DJ-KiCKS:20 years, 50 mixes to make you move in the comfort of your home

June 21, 2015 1:29 PM

The DJ-Kicks series was born in Berlin in 1995, and lays claim to the title of the first officially licensed DJ mix series available commercially. In the 20 years since it started, the series has covered house and techno, drum'n'bass and downtempo, and genres without convenient names, put together by musical monuments like Carl Craig, Thievery Corporation, and Four Tet to relative newcomers like Gold Panda and Maya Jane Coles. Besides the expected DJs and producers, the series also includes Daddy G (of Massive Attack) in a rare solo effort, pulling out unreleased dubplates for his mix, and Erlend Øye (of Kings of Convenience and The Whitest Boy Alive) providing his own a capella additions to the mix. For the 50th release, the series comes back to Germany with DJ Koze, bringing you his version of a "modern party mix." That's a lot of words about music, so let's hear it already!

Well, maybe a few more words first. With the second mix in the series, Carl Craig started something. He took the tracks from his mix and made a new, unmixed bonus track at the end of the CD, titled "DJ-KiCKS (the track)," which was also released as a single track on a single-sided "EP" record, which !K7 Records shortened and made into a (very 1995) short CGI music video. Claude Young continued the new tradition with his own track of the same name, and in the fourth mix in the series, Stacey Pullen went back to Carl Craig's inspiration with his own DJ Kicks (The Track).

Thievery Corporation changed it up by making a wholly new, exclusive track ("Black Baby") as the final track in their mix, as did Nicolette in her extended 2CD DJ-KiCKS mix. This trend of making exclusive tracks became intermittent starting with the mix by Kemistry & Storm in 1999.

The Mixes
1. C.J. Bolland (techno, acid; Discogs)
2. Carl Craig (techo; Discogs)
3. Claude Young (techno, minimal; Discogs)
4. Kruder & Dorfmeister (downtempo, dub, breaks, drum'n'bass; Discogs)
5. Stacey Pullen (techno, tech house, house; Discogs)
6. Nicolette (techno, drum'n'bass, and a moment of industrial; Discogs)
7. Rockers Hi-Fi - The Black Album (dub, downtempo, drum'n'bass; Discogs)
8. DJ Cam (downtempo, trip-hop, hip-hop; Discogs)
9. Terranova (mix not online; sample track: Terranova - "Contact/DJ Kicks") (future jazz, hip-hop, breaks, downtempo; Discogs)
10. Smith & Mighty (dub, reggae, jungle, hip-hop; Discogs)
11. Andrea Parker (mix not online; sample tracks: Andrea Parker - "Unconnected" and Depeche Mode - "It's No Good (Andrea Parker Mix)" as heard in the mix, and unmixed) (techno, experimental, electro, breakbeat, hip-hop; Discogs)
12. Kemistry & Storm (drum'n'bass, jungle; Discogs)
13. Thievery Corporation (downtempo, dub, breaks, drum'n'bass; Discogs)
14. Kid Loco (downtempo, future jazz, abstract, breaks, trip-hop; Discogs)
15. Stereo MCs (downtempo, trip-hop, hip-hop; Discogs)
16. Nightmares on Wax
17. Trüby Trio (broken beat, future jazz, deep house; Discogs)
18. Vikter Duplaix (future jazz, broken beat, downtempo, trip-hop; Discogs)
19. Playgroup (unmixed selection, YT playlist; plus Playgroup - Behind The Wheel (DJ Kicks Electroca$h Mix)) (house, electro, experimental; Discogs)
20. Tiga (techno, electro, synth-pop; Discogs)
21. Chicken Lips (mix not online; sample track: Chicken Lips - "Bad Skin" exclusive for the mix) (electro, leftfield, house, disco, dub, New Wave, freestyle; Discogs)
22. Erlend Øye (also: unmixed selection, YT playlist) (house, tech house, electro, indie-dance/disco; Discogs)
23. Daddy G (leftfield, dub, trip-hop; Discogs)
24. The Glimmers (house, electro, disco; Discogs)
25. Annie (unmixed selection, YT playlist) (house, electro, leftfield, disco; Discogs)
+ DJ-KiCKS: The Exclusives (14 unmixed tracks, a selection of exclusives from past releases)
26. Four Tet (mix not online; sample tracks: Four Tet - "Pockets" exclusive for the mix, and Quickspace Supersport - "Superspace (DJ-Kicks Four Tet version)") (leftfield, abstract, future jazz, fusion, IDM, experimental, electro, rap, funk; Discogs; EPK with photo shoot and interview)
27. Henrik Schwarz (soul-jazz, house, techno, funk; Discogs)
28. Hot Chip (mix not online; sample track: Hot Chip - "My Piano" exclusive for the mix; bonus: My Piano (dub)) (house, disco, breaks, hip-hop, jazz, pop; Discogs; interview with track snippets)
29. Booka Shade (leftfield, trip-hop, hip-hop, disco, UK garage, IDM, minimal, experimental; Discogs)
30. Chromeo (electro, disco, pop; Discogs)
31. Juan Maclean (unmixed selection, YT playlist) (house, disco; Discogs)
32. James Holden (also on Mixcloud) (progressive trance, progressive house, tech house, illbient, experimental;
33. Kode9 (house, broken beat, dubstep, neo soul, downtempo, dancehall, breaks; Discogs)
34. Apparat (abstract, minimal, [dark] ambient, techno, tribal, breakbeat, dubstep; Discogs)
35. Wolf + Lamb vs. Soul Clap (deep house, funk, disco; Discogs, and two unmixed EPs with the ten exclusive tracks)
36. Motor City Drum Ensemble (*takes a deep breath* house, deep house, downtempo, minimal techno, neo soul, space-age, afrobeat, reggae, future jazz, disco, funk, techno, soundtrack, fusion; Discogs)
37. Scuba (techno, dubstep; Discogs)
38. Gold Panda (techno, tech house, dubstep; Discogs)
+ DJ-KiCKS: The Exclusives (13 more unmixed tracks, the second selection of exclusives from past releases)
39. Photek (unmixed selection, YT playlist) (house, dubstep; Discogs, and unmixed EP with previously unreleased tracks; !K7 interview feature)
40. Maya Jane Coles (deep house, house, tech house, techno, minimal; Discogs)
41. Digitalism (house, techno, electro, synth-pop; Discogs)
42. Hercules and Love Affair (YT playlist; see also: official 15 minute preview) (house, deep house; Discogs)
43. Maceo Plex (house, techno; Discogs)
44. John Talabot (house, leftfield, disco; Discogs)
45. Breach (20 minute sample mix; 4 minute !K7 interview special) (house, techno, minimal; Discogs)
46. Brandt Brauer Frick (leftfield, future jazz, dubstep, deep house, house, tech house, techno; Discogs)
47. Will Saul (unmixed, disorganized selection, YT playlist) (house, techno; Discogs)
48. Nina Kraviz (unmixed selection, YT playlist) (house, techno; Discogs)
49. Actress (unmixed selection, YT playlist; plus two exclusives: Actress - "Bird Matrix" and Gnesis - "Pear") (abstract, experimental, house, techno; Discogs)
50. DJ Koze (unmixed selection, YT playlist; plus two exclusive tracks: DJ Koze - "I Haven't Been Everywhere But It's On My List" and Portable Feat. Lio - "Surrender (Kosi Edit)") (indie rock, leftfield, house, downtempo; Discogs)

