Weekend Rewind: Carl Cox's 2009 Essential Mix remains a timeless underground effort more than a decade later

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With an electronic legacy as storied as BBC Radio 1’s Essential Mix series, Carl Cox has etched his name in the dance music history books, and his 2009 contribution to Pete Tong‘s airwaves is proof that Cox’s status as one of the genre’s most celebrated advancers is well deserved. More than a decade since the Essential Mix debuted, Dancing Astronaut takes listeners back in time to revel in the amalgamation of house and techno that occupies two hours of underground entrancement.

Embodying Cox’s expertise behind the decks at Space Ibiza, the tantalizing Essential Mix imaginatively transports listeners to the underground club. In touting the joie de vivre that dancers clustered on the iconic venue’s floor would have displayed as Cox whipped through his stock of vinyl presses, the showing is spirited, its energy transferrable to all who tune in. Jam packed with reworks from TV Rock, Mark Knight, and more, among originals from artists such as Depeche Mode, the mix possesses a climactic, dance-inducing soul.