I am going to preface this announcement by saying that the 2010 contest was the strangest one ever. The winners created beautiful but *weird* mixes. Here’s how you should listen to them:

1. Dim your lights 2. Burn some incense and candles 3. Play the music low and relax

This isn’t your standard dance music - it’s deeper and more spiritual. You may love it or hate it, but it caught our attention. The first mix belongs to the “Atmospheric Drum and Bass” genre. There are 19 songs in 15 minutes. Winner - Symptom's "It All Falls Apart" by Mixed In Key Contest The runner-up is Middle-Eastern breakbeat: Runner Up - Rishi's "Short History of the Universe" My advice is to explore the whole Top 20 and see what you like. Both this year and the previous year are posted on SoundCloud. We’re including two honorable mentions. These DJs were excluded from winning the prizes because of conflict of interest. The first mix is from Tamas (aka Hotta), the winner of the 2009 Mixed In Key contest. Just like last year, he put together a great set: Tamas a.k.a Track 11- The 2010 Mix The second one is from DJ Prince, a respected teacher of harmonic mixing. He put together a history of funk: DJ Prince - Funk Mix Overall, we’ve received about 1100 submissions and heard a lot of interesting music. I welcome all DJs to share your sets in a separate thread. For now – let’s focus on playing in clubs. All of you should be getting great gigs because of your talent. We have a very strong community and you deserve to be playing *everywhere* :) Next year’s contest will be different, but enjoy this one for now… Good luck with DJing and please keep us updated. Cheers, Yakov Vorobyev Founder, Mixed In Key

Congratulations to the winners. Glad I made it to the top 20. Hopefully some of you will enjoy my Twsited Evening mix: http://soundcloud.com/djyakov/alex-r-1

Symptom's It All Falls Apart Mix 1. June Miller - Neurosis 2. Commix - Japanese Electronics (Instra:Mental Remix) 3. S.P.Y - Legacy 4. Instra:Mental - Watching You 5. Lomax - Artisan VIP 6. Bachelors Of Science - Bombay Sapphire 7. Spor - Kaori 8. DJ Fresh - The Immortal 9. Synkro - In Transit 10. High Contrast - If We Ever 11. Black Sun Empire - Bullet In the Head 12. Alix Perez - 1984 13. Pryzma - Ufology 14. B-Complex - Raindrops 15. Consequence - A Man and a Woman 16. Logistics - Back Where We Started 17. Helios - First Dream Called Ocean (Stray Remix) 18. Symptom - Kiss Me In the Church 19. Logistics - Murderation Rishi's Short History of the Universe 1. Rishi - Manasaa (Creation Clock Intro) 2. Eelke Kleijn - Defining the Pattern of Universal Existence 3. Kaya Project - Dark Tabla (Rishi's Rebirth) 4. International Velvet - Baby Shiva 5. Jeff Stott - Overland (Rishi's Re-Incarnation) 6. Sneaky Suntro (Sample: The Beatles - Here Comes the Sun) 7. The Beatles - Within You (Rishi's Short Incarnation) 8. Gaudi - Bethe Bethe Kese Kese (Pathaan's Heavenly Remix) 9. Midival Pundits - Raanjhan (Rishi's Come Again Edit)

As a result of this contest my mixing skills are improoved I realised my mistakes and this makes too big difference. To be in top 20 is very big success for me. Thanks to the organisers. Happy New Year!!!.

Congrats to Symptom for his amazing and deeply moving mix!! Thanks to MIK and all involved with putting the comp on for us all to enjoy. I am sure we all benefit in some way from these tests and appreciate the effort you go to host the competition. Last but not least ... Wooohooo!!! for me :-) Very happy

You guys where smoking some strong …. :) Happy New Year!!!

