For the last few years, Seven Lions’ record label, Ophelia, has been on a serious tear in the electronic world. In 2022, they threw the kitchen sink at us with album after album, EP after EP, iconic collabs which collided genres, and more.
Right away, you know this mix did not come to play by looking at its length. Compared to the 2020 and 2021 year-end mixes, which were 56 and 62 minutes respectively, this year’s mix was 1 hour and 45 minutes. That is a massive difference, that puts on display just how much new music they threw at us this year. I don’t think any of us are complaining.
4 albums heavily featured on this mix, in order of release this year, were EMBRACE from Kill the Noise, The Way Back Up from Trivecta, Atlas from Jason Ross, and of course, Beyond the Veil from the head honcho himself, Seven Lions.
Each of these albums had multiple tracks featured throughout a mix that seemingly went on for hours. “Turn On The Lights” from Kill the Noise, Trent Monroe, JUST DUE and Spencer Ludwig, “Memory Away” from Trivecta, and “Slow it Down” from Jason Ross feat. L8NCY, are just a few examples of songs that commanded the attention of your ears when they came on. Naturally, the majority of the tracks in “Beyond the Veil” were featured from Seven Lions long-awaited debut album, such as “Falling Fast” feat. GG Magree and “Every Time.”
A couple of notable EPs made their presence known throughout the mix as well. “Don’t Look Down” from Mitis’ Together EP, a collab with Ray Volpe, jumped off the page at first listen. Mixing a beautiful sound design with Volpe’s fast-paced and heavy-hitting dubstep sound. The mix didn’t include too much dubstep throughout, so this one stuck out in a mix filled with melodic masterpieces.
Blanke’s Land of the Wayfarer EP got its time to shine as well, with “Stuck on You” showcased in the early minutes of the mix, with Seven Lions also showing these tracks a lot of love in his live sets over the course of this year.
Ophelia has had a fantastic year overall as a label, and one could certainly argue they have a case as a Label of the Year. It will be exciting to see if they can match such a heavy output of production in 2023. You can listen to the Ophelia Records 2022 Year-End Mix at the link below.
