was being mastered by the likes of Alexander Coe (Sasha) at the club "Renaissance" in Britain. But more importantly, "Renaissance" also stands for 'rebirth' or more freely, 'a time of change, and so with the dance music scene heavy on acid house up north, it gave the mature clubber a more brighter and beautiful outlook on what dance music 'should be'.
The album was mixed by Alexander Coe (aka Sasha) and John Digweed - both resident DJ's at Renaissance in 1994. Each CD reflects a different style of music - CD 1 (Blue) has a more 'Leftfield' sound to it. Stand-out tracks that mark 'high points' include the hit "Perfect Motion", and a high euphoric remix of Blade Runner's ending theme tune, simply titled 'Blade Runner'. This CD starts with a very clever mix between 3 versions of Leftfields 'Song For Life', which sets the tone for the first album.
The second CD (Orange) has a more funky theme to it. It can generally be said this is a house mix, though odd songs like 'Not Over Yet' by Grace can be seen as trance. This CD reflects best what Italian House was all about in a truly psychedelic, bouncy, and fun way. A rare 12" mix included is Kym Mazzelles 'Was That All It Was', which has been covered many times over, but the remix included on this album has a house feel to it. Out of the 3 CDs, the second CD is technically more varied in its mixing between songs than the other two.
The Third CD (Green) has a slightly darker, but at the same time more euphoric feel to it than the other 2 CDs, reflecting a typical club situation with a continuous build-up of tension until the end. In this case, the 2 DJ's progress to a goose-bump moment in which the albums highest point is met on 'Age of Love' - perhaps the finest example of what Renaissance, and this era was all about musically. With a more tech/synth sound to it, this CD sounds all the more powerful than the previous, leading up to its stunning ending.
In 2004, Renaissance reissued a remastered edition of the album for the 10th anniversary of its original release.
Both M People tracks were removed from this release and replaced with other contemporaneous dance singles: "Renaissance" with "Stand Above Me" by OMD, and "How Can I Love You More" with "I Can't Forget You" (Fathers of Sound Pleasure mix) by Anthony White. The changes were due to Copyright issues from the record labels.
The re-issued album is not a straight re-mastering, but a whole new session. Though the original blend sequences remain the same, as do all the original elements, Sasha and Digweed re-created the album using Apple G4 laptops in order to create, what they considered, a better quality version of the original mix, with recording techniques simply not available in 1994, as well as the advantage of crystal clear audio, and spatial separation of frequencies within the song, making it sound more dynamic.