Thanks Yakov for the honorable mention! My entry was a tribute to Richard Earnshaw and his work as a jazz, funk, soul and disco influenced Deep House producer. All 29 tracks I used were either written, performed, produced or remixed by him. Downloads for both the 15min. version and the full 60 minute long version (plus a few of my other harmonic mixed) are available here: Track Eleven's Soundcloud Page Track 11's Mix.DJ Profile Tracklisting for my 2010 contest entry Track 11 Presents: Spotlight On Richard Earnshaw Track# Artist Name - Track Name (version) Record Label 1. Andy Holder feat AnTonic - Pleasure Dome (Acapella + Earnshaws Deep Dub Reedit) Guess Records 2. Orlando Vaughan - Better Than Never (Earnshaws Instrumental Excursion) Duffnote 3. Soul Cola - Hit The Morning Beat (Richard Earnshaw Instrumental Mix) Guajira Recordings 4. Eyereel Allstars - Slowdown (Earnshaws Vocal Mix - Track11 Dub Edit) Duffnote Recordings 5. Stereo Mutants feat Antonia Lucas - What Do I Do Now (Earnshaws Soul Unity Dubstrumental) One51 Recordings 6. Kenne Kuramochi - Take Me Back (Richard Earnshaw Main Mix) Soundcloud 7. Greg Kozo - Freakfaze - Dandy Dancer (Richard Earnshaw Sole Unity Mix) Audio Groove 8. Richard Earnshaw - Darren Giles - Round Round (Dub Cut - Track 11 Gang Starr Skillz GURU Tribute Edit) Duffnote Recordings 9. Michael Canitrot - Desire (Richard Earnshaws Instrumental Mix) Aime Music 10. Thomas Toccafondi feat Kaysee - I've Changed (Earnshaw Jones Instrumental) Duffnote Recordings 11. Overstreet - The Bottle (Richard Earshaw Dub Mix) Sole Music 12. Richard Earnshaw feat James Vargas - Inside Out (Groove Junkies Funky Dub) Duffnote Recordings 13. Held Esposito feat Sybille - Warning You (Richard Earnshaw Mix + Instrumental - Track 11 Dub Edit) Deeptown Music 14. Central Avenue - We've Got Joy (Earnshaws Bumpin Dub) Duffnote Recordings 15. Martin Solveig - Jealousy (Earnshaws Dub Retouch) Mixture Classics 16. Ruben Alvarez - Skyline (Earnshaws Tripnotic Dub - Track 11 Logical Progression feat DRS) Guess Records 17. Morten Trust feat JSun - Back To Love (Richard Earnshaws Main + Instrumental - Track 11 Dub Edit) Map Dance Records 18. The Shadow Kings - UNDO (Richard Earnshaw Remix + Instrumental - Track 11 Dub Edit) Soul Music 19. New Mondo Morrisson - U Got The Love (Earnshaws Instrumental) Azucar Distribution 20. Park Street feat Diana Waite - Pressure (Richard Earnshaw Classic Vocal + Instrumental - Track 11 Dub Edit)Double Shock Recordings 21. Joi Cardwell - Lenny Fontana - Make It Alright-Richard Earnshaw Main Mix + Instrumental - Track 11 Dub Edit) Stalwart 22. Groove Invaderz feat Nicole Tyler - Keep Risin (Richard Earnshaw Vocal + Instrumental - Track 11 Dub Edit) Double Shock Recordings 23. Groove Junkies feat Wendy Brune - Shut Up N Dance (Richard Earnshaw Instrumental + Get On Upapella) Morehouse Records 24. Elektro Organik feat Christian Fontana - Everybody Dance (Richard Earnshaw Main Mix + Instrumental) Queep Organic House 25. Antoine Clamaran - Mario Ochoa - Give Some Love (Richard Earnshaw Remix Instrumental) Ambassade Records 26. Sharon Pass - Greg Gibbs - Call My Name (Richard Earnshaw Instrumental Mix + Reprise - Track 11 Edit) Peppermint Jam 27. Richard Earnshaw - Angie Brown - Unbelievable (Earnshaws No Doubt Dub) Duffnote Recordings 28. Richard Earnshaw - Angie Brown - Unbelievable (Original Instrumental Mix) Duffnote Recordings 29. Richard Earnshaw - Angie Brown - Unbelievable (Original Reprise) Duffnote Recordings

My congratulations to the winners and honorable mentions here. And last but not least many thanks to the judges and the MIK team for all the effort in hosting this.

Congrats to the winners - excellent mixes, your prizes are well deserved. I'm still stoked just to have made the Top 20 :)

Lame

Very good , Yakov! A big surprise, really! No sense in defining the style of the winner, but the whole mix was really cool, no dance genre, when the most mixers were concerned about!

