Various - DJ-Kicks: Hot Chip

Studio !K7: 2007/2008

DJ-Kicks has been on the market for twenty years now, an incredible feat for any mix CD series. Wait, there isn’t any other with such an accolade! In terms of longevity, the closest comparison could be Pete Tong’s Essential Mix, but the Tongster never committed every entry to a physical format. On one hand, that’s a shame, because there’s been some incredible episodes of Essential Mix that are only available through unofficial, dodgy channels, and a physical medium would make archiving them easier. On the other hand, dear God, can you imagine the shelf space required if they were all on CD? Just keep that terabyte of info on an external harddrive, mang.

Of course, the vinyl and aluminum format has its limits too, printing runs only lasting so long before resources or interest fades. Still, with a respectable reputation and savvy marketing on one’s side, it’s easy enough to trot out the reissues, which Studio !K7 did for DJ-Kicks during their 2008 downtime. For sure there were some older mixes that could use exposure to a newer audience, but I’m befuddled by Studio !K7’s selection process here. Almost nothing from pre-2000 made the cut, while some incredibly (then) recent CDs were thrust back out on the market. Take this DJ-Kicks from Hot Chip, only a year old before being given the reissue treatment. Just… why? I can’t think of any reason this needed another version on the market, not to mention those from other recent mixes by Booka Shade, Henrik Schwarz, and Four Tet. Okay, maybe that last one – the Four Tet fanbase is rather ravenous.

In any case, Hot Chip, those highly eclectic electro-disco new wave pop weirdos, gives us a suitably eclectic mix full of electro, disco, new wave, and pop weirdness. And some tech-house too - everyone was obligated to play tech-house in the back-half of the ‘00s. Such variety is what happens when you invite five guys into the DJ booth though. Hell, even if this set only comprised the tastes of core members Alexis Taylor (the dorky one) and Joe Goddard (the cherub one), it’d still be all over the place. About the only route they could have gone was the mixtape method, and Hot Chip does just that. The opening salvo alone contains electro-pop soft-rock Nitemoves from Grovesnor, flirtatious back-and-forth hip-hop in Positive K’s I Got A Man, big beat soul-funk from Gramme’s Like U, and a mash-up of Subway’s Persuasion’s synth crescendos and choppy tech-house rhythms of Soundhack’s B1. Erm, I’m not sure which B1; Soundhack had a couple.

That’s what this DJ-Kicks entails: mini-sections of outlier tunes (Um’s The Man’s Got Me Beat, Young Leek’s Jiggle It, Nôze’s Love Affair) rubbing shoulders with trendy contemporary hotness (Dominik Eulberb’s Der Buchdrucker, Wookie’s Far East, Lanark Records’ The Stone That The Builder Rejected) and chintzy classics (Joe Jackson’s Steppin Out, New Order’s Bizarre Love Triangle). If you don’t mind the stop-start flow of such a mix, then have Hot Chip’s DJ-Kicks a go.

Various - DJ-Kicks: Claude Young

Studio !K7: 1996

We're going way back into DJ-Kicks' history here friends. Back to the days when Studio !K7 was still mostly known for its X-Mix series and all those cool, trippy CGI video tapes accompanying them. No no, they really were cool, not dated at all. The power of retro will make it so! Ahem, anyway, the initial volley of jocks into this new DJ mix series featured a quartet of Detroit techno luminaries: Carl Craig, CJ Bolland, Stacey Pullen, and Claude Young. The first two are legends, no doubt. The third gestated within the underground for a while, but I've seen him having something of a career surge in recent years. And as for ol' Claude, man, where can I start with this guy? No, really, I'm asking that, because until this CD, I'd never heard of him before. How many Detroit Braggin' Points will this cost me?

Right, it's not entirely my fault, Mr. Young having mostly shied away from the mix CD format over the years. He’s also been all over the map regarding his album output too. Debut Soft Thru came out on Belgium Elypsia, sophomore Patterns The Album came out on Dutch Djax-Up-Beats, his third LP came care of Young’s own cynet:media print (based from UK!), and his latest effort of Celestial Bodies originates from Fountain Music in Japan. Maybe he’s got some proper Detroit vinyl under one of those many early aliases instead.