posted by filthy light thief (41 comments total)

Oh hello. Something to mix into the slot which BBC Essential Mix currently fills for me. Beautiful, can't wait to dig into this.
posted by CrystalDave at 1:32 PM on June 21, 2015

Man, I have to say that that Hot Chip DJ-Kicks mix is probably my favorite party album ever - sincerely just perfect from beginning to end, crazy obscure stuff from all over the map and pop from Ray Charles to New Order. Highly recommended.
posted by koeselitz at 1:40 PM on June 21, 2015 [4 favorites]

(The Carl Craig is stupendous, too! Great stuff.)
posted by koeselitz at 1:41 PM on June 21, 2015

Fantastic post. Thanks.
posted by shortfuse at 1:53 PM on June 21, 2015

This will be fun! Thanks!

Since we're talking DJ's, a fellow calling himself DJ Fleep had been releasing his mixes from his shows for several years. He hasn't posted anything for a couple of years, though. I have no clue where he disappeared to, but his mixes are still available, and they're great.
posted by Thorzdad at 1:57 PM on June 21, 2015

(Bleep is currently having a sale on all of the DJ-Kicks mixes right now, if you are one of those crazy people who still buys music.)
posted by Going To Maine at 2:12 PM on June 21, 2015 [1 favorite]

This is great! Thanks! The Erlend Øye mix is fantastic - I am super excited to check out the others.
posted by pulposus at 2:23 PM on June 21, 2015

Damn you, GTM. Now I'm looking at these mixes with new eyes, and wondering which I really want to have right now (and I'm wondering if the "DJ-Kicks exclusive tracks compilation" that comes with some purchases is anything new, or one of the two old comps.