Hi All! Firstly: Wooooohoooooo! Thanks so much mixed in key & all involved in the competition, and congrats to the others who did well, and to those who didn't I hope everyone comes back to try again - I always learn so much putting these mixes together (this is my second time entering) and from listening to other mixes :-) This mix meant a lot to me - I put it together over a two week period where I had just finished 5 years of university and then my girlfriend of 4.5 years and I broke up, and because of this I had to find a new place to live. It was all rather tough and I was pretty downhearted. Each track in the mix tried to convey some of the emotions felt, from the sense that something was wrong, to the epic feeling that your world just ended, to the sad emptiness you feel for the time after. A sense of anger sometimes emerged, along with denial, a want to work it out, a lonely lost confusion and eventually, hopefully, a feeling that everything will be alright, that the future is still bright. I'm glad other people have enjoyed the mix :-) Although there was 19 tracks used, it was focussed on 6 main tracks with some of the other tracks used ranging from almost full 3min samples interweaved with the core tracks to just 3 second samples - all of which were added and often manipulated to create the atmosphere I wanted for the mix. To me, the tracklist looks like this: 01. June Miller - Neurosis - Commix - Japanese Electronics (Instra:Mental Remix) - S.P.Y - Legacy - Instra:Mental - Watching You - Lomax - Artisan VIP 02. Bachelors Of Science - Bombay Sapphire - Spor - Kaori - DJ Fresh - The Immortal 03. Synkro - In Transit - High Contrast - If We Ever - Black Sun Empire - Bullet In The Head 04. Alix Perez - 1984 - Pryzma - Ufology - B-Complex - Raindrops 05. Consequence - A Man And A Woman - Logistics - Back Where We Started 06. Helios - First Dream Called Ocean (Stray Remix) - Symptom - Kiss Me In The Church - Logistics - Murderation If anybody would like to download the mix or listen to any of my other musical mishaps my soundcloud is: http://soundcloud.com/tone-e-symptom It's always nice when people comment or even just say hi! And it's not all deep dnb - I do a fair amount of mash-ups with party vibes! :-D Or hit me up on the wonderful facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tone.e.symptom Anyway, enough self promo :-P Thanks so much again MIK and all those pushing good music forward :-) Antony Tone-E/Symptom

Hi Symptom, can you maybe also include your keys so we can see the harmonic progression? I wanted to ask about one part that sounded strange to me when I listened to your set earlier in the Top20 posts' forum. It is between 2:12 and 3:22 which to me is off-key and disharmonic just by plain ear, but I might be mistaken. I double checked however with MIK and it shows 5B (E-Flat Major) up until 2:12 and then it's 4A (F Minor) after 3:22 when the background strings finish and the melody plays by itself. 5B and 4A are clearly clashing, the only way to bridge that is to go through 5A or 4B first and then to 4A. However you have the melody with the high-pitched piano-like instrument running from 2:12 all the way to 4:10 playing the same melody (which is 4A) and the 5B background strings sound unmodified until 3:22, so I could not hear a 5B to 5A or 4B change or any 5A/4B section at all. Since the melody is a solo, it would be possible to alter the 4A melody to a very similar one in 5B by shifting some notes by a semitone - however I can't hear any change in the melody at 3:22 when the 5B strings finish and the 4A strings come in later, it sounds like it's the very same melody running there all the way in 4A -so I'm wondering how you transitioned there from 5B.

I think it's a masterful use of harmonic dissonance. When there are only a couple of instruments playing it is possible to go from say, 4A to 5B.

Glad that the right one from the top 20 won! Though I would dispute the true use of '19 tracks'... to my ears I heard about six or seven tracks with some samples, so that top tracklisting isn't entirely on point IMO.

Too much sampling, not enough mixing :/ And to add to that... Experimentally, the winning mix was great. Realistically, I can't hear the Mixed In Key Harmonic influence. We all process our MP3s so our songs can harmonize a mix flawlessly. With that in mind, I don't think the judges considered the reason for the software. The songs were stripped of their true feeling harmony and melody, leaving behind a sample. Artisan VIP is a good example; it's drop is devastating and it was no where to be found... YouTube it.

Congratulations to the winners, and honorable mentions. The winning mix has an amazing track selection. I didn't expect drum'n'bass to win, especially something so soulful, which is what I played in my mix. And even though I didn't win, I am still very proud of it. So, here it is! http://soundcloud.com/zsonic/zsmik Symptom, you would definitely like it. I recorded it in one-take, after multiple practice-runs of-course, using 100% vinyl discs on three turntables. I had to record all of my records, and analyze them in MIK to get all the keys. I even have a color-coded labeling system that I put on all my record sleeves, which helps me exponentially in recalling the key of my tunes on the fly. I had to put tracks together that were virtually the same bpm. And anyone who's played on technics, knows that they float when the pitch is centered. But that's all good, cus I had a blast doing it!! Thank you so much Yakov, and the mixed-in-key team for developing such a great product, and giving DJ's an opportunity to really showcase their love and talent. Ever since I've been mixing in key, my DJ'ing and Production has evolved exponentially, and I've gotten way more gigs! Cheers!!

I got robbed....my mix was smooth as pie and i would like a recount. :-) Cheers!