''Sessions'' is a series of

DJ mix A DJ mix or DJ mixset is a sequence of musical tracks typically beatmixing, mixed together by a Disc jockey, DJ to appear as one continuous track. DJ mixes are usually performed using a DJ mixer and multiple sounds sources, such as Phonograph, tur ...

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

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

-based

electronic dance music Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as dance music or club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and List of electronic dance music festivals, festivals. It is generally ...

label

Ministry of Sound Ministry of Sound or Ministry of Sound Group is a multimedia entertainment business based in London with a nightclub, shared workspace and private members' club, worldwide events operation, music publisher (popular music), music publishing busin ...

. Alongside ''

The Annual The Annual is a series of compilation albums currently published annually by London-based electronic dance music brand Ministry of Sound. Described as Ministry of Sound's "flagship" series, the popular albums feature house, big beat and trance ...

'', 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 o ...

. ''Sessions 5'', by Masters at Work, was the first

double 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 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 i ...

. 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 Defected Records, or simply Defected, is a British independent record label specialising in house music recordings, compilation albums, events, publishing, artist bookings and management. Defected is one of the longest running independent lab ...

. 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'', 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 '' Chillout Sessions'' 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 may refer to: * Tall Paul (song), a 1959 song by Annette Funicello * Tall Paul (DJ), English DJ, producer and remixer * Paul Sturgess (basketball), British basketball player {{dab ...

Pete Tong Peter Michael Tong (born 30 July 1960) is an English DJ 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 streams, for ...

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, Ma ...

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