Essential Mix
| Running time | 120 minutes (4:00 am-6:00 am GMT) |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| Home station | BBC Radio 1 |
| Hosted by | Pete Tong |
| Created by | Eddie Gordon |
| Produced by | Eddie Gordon Wise Buddah Somethin' Else |
| Air dates | since 30 October 1993 |
| Website | Essential Mix |
The Essential Mix is a weekly radio show on BBC Radio 1 currently broadcast between 4:00 - 6:00 AM UK time on Saturday morning. Originally broadcast on 30 October 1993, the Essential Mix features contemporary DJs and music producers of electronic dance music. The show has been presented since its inception by Pete Tong and features an uninterrupted two-hour mix from a different artist each week, overlaid with occasional continuity announcements delivered by Tong. With a broadcast run in excess of 20 years, the Essential Mix is one of the longest-running programmes in the current BBC Radio 1 schedule, and is one of very few Radio 1 shows which is not broadcast live.
The Essential Mix is a weekly radio show broadcast on BBC Radio 1 and features many styles of electronic dance music. It was originally the brainchild of Eddie Gordon, the producer of the show from the first broadcast in 1993 to 2001. In 1993, after months of receiving weekly mix shows on tape-cassette, featuring New York DJs Tony Humphries WRKS 98.7 Kiss FM and Frankie Knuckles WQHT HOT 97 FM, and recorded and mailed religiously by US Billboards Dance Editor Brian Chin, Eddie advised BBC Radio 1 that a weekly dance-mix show with DJs of different genres of music would offer more variety and the chance for the ever-burgeoning UK dance music scene to flourish with new emerging DJs as well as the internationally famous. Eddie further encouraged the DJs he scheduled to flex their musical knowledge. The broadcast was not playing to a dance floor but to people listening in their homes all over the world and a high number of listeners were recording the show on cassette to listen to later, so a straight out "4 to the floor" seamless 130bpm mix for two hours was not totally necessary and the DJs could include more eclectic music or offer something different from their normal set. DJ Paul Oakenfold particularly grasped the concept, and after sitting with Eddie to blueprint his December 1994 Essential Mix, he produced the now world-famousGoa Mix, which won a Silver Award in the Specialist Music Programme category at the 1998 Sony Radio Awards and in 2000 was voted the Best Ever Essential Mix by the BBC Radio 1 listeners. Then DJ David Holmes in June 1997 created another two legendary hours in the history of the Essential Mix; his set, a surprising journey from Nancy Wilson to Jimi Hendrix, redefined the DJ as a collector of musical history. In May 1998, DJ Ashley Beedle, known for his house music style, completed a two-hour reggae mix to reveal his extensive knowledge of that genre of music and it is blogged as the best reggae mix ever broadcast (see link Best Foot Forward).
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