Ben Sims - Ekspozicija 08: Escapism Pt. 2 FLAC album

I have to disagree with the previous assessment of this mix. Whilst there are bits where you just think "What's going on?", I really do think it picks right up from 'A Paco Di Bangos World' and pumps along for most of the middle section. I would have liked a longer mix in of DJ 3000 'Sacred Time' but honestly, you can hear that whole track on DJ 3000 Ekspozicija vol 9 and it's quite bland where every track is played pretty much start to finish so Sims teases with just a sample of most tracks.

Lots of vocal tracks really put the energy into this mix and I think it's nicely put together. The ending does slip a bit in pace but I'll forgive him for that.

I do still prefer the Essential Underground mix though and never get tired of playing that.

Style & sound wise, the second installment of Ben Sims "Escapism" series is on the same level of the first one. Hell, even the amount of tracks used for the mix coincides with that of the first mix (41).
Despite the impressive presence behind decks, a load of ideas getting displayed throughout, fine and concentrated mixing abilities, "Ekspozicija 08: Escapism Pt. 2" sounds, if I may be so honest and direct, plain and boring. On paper, 41 tracks mixed and played in only 72 minutes seems like a DJ mix of the year award, but as proved many times before, quantity and quality don't always go hand in hand. Even though no track is on play for over two minutes, meaning that something new can be heard and gets displayed as soon as you get acustomed to a previous arrangement and/or track, the whole thing doesn't move, well, anywhere. It's not really a pumping mix, which is not necessarily bad, but Sims mixes with the intensity and determination of a hungry DJ too eager to impress with technical details, while leaving the most important factor of the all -the music- behind. Don't get me wrong here, if you've enjoyed the first Escapism, chances are you will like this one as well. Personally, my main beef with this one is the lack of soul and catchiness in the single tracks; they all get edited, cut and pasted with such speed that it's tough to pick stand outs here, which usually isn't a problem, but as far as this mix is concerned, it is a double loss for me, 'cause I cannot get into it as a whole, and its smaller pieces (so to speak) do not impress either.
The music moves at a pace which I'd fancy hearing or at home just before a party, or just something I would put on while having a few friends over for coffee or whatever. The fact it never really picks up beyond the initial few minutes doesn't help either. It ends just as it started, and everything in between is just there for whichever reason you'd like to list. A lot of moments where you get the feeling that Ben is about to elevate the mix to a whole new height, but he doesn't...
Overall, this one sounds like a weaker copy of Escapism part one, which I'd recommend listening to first, and if you want to check out a well constructed and arranged mix where Ben Sims amazing DJ skills clash with phenomenal tunes from all over the techno spectrum, then check out his London mix on Essential Underground, or better yet "Welcome to my world". This one is just too lazy, naturally, the lazy part excludes his microscopic skills, which are good enough to guarantee a spin in anyone's CD player. Not a keeper, to me at least, but worth checking out regardless. I guess that a quality DJ mix is remembered and becomes a reference point, above all due to the selection of tunes, and then the skills required to patch 'em all together (Mills' Liquid Room mix, Tanaka's Mix UP, Clarke's World Service series, Beyer's Fabric, etc...), but here it is the other way around. But this one remains a good challenge for any DJ to top: forty one tracks in seventy two minutes, mixed with such confidence and ease is a tough feat to outdo.