Whatever the case, folks don’t typically point to Claude Young as a legend for his productions, but rather his DJing, one of the most unique Detroit jocks to ever rock the decks. Approaching the art more from a turntablist’s perspective, he’ll often layer multiple dubplates, cutting back and forth between vinyls so rhythms mesh in ways never intended. So much poly’, mang, from tracks so minimal! Of course, in the post-Ableton era, such trickery is rather common, if not always expertly executed. Claude was doing it with the only tools any jock worth his salt needs though, and has earned all the props for it.

One of the likely reasons he hasn’t often committed these talents to the CD form is such turntablism is better suited in a live setting than recorded format. Young can pull all manner of sonic tricks from his bag, but if you’re not familiar with the tunes themselves, only an expert techno trainspotter will hear how a track changes up. Also, isn’t the whole point of turntablism the showmanship as well as the music being played?

Ah right, the music on this edition of DJ-Kicks. I haven’t talked it much, because there isn’t much to tell. It’s Detroit techno through and through (and lots of Mark Bell), going from the minimal stuff to bangin’ stuff to funkier stuff, all dope if you like your mid-‘90s techno. I found Young’s set took some time warming up, a bit heavy with the experimental cutting in the early going, but once the pace picks, hoo, it’s a fun ride, is what.

Various - DJ-Kicks: Brandt Brauer Frick

Studio !K7: 2014

Though DJ-Kicks has spotlighted DJs and producers somewhat off the beaten path, it's seldom that I draw a total blank on who's commanding the consoles. Even if they aren't immediately familiar, a quick Discogian search will reveal some information that sparks the memory synapses (oh yeah, Andrea Parker was on Mo Wax!). Such is not the case with this trio of dapper, fuzzy-faced German gents, Brandt Brauer Frick. I'm getting nothing on these guys, no appearances on familiar compilations, no namedrops from similar sounding artists, not even a whiff of recognition from locals who are all up in that European tech-haus scene. As far as my far-flung Canadian perspective goes, these guys are completely home-grown and insulated within Studio !K7's Berlin base, seldom exported beyond the eastern shores of the Atlantic. Or I could just be way out of the loop on this one. I mean, the trio have released three albums in the past half-decade, a tidy sum for any artist, and surely having generated some success as a result. Then again, considering this CD’s but a year old and already in among the discount options, just how popular can they be?

Whatever the case, I suspected I was in for something wildly eclectic upon checking out the track list (no blind leaps on this one, yo’). Twenty-eight tracks, a few familiar faces like Theo Parrish, Galaxy 2 Galaxy, Fantastic Man, and Machinedrum, plus a whole pile of new names to boot. Wee, just like the DJs themselves! As this is a three-piece group, I suspected Daniel, Jan, and Paul would go the tag-team route, showing off their various tastes of tech-haus, funky jazz, and other assorted trendy genre gobbledegook blends you’d hear out at Watergate. Hm, not so eclectic as I was led to believe, and sadly not for the better.

Despite having sections of sorts, Brandt Brauer Frick’s contribution to DJ-Kicks comes off disjointed and all over the place, and not in any esoteric mixtape sense either. The early portions go for their jazzy sound, but tracks come and go so quickly, with such jarring transitions of tempo and tone, little ever sinks in or flows. If you want to show off these cool, obscure tunes, let them breathe, got’dang it. This isn’t even a case of ancient vinyl being difficult to mix with current cuts, as nearly every track on here is from within the last few years.

Things don’t improve much once in the clubbier portion of this mix, where even a steady rhythm is denied by jumps and detours into broken beat jazz-house, quirky acid electro, and k-holed techno. There are a few clever blends and contrasts, but it doesn’t do the mix favours when the fading croon of Dean Blunt’s Galice at the end is the most memorable moments of the whole CD, only because everything prior has retreated to the cobwebbed back-corners of my cranium. Probably a better option with the vinyl sampler pack, this edition of DJ-Kicks is.

