Good People Better Rise Up! is a podcast from Alex Whalen, a 25+ year veteran of the dance music industry who has rocked dancefloors across the Americas and Europe. Over his career, Alex has, among other things: held down residencies with legendary clubs like DC’s Buzz, SF’s Spundae, and Boston’s Av…
An Arrival Industries mini-reunion, you say? (Baker, where you at?) A gig in San Francisco, you say? DJing in a time of COVID-19 sure is strange, but hell yeah, I'm in. No tracklist, because WE DID IT LIVE.
Tilted (Original Mix) - Hot Since 82 Stranger Things (Subandrio Remix) - Max Freegrant, Miss Monique Heliopolis (Framewerk Rewerk) - Banco De Gaia Perfect Motion (Patrice Baumel Renaissance Remix) - Sunscreem Everytime (Nalin + Kane vs. Whalen Edit) - Lustral Teardrop (James Holden Mix) - Massive Attack Swimming (Visionquest Remix, Ewan Pearson Re-Edit) - Tracey Thorn My Lexicon (Original Mix) - Sander Kleinenberg Sweet Disposition (Camille Luciani Mix) - The Temper Trap Surin - Original Mix - Quivve These Are The Days - Vocal Mix - Quivver Love Stimulation (Tom Middleton Remodel) - Tom Middleton Melburn - Shiloh Rmx (Whalen Edit) - Luke Chable This Feeling feat. Julie McKnight (Original Mix) - Roger Sanchez, Park & Sons Skin Deep (Original Mix) - Dusky Yoohoo (Original Mix) - Dusky Hallelujah Anyway (Director's Cut Signature Praise) - Candi Staton Someone Like You (Full Vocal Mix) - Soulmagic
Took me two weeks to pull this one together for you, what with…well….everything going on. I’m taking y’all waaaaaaay back to the eighties and nineties on this one, back to my roots And trust me — if you know, YOU WILL KNOW.
So far as I am concerned, it's always right and proper to wrap your weekend with an extended ambient set. Apparently one of my neighbors disagrees? Now I really have seen everything. Oy
Haven’t left those islands yet, but the sun’s gone down and it’s time to get big. Yet another one from the vaults, circa 2007.
Another one from deeeeep in the vaults, this time with progressive house, under the sun vibes.
The soundtrack for a very special occasion back in May 2007, this one’s been sitting in the vaults without being heard for a good long while. The track list does exist somewhere, but where that is I cannot at the moment say…
A mix from back in 2010 dedicated to the sounds of 2000.
If you know, you know….Maui 2.0.
Long holiday weekend means some time behind the decks. Full tracklist posted here shortly, but available now over at Mixcloud.
Full tracklisting available at https://www.mixcloud.com/alexwhalen/
Why isn’t this mix named after a Star Wars planet? I honestly have no idea at this point, but I promise you that it made sense to me back in 1995!
The fifth and for now final installment of downtempo mixes taken from my mixtape vaults, Kessel dates back to the early months of my time in SF.
The third in what I think you can tell was a series, this was the B-side of the second mixtape I ever recorded back in 1995. Sound quality suffers a bit here and there as the original tape was damaged, but hopefully not so much that it takes away from your enjoyment of the mix.
Bepsin dates all the way back to 1994. Recorded live using a Vestax mixer, three 1200s, and two non-pitch-shifting CD players, because y'all, we weren't even dreaming of those yet.
By special request, I’m going back in time to repost a downtempo mix I made all the way back in 2002 while living in San Frandisco. Of all the mixes I’ve ever made, this is the one that seems to have left the biggest mark. If this keeps up, I may have to do a 20th anniversary edition some day, eh?!?
Full tracklisting available at https://www.mixcloud.com/alexwhalen/
Full tracklisting available at https://www.mixcloud.com/alexwhalen/
Full tracklisting available at https://www.mixcloud.com/alexwhalen/
Full tracklisting available at https://www.mixcloud.com/alexwhalen/
Full tracklisting available at https://www.mixcloud.com/alexwhalen/
A one-hour mini-mix done just before heading out the door for the train down to NYC. This one sits somewhere between progressive and tech house, if you ask me.
