Album Review: Annie Mac – Annie Mac Presents 2013
3 min read
Annie Mac. She is one of those noughties DJ’s that has somehow managed to transcend the generalised day (night?) job of disc jockey to morph into a minor institution and micro celeb in her own right. With multiple shows on BBC Radio 1, including her niche show – the hub for all new music, forecasting tracks that will explode in the club scene and in the mainstream over the coming year. If you are played on a Radio 1 niche show, odds are you’re going to have some credible press and success over the upcoming months. Alongside, her Radio 1 co-worker Zane Lowe, Annie Mac has outgrown her radio show, moving onto TV presenting, national DJing tours and, more recently, compilation albums.
Annie Mac Presents 2013 is this year’s lowdown on the biggest tracks, and this year’s instalment is packed to the brim with awesome tunes! Split over two discs – the first being full of party anthems, whilst the second takes a more chilled out approach – AMP 2013 mixes the huge anthems with the lesser known songs, much like the best nights out at the club. Starting off with the massive number 1 hit Need U (100%) by DJ Duke Dumont and A.M.E, disc 1 is a roller-coaster ride, with contributions from Brit duo Disclosure (When A Fire Starts To Burn), Chase & Status’ Lost and Found, Rudimental’s Waiting All Night and Jessie Ware’s surprisingly dance ridden track Imagine It Were Us, taken from the deluxe re-issue of her debut album, Devotion. Disc 2, on the other hand includes remixes from Laura Mvula and Haim – no doubt one of the band’s of 2013! – as well as tracks from A$AP Rocky, Miguel, Sampha, and Wretch 32, with more less likely contributions from artists such as James Blake and London Grammar. This is more than just a compilation however, it is more or less a private, in house Annie Mac gig, with the tracks flowing seamlessly into each other, re-creating that club atmosphere in an accessible format so the listener can rave whenever the whim takes them.
AMP 2013 is certainly a massive compilation that reminds you of the fact that 2013 has been one of the most vital and exciting years for brilliant dance music. The album blends tracks smoothly in a style that could make it a perfect dancefloor playlist with non-stop beats, it could be considered the kind of set for all club DJs (at least those of the electro/house persuasion) to aspire to. Its clear to see why Ms Mac herself has been climbing the ranks in DJ notoriety, with her just getting bigger and bigger on the national and international club scene, her sets drawing larger and larger crowds after a successful summer of festival sets. With the Annie Mac Presents series set to be an annual earmark for Mac’s contemporaries and music lovers alike, it makes sense to make this compilation the soundtrack to your New Year’s Eve!
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