TuneLab
Anjunadeep The Yearbook 2013
Digging into the Anjunadeep Yearbook 2013 is like visiting a time capsule, a chance to hear the melodic seeds that would grow into the label’s modern sound, and to feel profoundly old in the process. This continuous mix is a snapshot of deep and progressive house in a purer, perhaps more naive form. The vibe is a 2013 underground party where the focus was on deep grooves and emotional resonance over sheer spectacle.
Technically, it’s a wide-ranging journey with a 122.4 BPM average, heavily favoring the uplifting, anthemic quality of Camelot key 12A. The energy balance is classic deep house: a strong 54% low-end provides a warm, propulsive foundation, while a surprisingly prominent 43% mids section is packed with the melodic hooks and vocal samples that defined the era. The mixing is fluid and harmonic, reflecting a time when DJs could let tracks breathe over longer runtimes.
The tracklist is full of gems: Croquet Club’s 'Awake' is a melancholic, perfect opener, while Spirit Catcher’s 'Black Pitch' remains a deep, driving monster. Finding Fade’s 'All I Got' (Chris Fortier Dub) is a serious deep house history lesson, and LumoCore’s 'Stronger Than Yesterday' is a fist-pumping, vocal-led closer that feels both of its time and timeless. The mix establishes its deep, introspective mood with 'Awake', builds through melodic and driving peaks with tracks like 'Feeling' and 'Seven Olives', and culminates in the soaring, hopeful finale of 'Stronger Than Yesterday'.