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EDITORIAL > THE MOST ‘ESSENTIAL’ MIXES - A MEMORY LANE OF BBC RADIO 1’S ESSENTIAL MIX SERIES
THE MOST ‘ESSENTIAL’
MIXES - A MEMORY
LANE OF BBC RADIO 1’S
ESSENTIAL MIX SERIES
BY: ELLIE MULLINS PC: BBC RADIO 1
ince its inception in October of 1993, the BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix has become the holy grail of
radio DJ decks, the one mix to present that every artist - no matter big or small - sees as a huge
honour to be able to do. Presented by Pete Tong, he also was the first artist to do the Essential Mix, and
over the years has done countless more. It would be easier to name which artist hasn’t been part of
the two hour show than who has, and in celebration of its historic run so far, we’re looking back upon
S some of the best ones from older years.
“The BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix has become the holy grail of radio DJ decks”
1993 - PETE TONG
You can’t make a list of some of the best & most iconic Essential Mixes without talking about
the very first one, the one to kickstart it all. As the host and also an established DJ, it makes
sense for Pete Tong to get the honour of being the very first to grace the golden decks.
1994 - PAUL OAKENFOLD
Back in 2018 for the show’s 25th anniversary, Pete Tong along with BBC News recounted some
of his favourite moments and mixes from the past years, and Paul Oakenfold’s 1994 Goa mix
was included in the list to no surprise. Back then, he truly pushed the boundaries of what an
artist could do with their mixes, being free from the boundaries of trying to create just any
crowd-pleasing club set. Even including film soundtracks in the mix, he set the foundations
to show artists what they could create on a radio show. In a biography written by Richard
Norris, Oakenfold himself said: “I think [the Goa mix] really opened the doors for a lot of people,
because it took the underground sound and played it on mainstream radio. Oakenfold fans
weren’t expecting to hear it; they were expecting to hear melodic trance, and I just completely
banged it. Psychedelic trance was something that I was really into, and I thought it gave me a
good vehicle to showcase what I can do.”
1997 - DAFT PUNK
Famously and introduced to the mix by Pete Tong as “two French blokes,” this mix was done
before the duo fully exploded and became the ultimate household names. It was by the end
of this same year that their names held some weight, and everyone knew exactly who they
were. Fresh off the release of the debut album ‘Homework,’ which had been released just
a few weeks prior, their debut mix still sounds fresh today and truly proved that they were
ahead of their time.
“Every artist - no matter big or small - sees it as a huge honour to be able to do.”
4 4 w e r a v e y o u . c o m
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1998 - AIR
This mix is unique, for the simple reason being a communication breakdown between Pete Tong
and the French duo. On air, he stated: “We told them we had a two hour show, they gave us a four
hour tape, but don’t worry it justifies a two week broadcast.” Thus, Air were the first at that point to
get a double show, and fans certainly didn’t complain about it. It was perfect timing too, as they
had not long released their ‘Moon Safari’ album, which saw critical acclaim globally.
1998 - CARL COX
Although this wasn’t his first appearance on the show, making many before this particular episode,
it became iconic and stood out for a few reasons. One, it was filmed from Space Ibiza at the Terrace,
two, it was the first ever BBC Radio 1 Ibiza Weekend and three, it was the first time that Space moved
its turntables from behind the bar. Mix all this together with the genius that is Cox’s mixes, and you
have a standout mix for the ages.
2005 - STEVE ANGELLO & SEBASTIAN INGROSSO
Quite a while before the days of Swedish House Mafia, all three members were on the musical circuit
collaborating with each other frequently, and this is an example of two out of three of the Swedes
teaming up. Even then, you can hear the forward-thinking, cutting-edge expertise that Angello &
Ingrosso brought to the scene, and this mix is certainly a treat for fans of nostalgic dance moments.
2008 - FLYING LOTUS
Experimental to say the least, Flying Lotus brought something completely and utterly different with
his 2008 mix. Back then, his career was still taking off but this perfectly introduced everything that
the producer stood for with his wacky, out of the box tracklist. This also won the Essential Mix of the
year award in 2008.
2013 - SKRILLEX
This wasn’t the first Essential Mix from Skrillex, but has to be his most iconic. His second spin on the
coveted decks saw him go in many unique directions than what people may have expected from
him, throwing in genres that couldn’t have been further from the pioneering dubstep sound of his
at the time, but it is also what made it so popular. Whether a fan of Skrillex or not, the mix could be
universally loved by all, featuring tracks from artists such as Disclosure, AC Slater and Sub Focus to
name a few. At the time, too, Skrillex’s label OWSLA tweeted out shortly after the mix aired that it had
become the single most played piece of content in BBC Radio 1’s then 46-year history across all
media. Whether that has been beaten in today’s world or not, it still remains to be a huge feat.
2013 - ERIC PRYDZ
2013 was a great year for Essential Mixes, and was also Eric Prydz’ debut year to those golden decks.
Recorded live from his 2011 set at Creamfields, it included a lot of unreleased (at the time) music
and got so much buzz that it was trending on Twitter, which Pete Tong said was a testament to how
the show had ‘an amazing impact, two decades after its debut.’
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