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Review: Jack Foley
IT'S been a busy year for the Hed Kandi people, with six compilation
albums, a further two mix albums in Australia and New Zealand,
and a DJ base that has seen over 500 club nights attracting in
excess of 800,000 people.
Hed Kandi have travelled to Australia, Columbia, Russia, Amsterdam,
Miami, New York, Montreal, Singapore, Thailand, Ibiza and most
of Europe.
To herald the year end, the tireless outfit have put out a 3CD
compilation of dancefloor fillers, entitled Winter 2004, which
is designed to showcase the best of what they offer.
CD1 is entitled The Winter Beach and boasts the claim that 'somewhere
in the world it's extremely hot, even if it's snowing in London'.
Hence, it is a collection of deep house and Latin-flavoured floor
fillers that ought to go down a storm on the beaches of Thailand
this winter, featuring tracks from Bonnie Bailey, Lisa Shaw, Dr
Kucho! and Danny Marquez.
CD2, the Disco Heaven Mix, is all about big, hands in the air
moments and 'great vocals', featuring the likes of Stonebridge,
David Morales and Mutiny.
While lastly, there's CD3, the Twisted Disco, which lays claim
to featuring some 'downright dirty dancefloor action for those
3am clubbers who refuse to go home'.
This one features club mixes from Dirty Vegas, Mousse
T, Monroe, Armand van Helden and Brad Carter, to name but
a few.
And just to complete the picture, Hed Kandi, at its core, is
about a group of people known collectively as Team Kandi, whose
passion lies in delivering top-quality dance music to the hardcore
club fraternity - ie, the Ibiza/Miami super-club generation.
As such, the 3CD marathon (which clocks in at around 75 minutes
per CD) is a mind-numbing collection of beats and mixes that quickly
blend into one monotonous, and overly repetitive whole.
Classic tunes, such as Is It 'Cos I'm Cool, from Mousse
T, or Dirty Vegas' Walk Into The Sun, are given the dreaded
Ibiza-style makeover, while the ominous thumping of CD2 and its
supposed hands-in-the-air moments are indicative of all that's
wrong about the Ibiza movement - ie, lots of people, herded together
like sheep, getting on down to some truly uninspired music.
Contrast this with the glam of the 70s, the grunge of the alternative
movement, the indie rifts of Britpop, or the funky grooves of
DJ Shadow and co, and it's a particularly shallow example of modern
music at its most generic and worst.
If you partied heard on the beaches and dancefloors of the Greek
Isles or Ibiza this Summer, then this Winter Mix will probably
bring back warm memories for you.
For me, I'd rather just give it the cold shoulder.
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Track listing:
Disc: 1
1. Bonnie Bailey - Safe (Claude Bareau Mix)
2. Lisa Shaw - Let It Ride (Speakeasy Remix)
3. Aya - Sean (Mig’s Salted Vocal)
4. Fac 15 Featuring Cathi Ogden - Blue Skies
5. Late Night Alumni - Nothing Left To Say
6. Dr. Kucho! - Lies To Yourself (Extended Mix)
7. Salif Keita Vs Martin Solveig - Madan (Exotic Disco Mix)
8. Moonlight Vs Azoto - San Salvador
9. Danny Marquez & Ferry B - Afrocatalans (Hardsoul Emocion
Tropical Treatment)
10. Salome De Bahia - Outro Lugar (Cutee B & Julien Jabre
Mix)
11. Eric Kupper Presents Organika - Aurora
12. Ferrer & Sydenham - Sandcastles (Pete Heller Re-Edit)
13. Richard F Ft. Samantha Stock - Let The Sunshine Thru (Main
12” Mix)
Disc: 2
1. Andy Caldwell & Jay-J - Give A Little (Moulton Studios
Remix)
2. Who Da Funk - The Night (Vocal Mix)
3. Mirabeau - Back From Outta Space
4. Peyton - Keep The Faith (Eric Kupper’s Disco Mix)
5. David Morales with Lea-Lorién - How Would U Feel (12”
Vocal Mix)
6. Steve Anders vs. Andrea T. Mendoza - Can’t Fake It (Andrea
T. Mendoza Vs. Tibet Vocal)
7. Anthony Acid feat. Ruby - Sweat (Funky Sweat Club Mix)
8. DJ Rhythm presents Soul Theory - Drama (Warren Clarke Drama
Mix)
9. Scent - Up & Down (Hott 22 Vocal Mix)
10. Stonebridge feat. Therese - Take Me Away (Stonebridge Extended
Mix)
11. LnM Projekt feat. Bonnie Bailey - Everywhere
12. Mutiny feat. Lorraine Cato - Holding On (Eric Prydz Mix)
13. Shawn Christopher - Don't Lose The Magic (David Morales Club
Remix)
Disc: 3
1. Dirty Vegas - Walk Into The Sun (Club Mix)
2. Mousse T feat. Emma Lanford - Is It ‘Cos I’m Cool?
(So Phat Remix)
3. Monroe - Gotta Get A Move On (Club Mix)
4. ATFC - Fall Down (Original Mix)
5. Armand Van Helden - My My My (Original Mix)
6. Mylo - Drop The Pressure (Club Mix)
7. Eric Kupper presents The Barrow Gang feat. Bonnie Bailey -
I Want Kandi (Twisted Anthem Mix)
8. Brad Carter - Morning Always Comes Too Soon (Original Mix)
9. Moguai - Freaks (Original Freaks)
10. Antoine Clamaran feat. Lulu Hughes - Feel It (Club Control
Mix)
11. Open Air - Seven Nation Army
12. Soul Central - Strings Of Life (Danny Krivit Re-Edit)
13. Breaker J - Higher State Of Consciousness (The Twist Of Kandi
Remake)
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