Last weekend a party was held, at the Tivoli Vredenburg in Utrecht, The Netherlands, and it was an event organised by Dance 2 Eden. You know it, we all do: Ghosttown. Never been unfortunately, but heard so many great stories about it. 30 years, and still counting. For their 3 decade edition they got the big artists performing, including the one who made this set: Paul Elstak, Promo, Panic, Drokz, Rob & MC Joe, MD&A (the set you are about to listen to), Painbringer, Dano, Gizmo, Bountyhunter, Gabber Syndrome, The Raver, TEC-9, Putty, The Enforcer, Ambient Daan, and it was hosted by MC Axys and M-Core. A decent line-up, in my honest opinion. It closely followed the previous edition, held in November of 2022, which also had a big line-up.
It is one of those events I have always hoped to go and experience. Never been. And yes, I am Dutch. Should I have, maybe during the 90s? I should have, but can't go back in time. Well, in a way we can: I can teleport myself back to the 14th of January, and pretend to be in Utrecht, raving my ass off. Wouldn't that be a dream, a sweet dream?
MD&A. The name I've seen before. On flyers, and in many mixes. I always thought it was a duo of a group, but I was wrong. But it's OK to admit when you are wrong. Only uploaded three days ago, and it already amassed nearly 2.5k plays! And people's responses are all great! But I can only agree, after listening to this set and looking at the tracklist. A mixture of both classic tracks, and new-ish tracks.
Let's dive straight into the mix, and see what kind of records MD&A had selected for Ghosttown. Be ready for some madness coming your way:
Hardsequencer - Braincrash
MD&A - The Bomb
Tschabos - Gib Mir Die Bass
The Mover - Atmos-Fear
MD&A - Blow
MD&A - Face Of Silver
Obsessive - Tune In Tune Out
Paralizer - Bizarcore
MD&A - As Far As You Can
Paralizer - Move Your Body
Painbringer - Words Of '95 (MD&A Remix)
DJ Weirdo & DJ Sim - Go Get Busy
Paralizer & F#ckface - Ghosttown
Impulsive - Dark Destination
Tango & Vince - TV
T-Wisted - Listen To The Rhythm
MD&A - Hardcore Will Never Die
R.E.T.R.O. - Children Of Rave
Gladiators - To The Crowd
MD&A - Braindead
Glorious. It is. A bit of the old, and a bit of the new. A nicely balanced mix. All up for that, aren't you?
I am a lover of the early Hardcore/Gabber sound, and am always highly enthusiastic when I hear new 'early' sounding records. A few have made their way into this set, and obviously most of them I am familiar with. And if you were under the impression that early Hardcore remained only alive in the 90s, you are oh so fucking wrong! Hardcore is still alive and kicking, and the fans are eager as fuck to hear more music. And MD&A's set is one I needed to hear to give me an extra boost.
I wish I went to Ghosttown. An event series with a rich history, a well established legacy still alive to this day. Not tarnished, but embraced. And for £25, that's a bargain! That's 90s money!
There are a lot of wicked anthems, including a few of MD&A's own productions in here. This will certainly lighten up your mood, and teleport you back to the 90s. For me, obviously, it had to be the song 'Ghosttown' that did the most damage to my eardrums. Closely followed by 'Go Get Busy' and 'Listen To The Rhythm'.
A good set. A few mixing errors, but nothing serious enough to stop listening and quickly playing something else. The set is worth your time, and if you are ready for the early sound, show your appreciation to MD&A. And while you are at it, why not Ghosttown too?
Side note: extra credit for the song 'Blow'. Fucking hell, a catchy song, and one that will circle your head for hours, if not, days!
DJ: MD&A
Genre/Style: Early Hardcore, Gabber
Liveset Info: Recorded @ Ghosttown 2023 - 3 Decades
Length Liveset: 00:59:16
Tracks: 20 (twenty)
Download/Listen (via Soundcloud): CLICK HERE
File Size: unknown
File Type: unknown
Audio: Stereo
Sample Rate: unknown
Release Year: 2023
More Information: MD&A - Soundcloud Channel