Various - DJ-Kicks: Andrea Parker

Studio !K7: 1998

Proving it’s never too late for serious knowledge to smack one across one's face, I was completely blindsided by this CD. For starters, I had no idea who Andrea Parker was, a fact in itself not too surprising since the DJ-Kicks series often taps DJs and producers well under the radar. However, that lack of information instilled a preconceived notion of what I was in for based on cover art alone. Forget even looking at the track list, I was certain Ms. Parker was gonna’ bring the soul-funk downtempo nu-jazzy vibes with this mix. Clearly that’s her musical calling, what with being adorned in the sort of garment worn to classical performances or high-end wine tastings, frolicking about shag flooring and vinyl backdrops. Plus, this was released when Studio !K7 was going through their downtempo jazz-dub phase with DJ-Kicks, featuring such names like Terranova, DJ Cam, and Kruder & Dorfmeister. Surely this lady from the UK would fall in step with this sound too.

And I’d be perfectly fine with that, but what I got was even better. Ol’ Andrea, turns out, has more in common with techno, electro, and booty bass (!) than anything so highbrow as jazz-dance. Hell, the second track on here is Dr. Octagon, the salacious nerdcore alter-ego of Kool Keith, followed upon by two Carl Craig cuts, and a whole lot of Detroit tuneage after. See, if I’d just looked at the track list first, I’d have known what I was in for, what with names like 69, Model 500, Dopplereffekt, Drexciya, and Bambaataa throughout. On the other hand, it’d have ruined the fun surprise of all expectations being so utterly smashed. It’s getting rare such purchases can do that, and isn’t that the whole point of the dig to begin with?

That all said, Ms. Parker’s set isn’t terribly surprising in of itself. If you like your vintage Detroit techno and electro, you’ll like this, with plenty of familiar names (those namedropped above) and outliers rounding things out. Visions Of Mars from DJ Panix is some mighty mint electro, and darn obscure too, given it was all John Litchfield and Mark Burrows did with this alias (not that they were highly prolific anyway). There’s also a little breaks action in this mix, care of Renegade Soundwave’s classic The Phantom and lesser known Da Tunnelz from Sons Of The Subway.

As DJ-Kicks mixes are often released to coincide with a chosen jock’s other projects, Ms. Parker throws her name into the electro hat with her own track Unconnected at the end, sure to be one of the highlights from her debut album, Kiss My Arp, of the same year. Wait, let me confirm that with Lord Discogs… *checks* What, this track came out before this mix, on the fifth volume of the classic Trance Europe Express series? Damn, this woman keeps with the surprises - I gotta’ check out more works. Ooh, this IDM/electro/bass label of hers, Touchin’ Bass, looks promising…

Various - DJ-Kicks: Scuba

Studio !K7: 2011

Okay, I'll admit it: I barely paid attention to current electronic artists throughout 2011. Sure, I kept an eye on musical trends and the like, but as for following recommendation lists of what I “should” be listening to, I couldn't be bothered. Having been burned once too often by another minimal-wank/k-hole-house/wayward-dubstep production on such lists, you can forgive me for being wary. This Scuba fella' though, there's been some uproar recently over his latest offerings, as they've started skewing towards the party vibes that made turn-of-the-century dance music so much fun. It's also delightfully pissed off his entire original “post-dubstep are serious musics” followers. On that basis, I think Mr. Rose deserves a look-see, starting with his DJ-Kicks offering.

Credit to Studio !K7 for their ability of hopping on bandwagons with class. The fusion of techno and dubstep gained quite a bit of traction after acts like 2472 opened the gate to that road (I called it 'atmospheric dubstep' at the time), and bringing in names like Kode9, Scuba, and Photek definitely helped give the sub-genre more exposure. Whether it'll be just another flirtation before going back to proper broken-beats again, I don't know, but we may as well enjoy it while it lasts.

Taking a look at the tracklist, we have... thirty-two!? Oh, it's one of those mixes, isn't it, with quick mixes, layering, edits, loops... *sigh*. It's fun when mash-up jocks like 2 Many DJs pull it off, but can get tediously dry and technical when techno chaps do this. What about the dubstep dorks, then?

Scoobs's gained prominence within dubstep's borders, but there's a decided lack of it on this mix. Plenty of broken beats, sure, but nothing that makes me think of UK urban music. I'm not talking about the Americanization of the genre either, unless you count the Detroit influences. This is techno, through-and-through, with skillful hops between steady fours and stuttered rhythms. You'd hear the likes of Carl Craig or Laurent Garnier dabbling in such beats, almost a jazz fusion approach, but without the wanky side of it.

