In the age of streaming it is quite a feat that !K7’s DJ Kicks series continues to serve such an essential purpose – and they have now added an 80th instalment to their ongoing odyssey. In their own words:
London-based, Australian-born Teneil Throssell, aka HAAi, is known for a strain of sonic psychedelia that metabolises precise sound design, melodic techno, electronic pop and thundering beats. Following the release of her acclaimed 2022 album, Baby, We’re Ascending, HAAi has reached what she calls “another career milestone” – an invitation to steer the next edition of !K7 Records’ acclaimed DJ-Kicks series.
HAAi approached this mix with two concurrent goals: to continue to iterate on her artistic theme – which she named ‘always ascending’ – and to highlight her flair for hyperkinesis and drama behind the decks, which she achieves with BPM left-turns, endless upwards tilts and sharp accelerations, liminal transitions and moments of pure euphoria. Within the sweeping journey she moves through an expansive selection of heritage classics, future-facing artists, friends, heroes, and voices from close-knit communities, alongside a number of her own exclusive productions.
DJ Kicks, the jewel in !K7’s crown, is one of the longest running series of mix compilations – and in the last year they have enjoyed stellar contributions from Disclosure, Jessy Lanza and Cinthie. However they are set to go one better than even that, with a rare guest appearance from Theo Parrish, who has carved a creative homage to his home city in the form of Detroit Forward.
Parrish himself says, “Detroit creates. But rarely imitates. Why? We hear and see many from other places do that with what we originate. No need to follow. Get it straight. In the Great Lakes there’s always more under the surface – more than what appears to penetrate the top layer of attention and recognition. What about those that defy tradition? Those that sidestep the inaccurate definitions often given from outside positions? This is that evidence. Enjoy.”
The 90-minute mix will include Ian Fink’s Moonlite, which you can hear below to get a flavour of the compilation:
DJ Kicks: Detroit Forward will be released on 28 October on !K7 – and you can be sure to read more about it on these pages! In the meantime, you can preorder your copy here:
Download / stream tracklist:
01: De’Sean Jones & Ideeyah – Pressure
02: Donald Roland II – Simba’s Theme
03: Meftah – When The Sun Falls
04: Theo Parrish & Duminie DePorres – Real Deal
05: Specter – The Upper Room
06: Deon Jamar – North End Funk
07: Ian Fink – Moonlite (Duality/Detroit Live Version)
08: John C & Meftah – Full
09: Monica Blaire – aGain (T’s Edit)
10: De’Sean Jones – Psalm 23
11: Raybone Jones – Green Funk
12: Jon Dixon – Wind Drifts (Instrumental)
13: Whodat – Don’t Know feat. Sophiyah E.
14: KESSWA – Chasing Delerium feat. Nova Zai
15: Raj Mahal – Hudsons
16: De’Sean Jones – Flash Spain
17: Jason Hogans – Surrounded By Trees
18: Howard Thomas – Experiment 10
19: Sterling Toles – Janis
2CD tracklist:
1/01: De’Sean Jones & Ideeyah – Pressure
1/02: Donald Lee Roland II – Simba’s Theme
1/03: Meftah – When The Sun Falls
1/04: Theo Parrish & Duminie DePorres – Real Deal
1/05: Specter – The Upper Room
1/06: Deon Jamar – North End Funk
1/07: Ian Fink – Moonlight (Duality/Detroit Live Version)
2/01: John C & Meftah – Full
2/02: mBtheLight – aGAIN (T’s Edit)
2/03: De’Sean Jones – Psalm 23
2/04: Raybone Jones – Green Funk
2/05: Jon Dixon – Wind Drifts (Instrumental)
2/06: Whodat & Sophiyah.e – Don’t Know
2/07: KESSWA – Chasing Delerium feat. Nova Zai
2/08: Raj Mahal – Hudsons
2/09: De’Sean Jones – Flash Spain
2/10: Jason Hogans – Surrounded By Trees
2/11: Howard Thomas – Experiment 10
2/12: Sterling Toles – Janis
Triple vinyl tracklist:
