Gecko is one of the aliases used by my brother for his mixtapes and CDs in the early 21st Century. He was living in Japan at the time, and we'd continue to swap DIY compilations with each other as a shorthand musical postcard of where we were at.
Spanning South West England to West Coast America and some wild zig zags in between, it's a reminder of how much exciting new music was coming out in the early 2000s. There are also plenty of nods to what had come in the decade before. Listening to the NaS track for the first time in a long while sent a shiver down my spine.
I've tweaked a couple of the versions included here, either because I don't have the album versions or because the remix alternative is so good. In the mid-2000s, I discovered McSleazy aka Grant Robson, who posted a load of bootleg mash-ups and remixes online. I particularly liked his darker take on the likes of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera and today's pick by Kelis.
Likewise, the version of Dreamy Days by Roots Manuva is a low slung relick by Lotek aka Wayne Bennett that appeared on the Exclusives!, a NME cover-mounted CD in 2001.
Harmonic 33 is one of the many nom de plumes used by Mark Pritchard, after Global Communication and way before he started making music with Thom Yorke. Harmonic 33 is a collaboration with Dave Brinkworth and not to be confused with Harmonic 313, another of Mark's solo ventures. Honestly, you need a sat nav to find your way through his vast body of work...!
Great to hear Definition Of Sound again, who should have been massive beyond the handful of hit singles. My fact-obsessed brain was fascinated to discover that Pass The Vibes - and second album Experience - was co-produced by Chris Hughes (Adam & The Ants, Tears For Fears) and Jack Hues (Wang Chung). Every day is a learning day!
The mix opens heavy with Massive Attack featuring Mos Def and closes with a Serge Gainsbourg-sampling classic from David Holmes. Not a second wasted from start to finish.
1) I Against I: Massive Attack ft. Mos Def (2002)
2) Where Have They Gone: Harmonic 33 (2002)
3) The Seed (2.0): The Roots ft. Cody ChesnuTT (2002)
4) Trick Me (McSleazy Remix By Grant Robson): Kelis (2004)
5) Dreamy Days (Lotek Bonanza Relick) (Remix By Wayne Bennett): Roots Manuva (2001)
6) What Goes Around (Album Version By Salaam Remi): Nas (2001)
7) Natural Mystic (Ital Mix By Matt Green): Bob Marley (2001)
8) Solid As A Rock (Hexadecimal Edit By Steve Osborne): Bim Sherman (1996)
9) Year 2000: Smith & Mighty ft. Niji 40 & Louise Decordova (1999)
10) Evolution Revolution Love (Album Version): Tricky ft. Ed Kowalczyk & Hawkman (2001)
11) Television, The Drug Of The Nation (Album Version By Jack Dangers & Mark Pistel) (cover of The Beatnigs): The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy (1992)
12) Pass The Vibes (Album Version): Definition Of Sound (1995)
13) California Love (Long Radio Edit): 2Pac ft. Dr. Dre & Roger Troutman (1995)
14) Temple Head (Zenana Mix By Aki Nawaz & Paul Tipler): Transglobal Underground (1991)
15) Don't Die Just Yet (Album Version): David Holmes (1997)
1991: Temple Head EP: 14
1992: Hypocrisy Is The Greatest Luxury: 11
1995: California Love EP: 13
1996: Experience: 12
1996: Solid As A Rock EP: 8
1997: Let's Get Killed: 15
1999: Big World Small World: 9
2001: Blowback: 10
2001: NME Exclusives!: 5
2001: Remixed Hits: 7
2001: Stillmatic: 6
2002: Extraordinary People: 2
2002: Phrenology: 3
2002: Special Cases EP: 1
2004: Trick Me (bootleg MP3): 4