Or maybe some of these tracks do, but we don't get to dwell on them long enough to find out. Since I never kept up with this style of music, I’m unfamiliar with most of these cuts, and am not sure how skillfully Scuba manipulates them to serve the mix. What I can tell you is it never falters, fresh sonic twists and rhythmic turns throughout making this an engaging listen, though one that doesn’t seem to have dancefloors in mind (yo, where the bass be at, mang?).

Scratch that, there was a “th’fuk?” moment, with Ludovic Vendi’s Mental Bright, one of those annoying effects-drenched techno cuts that, yeah, sounds cool but are total momentum killers every time. As a perfect counter-point, Scuba follows that up with his own Adrenaline, a glorious, unashamed anthem. Haha, flee, melody haters, flee! Thumbs up for that, Scuba, and the rest of this mix ain’t half-bad either.

Various - DJ-Kicks: Daddy G

Studio !K7: 2004

Listening to a single compilation for over a week certainly spikes the urge to buy more music in the meanwhile (need... something... different!), so I figured it was as good as any time to pick up a few more of those DJ-Kicks mixes I neglected over the years. Good Lord though, if it isn't a difficult decision to choose which ones to check out. So many releases, so much eclecticism.

Actually, this one wasn’t too difficult a choice, still being on a reggae dub kick when perusing though the series. Seeing this one from the Massive Attack member Daddy G was enough to get me intrigued, plus I was also curious to hear how Studio !K7 would follow up their 2003 flirtation with electropunk (or whatever), and ol’ Erlend Øye wasn’t quite as sexy an option as ol’ Grant Marshall.

This came out a year after Massive Attack had released the critical shrug that was 100th Window. Folks may have been initially dismissive of the album, but there was still enough positive publicity in seeing anything released by them at that point that !K7 tapping Daddy G for an edition made good sense. What we’re offered is less of a DJ mix, and rather a “personal favorites mixtape”. Hey, if former Massive Attack member Tricky got to make a Back To Mine CD the year prior, why not?

As can be expected of a chap who practically helped invent what would become known as trip-hop, there’s a nice mix of funk and soul to get us warmed up. Speaking of Tricky, a rare white label “Version1” of Aftermath is included, sounding incredibly grainy and under-produced; somehow, a trip-hop classic like that makes more sense that way. Also making sense is hearing dubplate version of choice reggae tunes like Barrington Levy’s Here I Come and Badmarsh & Shri’s Signs. Not making sense is the inclusion of Foxy Brown’s cover of Oh Yeah of Toots & The Maytals (yep, that’s Bob Marley lurking in there) - why not offer up the original?

There’s also quite a bit of Massive Attack material here, mostly in the form of remixes they did. Included is the one that put the group on the map, Nusrat Fateh Ali-Khan’s Mustt Mustt. World beat was rather trendy in 1990, and this remix does show hints of it, but there’s definitely something cleverer going on with the beat programming compared to typical sample-raiders. Two tracks come as a surprise though: the Mos Def collaboration I Against I, which only appeared on the Blade 2 soundtrack, and the Perfecto Remix of the stone-cold classic Unfinished Sympathy. The former’s rather cool to hear, almost as though Mr. Def used an old, forgotten Gary Numan tune as a sample to rap over. But Oakenfold to close out? I dunno ‘bout that, man. It’s an alright remix, but quite stuck in early ‘90s Balearic mode. Give me grit and grime with this tune instead any day.

Various - DJ-Kicks: Tiga

Studio !K7: 2003

For much of his early career, Tiga remained safely sheltered within his Turbo label. His cover of Sunglasses At Night may have appeared on numerous compilations, and Tom Middleton’s mash-up of it with New Order’s Blue Monday gave it more life than anyone thought possible, but by and large the Montreal native was forever associated with his label. By 2003, however, his star had raised high enough that other labels came calling for his talents. Studio !K7, seemingly in an effort to steer their DJ-Kicks series away from all the broken beat DJs they’d featured in the few years prior, gave Tiga his opportunity to branch out. He wasn’t about to let it go to waste, knocking it out of the park in the slap-dash way only he could make work.

First, I should mention my copy of Tiga’s DJ-Kicks entry lacks Hot In Herre, which is almost unfathomable seeing as how that was his second biggest pre-Sexor hit. I can only assume Studio !K7 released this copy first, Tiga made the single after (including a charming video based on a Czech marionette duo called Spejbl & Hurvinek), then shoehorned it into this mix later. Looking at its placement on other copies, I’m not sure how that would have worked, as it’s lodged amongst several disco punk cuts in the beginning of the mix.