A1: De’Sean Jones & Ideeyah – Pressure
A2: Donald Lee Roland II – Simba’s Theme
A3: Jason Hogans – Surrounded By Trees
B1: John C & Meftah – Full
B2: Meftah – When The Sun Falls
B3: De’Sean Jones – Psalm 23
C1: Ian Fink – Moonlight (Duality/Detroit Live Version)
C2: KESSWA – Chasing Delerium feat. Nova Zai
D1: Specter – The Upper Room
D2: Raj Mahal – Hudsons
E1: Raybone Jones – Green Funk
E2: Whodat & Sophiyah.e – Don’t Know
F1: Howard Thomas – Experiment 10
F2: mBtheLight – aGAIN (T’s Edit)
F3: Sterling Toles – Janis
* All tracks exclusive to ‘DJ-Kicks: Detroit Forward’, aside from ‘Real Deal’ by Theo Parrish & Duminie DePorres
A second album for James Alexander Bright, recorded in the Hampshire countryside over the past year. It is a team effort, with guest slots from the vocalist Fink, drummer Feiertag, vocalist Kerry Leathem and a number of close contacts, including manager Benjamin Smith, who plays bass on the longer closing track to the album, Be Strong.
What’s the music like?
If ever an album sang “SUMMER” at you, then it’s this one. Bright has a lovely voice, creamy in tone and warm in its delivery, not a million miles from Yannis Philippakis of Foals. Sometimes the rhythms he uses are not far from that band either, especially the edgy, tripped up beats of Soul.
Yet those similarities are coincidental, for Bright secures a very different mood, blissful in its countenance. This is poolside listening of the best kind, with songs that are dreamy but well written, lovingly crafted guitar lines seeing them on their way.
The rhythms are fresh and inventive, with a kind of light bossa nova accompanying Drink This Water. Warmth courses through the whole set of songs, with even a title such as Ice Cold bathing in lovely warm keyboard sounds.
The instrumentals reinforce the hot temperatures. Grow presents a lovely warm weather image of the ebbing of a tide, or the distant sound of bells, through its intricate synth work.Shepherd has a woozy, drowsy feel to it, with an absent minded guitar adding contented comments to a firmer beat almost of deep house origins.
Perhaps the best moment is a collaboration with Fink, the two voice types complementing each other for Sundown, and its vocal couplet “I can see it working out”. It is complemented by the closing Be Strong, an extended piece that is simultaneously urgent (rhythm) and extremely chilled (keys)
Does it all work?
It does – and Float has the ideal proportions and mood structure to boot.
Is it recommended?
Yes. The current hot spell in James’s home country is to his distinct advantage, for Float works a treat with the doors and windows thrown open, or accompanying a poolside reverie. Add it to your collection!
Berlin DJ Cinthie steps up to take the baton for the latest in !K7’s ever-successful DJ Kicks series. She has been busy of late as a producer, releasing her debut album Citylights, under the Skylines alias, on Will Saul’s Aus label in 2020. Since then she has been producing a wealth of excellent house music singles on her own labels.
Her aim with this generous 24-track selection was to bring together a sequence including her old heroes but also new house music sounds. In her words, the music ranges from ‘deep to Detroit, from banging to smooth, from jazzy to stomping, from Disco to Chicago, from dubby to big room’.
That means big names from Chicago, New York and Detroit – including Paul Johnson, Boo Williams, Amir Alexander and Spencer Parker – and new ones too, such as Amy Dabbs, Logic1000, Lis Sarocca, Anna Wall and Cinthie herself.
What’s the music like?
Hugely enjoyable. From the moment Terence Parker’s I Love The Way You Hold Me bursts out of the blocks, the mood is set for over an hour of good, uptempo grooves, and Cinthie gets a brilliant mix together to ensure the momentum is never broken.
