Mix Up Look Sharp: The Best Mixes Of The Week

Our pick of the best mixes from the last 7 days.

None

Here at Complex, we understand the grind of listening to the best music each week. There's so much new music uploaded to every single platform, every single day, that following just one of your streams can become a dizzying, life-consuming task. To help you out on at least one front, each and every Friday, our music team will trawl the depths of the internet to bring you the best mixes from the past week. House, hip-hop and bass, grime, trap and techno—it'll all be represented in our picks to get you warmed up for the weekend. So let us do all the hard work; click through below and enjoy.

Darq E Freaker's Mix For The FADER

This year saw the release of Darq E Freaker's latest EP, ADHD; a five-track collection of ultra-frenetic, dizzying rave monsters. Still riding high on that intense buzz, Darq E Freaker's put together this mix that mirrors that heart-exploding energy with a blend of rap, grime and rave bangers. It's pretty full-on, with little in the way of respite, but who cares? Get gassed and get your rave on.

Will Horrocks' 'Phife Dawg Tribute' Mix For Gilles Peterson

2016 has been an absolute stinker, hasn't it? We've lost a tonne of beloved famous faces, not least of all A Tribe Called Quest's Phife Dawg. As soon as the news broke the internet was awash with outpourings of grief, tributes and hip-hop heads sharing deep cuts and little-known facts. The sheer range of people paying their respects from all walks of life stood as profound testament to the far-reaching legacy he leaves behind. One such tribute was this mix from Will Horrocks of LV fame who strikes a delicate balance of forgotten tracks, b-sides, album cuts and hits. It's no wonder the comments section is filled with comments like "that's a real 'essential mix'."

Jonny Dub's Mix For The Deep End Collective

Bringing the same energy that led him and the LEVELZ crew to victory at the Manchester Culture Clash, Jonny Dub comes with a predominantly D&B mix with smatterings of grime, hip-hop and various shades of bass music. Keep an eye out for highlights like Sam Binga and Om Unit's "Windmill Kick", Vince Staples' "Street Punks" and the new J:Kenzo single "Skatta". And you'll be pleased to hear his good friend Chimpo makes an appearance.

A.G's Mix For Outlook Festival

Another grime-based mix, this time from one of our grime DJs to watch—​A.G. With a line-up that boasts Stormzy, Damian Marley, Joey Bada$$ and Kano, this mix should give you a pretty solid reason to put A.G's name in that list of must-sees at Outlook Festival this year.

Roska's Mix For Clash

Dipping back into the UK funky and tribal house sounds of his formative years, Roska returns with devastating bass lines and hugely infectious drums while he builds the hype for his Bakongo alias—under which he recently released Grind on Mosca's Quadrants label.

Walton's '20/02/2016' Mix

Slippery UKG, icy synths and shifting, undulating rhythms courtesy of UK underground professor Walton. Anyone who's tracked his releases on Hyperdub, Tectonic and Keysound will be well aware of how trustworthy this guy is when it comes to challenging but club-ready beats.

Sian Anderson's Maxsta-Hosted 'Fuxx Sian' Mix For i-D

With Maxsta handling hosting duties, Sian Anderson launches her mix series with a whistlestop tour of grime's history. In Sian's words: "From the above releases (I ignored the stint he had with a few pop numbers when signed to a major label because... meh?) I put together a list of instrumentals I could hear him enjoying and vibzing too and got him down to host over the mix and spray a few bars. The Jamaican-Max accent over 'Functions On The Low' (Mischief remix) is my favourite part of this mix since he's actually from Sierra Leone." As for the title, she explains, "Fuxx Sian because I know this isn't very grime of me, but yeah I've created it anyway, for those who (like me) sometimes want to absorb grime and decipher bars in a different way."

Inkke's 'FWDK Memphis Rap' Mix

It's no secret the LuckyMe lot, and their extended circle of affiliates and friends, are huge hip-hop fans (and experts). Hudson Mohawke and S-Type have much-discussed—and impressive—rap credentials; but it's Inkke who blew us away this week with a crunchy cassette mix of Memphis hip-hop, both classics and sleepers. The selections themselves are fantastic snapshots into the scene's heyday, but it's the hiss and degradation of the tapes that jet you right back to the days of thumbing through cracked plastic casings to hear the codeine-warped fog that Memphis rap was so heavily drenched in. Make sure you check out the first Faded With Da Kittens beat tape from 2014.

Basic Rhythm's Mix For The Astral Plane

Anthony Hart, a name you might otherwise know as Imaginary Forces, has been a formidable influence on UK music ever since his first forays back in the late '90s, immersing himself in the jungle/hardcore scenes. He's hosted pirate radio shows, released mind-expanding electronica and, recently, stepped out as Basic Rhythm last year to release the Raw Trax album on John Twells' Type label. His work as Basic Rhythm is certainly more club-friendly than the Imaginary Forces material, but the two personas feel more like two sides of the same coin than separate entities. Both draw on the annals of rave history for influence but the outputs of both are new and entirely separate.

Mosca's Mix For Solid Steel Radio

The joy of Mosca's sets (and indeed his regular NTS show) has always been the palpable sense of enthusiasm he pours into it. You can almost hear the hours spent sifting through his collection, through record shops and through records he's been sent. As he explains, however, maintaining that enthusiasm isn't always easy. "I still remember when a producer first sent me some unreleased tunes. I was still starting out as a DJ, I'd put on some club nights in a couple of cities, I was doing pirate sessions—early days. The feeling of those dubs was amazing, it felt like I was on a new level of this game. Nowadays, I get sent hundreds of promos and unfortunately it feels more of a chore sifting through them all than the pleasure it once was. But hitting up some of my favourite producers recently for this mix, I got the feeling back."

Latest in Music