Takkyu Ishino – Mix-Up Vol. 1

Comparing to MAROCO, I've to take an opposite path in order to defend this mix. It desserves it. I've got the whole MIX-UP series and I think this one is the best. I mean i discovered it around 98-99, we are in 2015, and it is still sounding fresh and fun. The tracks here are true classics and the mood Takkyu created gave justice to them. The beginning is fun & banging. You understand that you're gonna have a good time. On a touch of acid, you slide on a techno dub track (Phylips - Track II) before Hardfloor for a new shot of acid. Then a comtemplative period before the last part which is a real rollercoaster. Perhaps the mix is rude sometimes but the goal of a good mix is reached for : you have FUN TIME by listening it.
I think this is the perfect entrance for the techno of this era.
Hear it. It's a 5/5.

Justifiably so, Takkyu Ishino's contribution to the Mix-Up series is the least talked about of the total five installments. Even though his mixing and the overall flow are much tighter than on Ken Ishii's Vol. 3 release, where Ishino fails in my book is delivering really memorable and good music. Don't get me wrong, where Ken had an interesting and versatile track selection, but sacrified the flow of his mix, and where Mills and Tanaka both excelled in tune selection and mixing department, Ishino is neither a good enough DJ to keep things interesting behind decks, and despite dropping some classic material (the tracks by Hardfloor, his own Micro 2 number, Maurizio and Jeff Mills), most of these tunes just don't stick. There are barely any tracks here which I'd be keen on getting in their full and unmixed version after hearing them here first. Nothing here shines and sticks out as many tunes off the other parts of this series do.
Overall, this is not a bad mix, but is at least 2 bars under any other Mix-Up album, and may I suggest hunting down Mills' and Tanaka's releases first. The way things are, even though I am well aware of having this one sitting somewhere on my shelf, odds are I won't be putting it on any time soon. Simply because it it just fails to keep up with the absolutely outrageously good mixes of the already mentioned artists!