Highlights include the bouncy, vibrant start from Parker which gets a complement from the suitably uplifting Oldtown Dub from Niles Cooper and Shinichiro Yokota’s Time Lapse. The home-style piano and springy beats of Sandilé‘s Jammin and Slammin work well, while Amir Alexander‘s Blessed Are The Meek is really good, transitioning beautifully into UC Beatz‘ Crash Nerd. Later on the heavier, rolling beats of Adryiano’s Non___Stop lead into a brilliant choice, Paul Johnson’s Y All Stole Them Dances. The music is motoring now, the beats broken up more for selections such as the funky Logic1000 selection I Won’t Forget, the momentum carrying through a fine finishing pay-off of Amy Dabbs, Chevals and Anna Wall.
Does it all work?
Yes, so much so that you’ll be more than happy to go round again. The ratio between old and new feels just right, and Cinthie’s enjoyment throughout is clear as day.
Is it recommended?
With gusto! A feelgood selection celebrating house music’s power to inspire, and acknowledging along the way the part disco has played in its evolution. Absolutely top stuff.
The DJ Kicks story continues apace, and continues to choose imaginatively, with no sign of the quality dipping. Stepping up for this release is Paul Woolford, donning his Special Request moniker. As a listener he saw the DJ Kicks series ‘as a benchmark of quality and a time-stamped gateway into an artist’s state of mind’, going on to say that ‘for this volume, I wanted to focus on lush melodics. I kept that as a constant thread throughout, choosing only records I cherish…it’s not a ‘current snapshot’ by any means, more a chronicle of some of my all-time favourites.’
What’s the music like?
Given Woolford’s history and pedigree, the idea of sharing in his favourite music is too good to resist – and so it proves. It is no surprise to report a varied set of house and break beat, moving from classic disco-house to full blooded drum and bass, by way of variations in between. The mix is pleasingly rough around the edges in its blending of music, giving it a more authentic feel.
Woolford takes us straight to the heart of the dancefloor with Alicia Myers’ Right Here Right Now, remixed by John Morales, a very cool cut of swooning vocal house, and he backs this up with instrumentals from Harvey and Morgan Geist, complete with trumpet solo. Being such a prolific writer and producer, Woolford can’t resist adding some varied examples of his own canon, so we get KissFM NY87 Mastermix and Vellichor trading riffs and busy percussion while pushing the mix forwards.
Woolford then gives us sun-soaked techno from As One, Virgo (the brilliant synth-heavy R U Hot Enough?) and Ace Mo, complementing them with diverse beats from Krystal Klear, Speedy J, LS1 Housing Authority and μ-Ziq. Bleeps and blips, warm keyboard pads, dynamic percussive runs – all are found in a thrilling sequence of dance music, the direct style of Woolford’s own productions embodied in the music he chooses.
Two of his own remixes form highlights of the later section of the mix, FC Kahuna’s cool Hayling and μ-Ziq’s Twangle Frent, underpinned by a massive, sonorous bass sound. Now the pace is frenetic, with flurries of drums from Galaxian and Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse cutting to a widescreen breakdown powering the Tim Reaper mix of another Special Request production, Pull Up. The two collaborate on another stormer, Elysian Fields, before a final Woolford collaboration wraps up the mix, the shimmering 96 Back co-write Petrichor.
Does it all work?
Very much so. Woolford is well-versed in pleasing his crowd, so the notion of a CD-length DJ Kicks mix comes easily to him. The only difficulty, you sense, was choosing what to leave out of the mix! In 25 tracks we get an excellent history lesson with no preaching, a view behind Woolford’s own creative process.
Is it recommended?
Highly. Special Request is an inspired, stellar addition to the DJ Kicks series, which just keeps on getting better. As a celebration of dance music’s primal power to move, you couldn’t ask for more.
Arcana.fm 