Five Tracks: Voyager

Voyager's a name that's been around since drum & bass has been a thing. We're talking singles in 1994 for Lucky Spin, dropping an album with DJ Rap, as well as releasing material for R&S, Good Looking, and Creative Source. He's even collaborated with DJ Trace as 2D33P. Twenty years of proper jungle/drum & bass music. In January, he put out a stellar three-track release for Tempo, and we're glad he graced our Five Tracks series.

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Voyager's a name that's been around since drum & bass has been a thing. We're talking singles in 1994 for Lucky Spin, dropping an album with DJ Rap, as well as releasing material for R&S, Good Looking, and Creative Source. He's even collaborated with DJ Trace as 2D33P. Twenty years of proper jungle/drum & bass music. In January, he put out a stellar three-track release for Tempo, and we're glad he graced our Five Tracks series. We asked him for five inspirational tunes, and this is what he told us:

"Trying to pick just five inspirational tracks is a tough call. There are so many pieces of music that have inspired or affected me over the years, so I’ve tried to go with as broad a selection as possible, and in no particular order. I’ve also tried to pick the tracks based on the ethereal quality they have and how that has inspired me in writing and producing music."

Miles Davis - "Flamenco Sketches"

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Recorded in 1959 and taken from one of Miles Davis’ finest albums, Kind of Blue. This track has both melancholy and beauty from its first bar to the last. It’s such a pure emotional ride by all the soloists, and it touches something very deep and almost spiritual inside me. It’s inspirational in its simplicity and spontaneity, and is such an amazing example of what emotion and vibes actually sound like.

Jean Michel Jarre - "Oxygene Pt. 1 & 2"

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For me, these two tracks are probably the greatest opening album tracks ever!  If you disagree, buy me a pint or two, and we can argue it out. The whole album is truly epic, but the Pt. 1 & 2 tracks are just incredible. It opened up a whole new world for me, and introduced me to electronic music that was so different, and most importantly so deep and cinematic. It’s music that truly transports me to anywhere in the universe.

Prokoviev - "Peter and the Wolf"

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This is one of my earliest memories of listening to, and being hugely affected by music, and it is only through doing this list, that I’ve realized how influential it was. I used to listen to this when I was maybe 6 or 7 and it frightened the sh*t out of me! It’s basically the story of Peter and Wolf with a full orchestra and Boris Karloff narrating…..what’s not to be traumatized about! But it’s the marriage of the cinematic awesomeness of the orchestra and Karloff reading the story that really brought it alive in my imagination, it’s that emotional response that has intrigued me about instrumental music, that it’s able to affect you in so many different ways, and in my own small way, I’ve tried to put that into my music and productions.

Vangelis - "Memories of Green"

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This is a very close call between this track and "Blade Runner Blues," but I think this one just edges it. I love the piano, and how it balances out the other sounds in the piece, which gives it width and depth and again, is beautifully melancholic. It’s another piece that evokes all kinds of images and feelings, and unarguably taken from one of the greatest films ever made, in fact, everything to do with this film and its score is inspirational and moving.

Intruder - "U Got Me"

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A mate I was doing some tunes with in the studio in the early '90s played me this track, and I was hooked on the first play. It’s got a deep groove that just goes on forever, and although you could never say it’s cinematic or melancholic, it’s definitely got a hypnotic quality to it that I love in deep house, it picks you up and carries you along with it from start to finish…no 48 bar breakdowns, no brick wall limiting …just samples, beats and bassline…simple.

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