''Sessions'' is a series of

DJ mix A DJ mix or DJ mixset is a sequence of musical tracks typically mixed together to appear as one continuous track. DJ mixes are usually performed using a DJ mixer and multiple sounds sources, such as turntables, CD players, digital audio players ...

albums, each album normally by a different DJ who also compiles the tracks, released by the

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

-based electronic dance music label Ministry of Sound. Alongside '' The Annual'', it is one of Ministry of Sound's better-known compilation album series.

History

The Ministry of Sound record label began in 1993, and the first release on it was ''The Sessions Volume One'', a 12-track mix compiled and mixed by Tony Humphries. It was critically acclaimed and more ''Sessions'' were released to critical acclaim and even charted higher in the

UK Compilation Chart The UK Compilation Chart is a record chart based on sales of multi artist compilation albums in the United Kingdom. It is compiled weekly by the Official Charts Company (OCC), and each week's Top 40 is published online on the official websites of ...

. ''Sessions 5'', by

Masters at Work Masters at Work is the American garage house production and remix team of "Little" Louie Vega and Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez. The duo has produced music together under the names MAW, KenLou, Sole Fusion, Hardrive, and Nuyorican Soul. They have been ...

, was the first double album in the series and every volume since has either been a double or

triple album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording ...

. In 1995, 1997, 1999 (and two later editions in 2003, and one in 2011) is the ''Late Night Sessions'' series. The first edition from 1995 was mixed by DJ Harvey. In about 2000, the ''Sessions'' series was a joint release between Ministry of Sound and

Defected Records In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...

. This lasted for volumes 10-15. Volume 12 was the last of the original series of ''Sessions''. It had become more of an Defected release than a Ministry of Sound release evidenced by the fact the Ministry of Sound's logo wasn't even present on the twelfth ''Sessions'' cover. Volumes 13, 14 and 15 actually didn't feature a number in the title. After focusing on the spin-off series ''

Chillout Sessions ''Chillout Sessions'' is a series of compilations released by Ministry of Sound that focus on songs from the chillout genre. Songs on Chillout Sessions compilations vary in style from lounge to electronica and are released by many different art ...

'', which ran initially for 8 volumes between 2001 and 2003 (plus a 9th volume in 2006), Ministry of Sound "rebooted" the ''Sessions'' series with a brand new album released in 2005. This was the entirely live recording from Tim Sheridan and Smokin' Jo. This rebooted Sessions lasted for fifteen volumes until 2007. The last five albums of the 15 in this reboot had the issue number as a suffix to the title. 2007 also saw the release of ''Sessions Summer 2007''. Another ''Summer'' edition was released in 2009. Various other ''Sessions'' were released such as ''Funky House Sessions''.

Spin-offs

The ''

'' series is perhaps the best-known "spin-off" to the series, beginning in early 2001 when Ministry of Sound started get digital mixers to mix their albums as opposed to big-name DJs like

Tall Paul "Tall Paul" is a song recorded by Annette Funicello and written by the Sherman Brothers, along with Bob Roberts. Background It marked the first time that a female singer reached a top ten slot with a rock and roll single. It also spotlighted An ...

Pete Tong Peter Michael Tong, (born 30 July 1960) is an English disc jockey who works for BBC Radio 1. He is the host of programmes such as ''Essential Mix'' and ''Essential Selection'' on the radio service, which can be heard through Internet radio stre ...

Paul Oakenfold Paul Mark Oakenfold (born 30 August 1963), formerly known mononymously as Oakenfold, is an English record producer, remixer and trance DJ. He has provided over 100 remixes for over 100 artists including U2, Moby, Madonna, Britney Spears, Mas ...

Series overview

Note: These refer to the albums released in the UK under the Ministry of Sound label, and not any of the alternate releases from other countries or labels (unless it's Defected Records) All releases that are a jointed release between MOS and Defected are mentioned in the notes sections.

Main series (UK)

Australian albums

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Electronic compilation albums Compilation album series 1990s compilation albums House music compilation albums Big beat compilation albums Trance compilation albums DJ mix album series