We’re not finished with 2013 just yet, as an impressive batch of mixes appeared at the end of the year and I’ll be slowly working my way through them this month. The first is yet more freeform from the Freeformaniacs show in the form of a versus set between Alchemiist and Shimotsukei.

Alchemiist’s section is a very nicely selected 30mins, slightly more melodic than usual with some quality connections – see Damage Point – Icy Clouds for an example. This might well be my first Shimotsukei mix, and overall his half of the set really lived up to expectations. Going for Japanese tracks plus Alek Szahala, this is a thoughtfully selected effort with a melancholy edge.

Some transitions work better than others, but a very promising sign of things to come is the Sanctuary – Sunray combination, a superb mix that’s worth the (admittedly low) price of admission alone. Sunray lacks a bit of bass/power in comparison to Le Dos-on’s track, so personally I might have tried either looping an outro section of Sanctuary to give it a bit of support or just starting Sunray earlier to take it through to the breakdown.

Anyway, seems like I was right to have high hopes for Shimotsukei’s sets – this interesting mix of styles with Alchemiist was a fine place to start and the whole hour is well worth checking out.