Whatever. Tiga’s mix truly takes off at Soft Cell’s …So, a B-Side to their single What?. It’s enough to get heads turned with an obscure bit of early 80s gold, but following it with the impossibly catchy Sacrifice from Break 3000 (That bassline! Those vocals!), all the while Antonelli Electr.’s Dubby Disco is running underneath them. Chances are you'll barely realize it unless you’re an expert trainspotter. Such DJ tricks aren’t new or revolutionary, but Tiga has a way of riding mixes such that it comes off thrilling, ready to go off the rails at any moment. Or maybe I’m just a Turbo fanboy. Could be, could be.

I’ll make no apologies for enjoying this CD though, as Tiga finds the right blend of kitsch and contemplative throughout. I’ve often found the set drags a little after Codec & Flexor’s Time Has Changed (why weren’t these guys more popular?), but Mr. Sontag hits the sweet spot again with his own haunting Man Hrdina, a rare-ish B-Side to Hot In Herre that was only included as part of the DJ-Kicks singles package. Folks talked plenty about Tiga’s partnership with Jori Hulkkonen, but co-producer Mateo Murphy deserves just as much praise.

And there’s more! Bang Bang Lover, My Biggest Fan, Tiga’s cover of Madame Hollywood (it's like Tom Cruise is singing it!)… Of course, if the whole post-electroclash/disco punk sound of 2003 never appealed to you, then there’s little point in recommending this edition of DJ-Kicks. It very much is a product of its time, but oh what a fun time it was.

Various - DJ-Kicks: Booka Shade

Studio !K7: 2007

Booka Shade isn’t an act I’ve cared much about, at least not enough to dig into their discography. Heck, when I went to check them out live, I instead spent most of my time in the near-empty second room flailing to jungle (it might have been more to do with the stupid crowding of the main stage though - I like my flail space). That said, their contribution to the long running DJ-Kicks series was incredibly influential to yours truly, being something of an inspiration to take up mixtaping again. Not that ol’ Arno and Walter were the first to ever release a DJ mix that sounded less like a club set and more like a mish-mash of personal favorites - the Back To Mine and Choice series were pretty much dedicated to that concept - but something about this one sparked me in a way no other set did.

Mind, for all I know, the whole DJ-Kicks series has been like that. It’s one that I really ought to check more of, but it’s difficult to peg down exactly what Studio !K7 aims to accomplish with it. Sometimes it seems to be hopping on bandwagons, other times it’s too esoteric for any hope of success. Whatever it is they’re doing though, it somehow works, as it’s outlasted nearly every other DJ mix series born from the mid-90s. Take that, Global Underground!

Booka Shade’s contribution is surprisingly diverse for a duo that made its name on tech-house, at least to anyone who came expecting more Mandarine Girls. The opening stretch of the CD plays more to expectation, with low-key house vibes, but never falling into minimal monotony. The inclusion of Yazoo’s Situation or pieces from John Carpenter’s Escape From New York might have turned heads, but as it fits within the setting of those tracks, it’s nothing to suggest things would go askew later.

Thus, it seems fitting the leap-off into eclecticism would be an Aphex Twin track, from where The Book & Shades dig into their crates. Heaven 17 and Brigitte Bardot are far from obscure, but they diversify this set wonderfully, keeping your attention to see what next oddity they’ll drop. Fortunately, nothing too out there, as it settles back into a cool-groove (the neo-Tokyo vibe of Quarion’s Karasu is lush), but enough to keep guessing. Like, The Streets, in a set like this? Sure, I can dig on those ‘morning after’ melodies. But, erm, I know Carl Craig’s Landcruising is a classic, but it’s never been a DJ friendly track, so don’t try to force it.

Ah, but that’s part of the appeal in mixtapes - the quirky, the unexpected, and the shock when two tracks that shouldn’t go together are, or revealing music you’d never expect from certain names (hello, Richard Hawley). Sometimes it doesn’t work, but when it does, it creates musical moments comparable to the best DJ mix transitions. It’s a methodology anyone who attempts mixtapes should strive for.