Sounds of Midnight: the very first tracks played in 2015

Playing the right track at the right time is one of the most important aspects of DJing. I asked some of my favorite DJs that spun on New Year’s what they played at MIDNIGHT to see what songs ushered in 2015 !!!

Dave P & Sammy Slice – Union Transfer [Making Time]

“This is what 600 balloons + 50 pounds of confetti + 18 Sharpys + 8 Atomic Strobes + a little MAGIC from Klip Collective looks like.”

“We did a mix with Caribou – ‘Can’t Do Without You’ (Tale of Us & Mano Le Tough remix) and Maceo Plex – ‘Conjure Superstar’. We chose these two tracks because they were two of the raddest and most played tracks of 2014 at Making Time. Also…both tracks have the tension, emotion and intensity necessary to carry such a milestone as the beginning of a new year. Both tracks together made for the most perfect soundtrack to our TRANSCENDENTAL Making Time New Year’s Eve ’15 MIDNITE countdown at Union Transfer.”

Dave and FIXED DJ partner JDH also got a jump start on the FUTURISTIC SOUNDS of 2015 for The Standard, Highline – check out their 10 tracks of the future (aka 2015).

Rich Medina – Berg’n

“At the stroke of midnight on New Years 2015, my first selection of the new year was Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes ‘Wake Up Everybody’. The song goes, “The world won’t get no better if we just let it be, the world won’t get no better, we gotta change it…you and me.” A beautiful song with a timely point for us all to consider before we get on with our lives after we celebrate.”

Matpat – North Philly Warehouse [Goodie]

“Goodie NYE was really sick – we had a great turn out and I had so much fun. At midnight, I played Dennis Ferrer – ‘Hey Hey’ (Dfs Attention Dub Mix) because it has the perfect intro and sets a perfect vibe. Since it was a warehouse party that went til 7am, I wanted a track without vocals that was a bit deeper/darker but still had good energy to get the party started. I’ve never played the vocal, just the dub. They recorded the set so I’m excited to listen back.”

DJ Bruce – The Trestle Inn

“After years of DJing, you realize that midnight is not the peak of the night, it’s when the party starts. I had originally planned on playing something else (I don’t remember now, probably because of the champagne), but in the moment I picked the easiest most straightforward dance song that even has instructions…. EVERYBODY DANCE. There’s no way to be confused or taken aback by that – especially after I’d been playing mostly esoteric disco and boogie for the first 3 hours. Sooooooo, I played an edit of Chic – ‘Everybody Dance’ by KZA. It’s a really dramatic almost dub mix of an already perfect song. What made it even more dramatic was that I layered the bass line over a Shep Pettibone mix of Candido – ‘Jingo Breakdown’. Jingo is a classic afro / latin disco drum track, so the combination of making people anxious with nothing but drums for 5 minutes and then hitting them with a joint they know (thanks Daft Punk) made it a particularly special moment.”

DJ SYLO – North Philly Secret Location [STUNTLOCO]