Full tracklisting available at https://www.mixcloud.com/alexwhalen/
Full tracklisting available at https://www.mixcloud.com/alexwhalen/
This one was originally going to be White Chocolate Volume II, but by the time it was done that didn't quite seem right. As you'll see in the tracklist on my site, this one is even more heavily mashed and edited than usual.
The third and final installment of what has become a trilogy of downtempo sets.
An old-school, chill-room-in-the-back-of-the-warehouse style downtempo set, Babylon style. Includes tracks from Puremusic, Asura, Josh Gabriel, Shpongle, Hybrid, and others.
Just got back from an absurd weekend in San Francisco, and this mix is the result. It's my portion of an event that took place at Monarch with some of my very best friends in the world. Let's hope this wasn't a one-off!
Work slows down during the summer, and that means it is time to deliver some new mixes. First one up is straight progressive, and it includes both modern and past classics from Leftfield, Monkey Safari, Luzon, Peter Martin, BT, Solarity, Sasha, Bedrock, and others...
Deep, dark, and at time even angry. Includes tracks from Tantrum Desire, Kove, Krot, Ed Rush, Black Sun Empire, and others
As promised, the third in a series of four drum + bass podcasts heading your way this November. Includes tracks from Technimatic, LM1, BMT, dRamatic, Kove, Mutated Forms, and others
A bit of a different take on drum + bass from me this time around...Must be the change in the weather! Includes tracks from Nu:Tone, Sigma, John B., Marky and SPY, Doc Scott, Mistabishi, and others...
Includes tracks from Technimatic, LM1, Blue Motion, Seba, Metrik, Queensway, Kove, Nelver, and more...
Old school downtempo, straight from the chill rooms of the early 1990s. They just don't make music like this anymore...
This one is from 1994, and is the very first mix I ever recorded. 3 turntables and 2 CD players, all running live into a single mixer. Some say the Star Wars samples make the mix; others say they ruin what would otherwise be the best set they've ever heard. All I know is, I'm as proud of this as anything I've ever done.
A Techy Progressive set that includes tracks from Croatia Squad, Nora En Pure, Tom Middleton, Stimpack, UMEK, Filterheadz, Barry Jamieson, Guy J, and more...
A progressive house set including tracks from Croatia Squad, Nora En Pure, Sasha, Tom Middleton, Oscar G, Mark Knight, and others...
Based on a set I played recently in California, this one includes tracks from Croatia Squad, Charlie May, Sasha, Guy J, Josh Gabriel, Ewan Pearson, Nora En Pure, and more...
A drum + bass set that includes tracks from Karma, Blu Mar Ten, Seba, Sunchase, Bulb, Lenzman, and more...
A progressive breaks mix with tracks by Colombo, Emeli Sande, Wrecked Angle, Planisphere, Adam Fielding, Monojoke, and others...
A progressive breaks set that includes tracks from Shiloh, Retroid, Planisphere, Stereo MCs, His Boy Elroy, and others...
An old school house mix including tracks from Ananda Project, Wamdue Project, Kings of Tomorrow, Funky Green Dogs, Danny Tenaglia, Erick Morillo, Barbara Tucker, Cevin Fisher, and more...
This mix is unlike anything I've ever tried to do at any point in my now two-decade-plus DJing career. The music has all been taken from some of my favorite film and video game soundtracks and scores, leading to a mix of orchestral and electronic tracks that are all over the BPM and time signature map. As a result, it took me nearly three weeks to complete, and is without any doubt whatsoever the most technically complex mix I've ever done. If you like it, do me a favor and let me know!
Back when I used to open the main room at Avalon Boston, this was my sound - a mix of tech and progressive house, dialed down to set the right mood for the main act. In a lot of different ways, opening a night is much more difficult than playing peak or closing it down, and it took me years to get to the point where I could do it properly. In that, like so many many other things, I owe Ralphie an enormous debt of gratitude.