Goa Mix

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This article is about DJ Paul Oakenfold's Goa Mix, an Essential Mix broadcast on the BBC in 1994.

Cover of Paul Oakenfold's Goa Mix

As the most requested broadcast on BBC Radio One, Paul Oakenfold's Essential Mix can only be described as pioneering. First broadcast on the early morning of December 18, 1994, this unique two-hour DJ set quickly got landed with the name, "the Goa Mix". The sound was predominantly influenced by the Trance parties taking place on the hippy beaches of Goa, India at that time. These Full Moon parties involved European travellers dancing the night away to a sound distinguished by the heavy use of melodies and synths in its structure. This was opposed to the bass lines and groove foundations of House Music that was prevalent in UK night clubs. Goa Trance, as it was termed, also had a faster beat per minute (BPM) than other genres of dance music. However, Oakenfold lightened the harsh, dark sounds of Goa Trance by incorporating European records into this broadcast.

Another thing that set the Goa Mix apart from previous Essential Mixes or DJ Sets was how Paul Oakenfold programmed and produced the set. He merged movie soundtracks and audio samples along with international dance records. This provided more of an audio experience for the listener and a recording that could be played over and over again. While current big-name DJs are doing this as a matter of course now, this was something very new at the time.

The two-hour broadcast was split into two halves. Subsequently these have been referred to as the Silver Mix (first hour) and Gold Mix (second hour). The Silver Mix begins with the eerie vocals of Mr. V’s "Give Me Life" and the solid groove of Grace’s "Skin On Skin", the first of several tracks from the fledgling Perfecto label. When you reach the conclusion of the frenetic, bleak piano of Virtual Symmetry’s "Vaporize" from Sven Vath’s Eye Q label, you’re treated to the first of many soundtrack pieces – this one from Vangelis’ "Blade Runner", an excerpt of replicant Roy Batty’s lament of memories lost, "like tears in rain". After the sonic washing-over of Salt Tank’s "Eugina", the Goa Mix begins in earnest, with the classic "LSD" by Hallucinogen. Peaks and valleys continue with a strings composition from the Dracula soundtrack, which segues into the Arabic tones of "Alcatraz" by Electrotete. Rounding off the first hour is a trio of works from Man With No Name: "Floor Essence", his remix of Scorpio Riding’s "Dubcatcher", and "Evolution", a powerful conclusion to the first half of the mix.

The Gold Mix begins with Goldie’s "Inner City Life", and leads the listener into a more fevered pace – a full-on day-glo flecked trance session. There’s the squelch of The Infinity Project’s "Stimuli", Marmion’s seminal "Schoneburg", and in a shadow of the great tracks to come from Man With No Name, "Deliverance". The otherworldly vocals of Lisa Gerrard in Dead Can Dance’s "Sanvean" lull the listener before the conclusion with 4 Voice’s "Eternal Spirit", and finally the Raw Cane mix of Man With No Name’s delirious "Sugar Rush".

Years on from its creation the Goa Mix is still viewed by DJs, clubbers and general music enthusiasts alike as something quite special. Paul Oakenfold has gone on to become one of the world's top DJs as well as a renowned producer. Many, however, view his 1994 Essential Mix as the peak of his career.