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Various Artists Fabric 57: Mixed by Agoria Fabric/Balance/EMI One may think that a mix CD is a fairly straight forward entity - a collection of tracks mixed together seamlessly to create a harmonious piece of music. But as with many musical trends, this formula for a mix has become tiresome and uninteresting. Where once track selection and beat mixing were the qualities that differentiated between a good and a great mix, DJs have had to push beyond this and continue to redefine what constitutes a great mix. In one of the latest instalments of the Fabric Mix series, French techno heavyweight, Agoria, has indeed taken this mentality and delivered a carefully thought out, sumptuous mix, that will push the benchmarks even further. Although the album sleeve indicated 20 separate tracks in the mix, once you listen to it, it is clear that the tracklisting is there purely for simplicity's sake. Agoria creates so much depth and complicated layering throughout the entire mix that it would be almost impossible to reflect it in writing. Not only does he fuse up to three tracks at a time, on top of that, he also incorporates a number of tracks throughout the entire mix (those being Zodiac Free Arts Club's Ein Lied Fur Popol Vuh; Ensemble Economique's Real Things; Blacmole's Golden Day; STL's Silent State; Lil Tony's Treehouse; Sun Ra And His Mythic Science Arkestra's Somebody Else's Idea; and DJ Tazz's Unrestrained). Despite these vast layering and seemingly complicated musical structures, Agoria's mix seemed effortless, and is able to generate such a tremendous flow and energy of house and techno; even with the album closer of the classic Ella Fitzgerald song Night And Day, it still felt cohesive, appropriate and hardly out of place. There is no denying that Agoria has delivered one of the most impressive mixes I have heard for quite some time. His mix is a wonderful journey through house, techno and jazz, full of intricate turns and pleasant scenery. This redefines common expectations of what a mix CD is all about. Leo Varona