Review: London-based DJ and producer Steven Julien's music blends contrasts and has done so across more than a decade on labels like Eglo and his own Apron Records. In that time he has explored various styles, from house and techno to soul and boogie, often drawing on his own life experiences for inspiration. His eclecticism extends to his contribution to !K7's wonderful DJ-Kicks series in a mix that features artists like Ryuichi Sakamoto and Todd Edwards along with Julien's own tracks. The mix takes you on a proper ride from a peaceful afternoon to a euphoric night on the dancefloor, with plenty of big moments and killer jams along the way.
Steven Julien - "Payn Me Mind" (feat Kristian Hamilton) (1:59)
D'Eon - "Transparency" (5:32)
Ryuichi Sakamoto - "A Day In The Park" (5:17)
Steven Julien - "Retriate" (feat Dreamcastmoe) (3:23)
Elli - "Just For Me & You" (2:53)
Steven Julien - "Number" (4:13)
Brothermartino - "Kah" (5:27)
Dam-FunK - "Morphing" (4:09)
My Girlfriend - "Uber Hype" (7:31)
Mr Flash - "Disco Dynamite" (3:10)
Devin Morrison - "Shesbi" (4:14)
Ryuichi Sakamoto - "Rio" (5:06)
Review: Steven Julien has been in his own musical world since he first started putting out beats. He blends everything from hip-hop and house to funk and soul in his always emotionally raw, frayed edge sounds. Because of that breath in his sound, the Londoner is the perfect candidate for a DJ-kicks mix and so it proves as he journeys from the sofa to the club and back again with tunes of his own next to jams from across the ages and the genres. Ryuichi Sakamoto, Brothermartino, My Girlfriend and more all feature in a well-mixed, well-programmed set that contrasts bright keys with dirty basslines, and boogie funk with more sleek machine rhythms.
Review: To get away from the 'one track after the other' compilation concept K&D checked in at Havlis Super Sound where their man Alex (don of the echo chambers) has a secret dub-laboratory. There K&D did a dub session on the selected tracks to inject some dynamics and life into it. They took two bottles of Highland Park whisky and their old dub-echoes from the cellar and did a smoked-out dub echo-orgy.
Review: Berlin-based Sydneysider LOGIC1000 (real name Samantha Poulter) enjoyed a prolific and productive 2024, becoming something of an in-demand DJ, producer and remixer on the back of her acclaimed debut album Mother, a typically distinctive affair that pulled deep house in a variety of woozy, melodious and inventive new directions. Her inclusion in K7's long-running DJ Kicks series is therefore well-earned. It offers a home listening-ready distillation of her sound that's notably 'calmer' (in the label's words) than her club sets. But that's no bad thing, as it allows greater exploration of experimental, downtempo and hyper-pop, alongside a string of exclusives (including the obligatory track created for the series) and some heady, mid-tempo dancefloor grooves.
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