EZ is an obvious choice to head up this article, however he wasn't the only UK garage DJ to represent the homegrown sound across the country and far, far beyond. Before the guns and crack smoking of the So Solid era, UKG was much more of a glamorous affair, promoting good vibes, good dancing and very good outfits. You will probably already know the stories of Moschino printed shirts and champagne bottles so that doesn't really need repeating for the 100th time.
The nice thing about UK garage during its most popular times is that every tune will provoke a memory and most of these are probably associated with good weather. It's no doubt THE genre to play when the sun is shining. Sadly, at the time of publication of this article, it's about 2 degrees!
The purpose here is to showcase some of the best in UKG mixed CDs. Some forgotten and some... maybe in your cars glovebox getting scratched depending on if you still have a CD player or not!
All of these mixes were converted directly from my personal collection, along with the cover scans.
Pure Garage Rewind - Mixed by DJ EZ
Pure Garage Presents: Bass, Breaks & Beats - Mixed by DJ EZ Feat. MC Kie
United Dance Present - UK Garage Flava Mixed by DJ EZ
DJ Luck & MC Neat Presents...
This album was the first in a series of 3 and was released at the height of Lucky & Neat's popularity and obviously did very well. A great mix of well known radio friendly tracks and some wicked beats from the underground. MC Neat does a great job of hosting, especially on the second release.
Garage Fever (Various DJs and MCs)
Check the full article about this release here.
Garage Fever (Disc 1) Mixed by DJ Swiss (So Solid)
Garage Fever (Disc 2) Mixed by Mike 'Ruffcut' Lloyd
Garage Fever (Disc 3) Mixed by Pied Piper Feat. MCs CKP, PSG, Viper, Danger K, Sparks & Kie
Various Strictly Underground UK Garage & Speed Garage Mixes
The Mark "Ruff" Ryder mix is a studio recording with a fake crowd layered over it by the sounds of it. It's always been a bit of mystery as to why the introduction is in a live format which switches soon after. Imagine being MC Kie and having to pretend to shout out the crowd repeatedly from a microphone booth on his own.. fair play!
Speed Garage Anthems (Various)
Heartless Crew Presents Crisp Biscuit Vol. 1
As with every Heartless Crew mix, you're getting a full on mash up of styles here. Some big tunes in the mix!
Mixmag & Max Power Presents: Turn It Up!
Mixed by the legendary Jason Kaye, this single disc was given away free with August 2000's magazine. For those that don't know, Max Power was at the time, one of the best modified car magazines on the shelves and was responsible for many a hot hatch photoshoot!
Ayia Napa 2000: The Future of Fantasy Island
Mixed by DJ Ride, this double CD features a mix of classic UKG and some lesser known bangers.
Disc 1
Disc 2
Oxide & Neutrino Presents: The Solid Sound of the Underground.
The dynamic duo Oxide & Neutrino played a huge part in the UK garage commercial crossover. This DJ mix is a bit of an anthem bash and some of the mixing is questionable, however, it does feature 'Bring the Lights Down' by Mr. Reds And Kaliber - banger.
So Solid Crew: F**k It (The Official So Solid Mix Compilation)
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Disc 1
Disc 2
Tuff Jam Presents: Underground Frequencies Volume One
Grab a copy of this on CD if you want some quality unmixed tracks. If this one isn't in your price point though, the 2 disc version is still worth a look. DJ mix by Karl "Tuff Enuff" Brown & Matt "Jam" Lamont.
Soundcloud link coming soon.