Alternatively, most of the older CD mixes are re-selling for a fraction of the sticker price, as is so often the case with anything more than a year old.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:25 PM on June 21, 2015

Seconding Erlend Øye, I bought the vinyl specifically to have the a cappella tracks as pure vocal tracks (and first comments for James Holden, Apparat, Juan Maclean, Kid Loco... OK, I'm having trouble finding a dud here).

And if you want to listen to these but are having trouble knowing where to start, Insomniac has some comments on their top pics as of last year. I really like the new DJ Koze mix, and that track by Portable, both the edit and original (video) mix are fantastic. Wonderful, somber house-ish music, I'm failing to describe it well.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:29 PM on June 21, 2015

Thirding (is that ever done) The Erlend Øye mix's general awesomeness. Also, the Daddy G mix is impeccable, the Nicolette mix was my definition of out-there cool back in the early aughts, and the Kode9 mix is super good too. Will have to reacquaint myself with some of these. Thanks.

Whenever I ordered anything from the K7! website, they used to throw in a free CD-R with something interesting...not sure if they still do that sort of thing, but it was always appreciated.
posted by nikoniko at 2:54 PM on June 21, 2015

Oh my god.
posted by gwint at 3:11 PM on June 21, 2015

I used to play the hell out of that K&D disc. Damn, so good. Can you do this for Ninja Tune releases next?
posted by gwint at 3:12 PM on June 21, 2015 [4 favorites]

The Nightmares on Wax one is mostly hip-hop and downtempo. Recommended, if you're a fan of those genres.
posted by box at 4:19 PM on June 21, 2015

This was such a great series for aspiring DJs because they always released an unmixed version with the complete tracks on both 2x12(or 3x12) vinyl and CD, so we had access to some of the rare and out of print tracks that our heroes loved, but that we were late on or could't afford otherwise. Probably less of an issue in the digital DJ age, but still a classy series- almost all are worth hearing.
posted by p3t3 at 4:23 PM on June 21, 2015 [2 favorites]

Filthy Light Thief - please memail your address so I can fly to where you are and kiss you.
posted by HarveyDenture at 4:29 PM on June 21, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'm enjoying DJ Koze's, though I think the hype is a bit much. Might age well, though. James Holden's & Juan Maclean's both do it for me (as well as the standard Erlend Øye). Motor City Drum Ensemble's isn't my cup of tea -which is suprising, since it should be- but has a lot of lovers over at Resident Advisor.
posted by Going To Maine at 4:40 PM on June 21, 2015

Oh my god.

Clique clique clique clique
posted by Going To Maine at 4:41 PM on June 21, 2015 [1 favorite]

That K&D mix. I'm a female. Take note, boys: we cannot resist ths DJ Kicks album. You will thank me.
posted by memewit at 4:59 PM on June 21, 2015 [6 favorites]

Can you do this for Ninja Tune releases next?

Well, I did that, kind of. It was about 4 years ago, when Ninja Tune hit their own 20 year anniversary, but I didn't try to document every release, because therein lies madness. There are albums, singles, variant singles, promo-only releases, all spanning a handful of related labels ... never ending.
posted by filthy light thief at 5:13 PM on June 21, 2015 [1 favorite]

I have at least two copies of the K&D DJ Kicks on vinyl. Amazing set that was. I also love the DJ Cam set and the Thievery set. I haven't followed the series since about then however.
posted by gen at 5:24 PM on June 21, 2015 [1 favorite]

Thorzdad: fleep is still around, but not making mixes unfortunately. He's doing well though.
posted by gen at 5:26 PM on June 21, 2015

Low key best one: StereoMcs
posted by Potomac Avenue at 5:29 PM on June 21, 2015

Well, I did that, kind of.

FLT, you're a goddamned national treasure.
posted by gwint at 6:47 PM on June 21, 2015

A. great post ...

B ....

the series also includes Daddy G (of Massive Attack) in a rare solo effort, pulling out unreleased dubplates for his mix,

stream available here ...
posted by philip-random at 7:15 PM on June 21, 2015 [1 favorite]

Thanks! And that link to Daddy G's mix Is in there, #23.

That K&D mix. I'm a female. Take note, boys: we cannot resist ths DJ Kicks album. You will thank me.

Here's a happy Father's Day to you new dads next year. You're welcome, or I'm sorry.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:18 PM on June 21, 2015 [3 favorites]

Oh man I haven't thought about Erlend Øye in years; getting the mix!
posted by griphus at 8:28 PM on June 21, 2015

oh man and Avenue D are on it

That makes me and Erlend Øye probably the only two people in the world who put Avenue D on a mix in 2015.
posted by griphus at 8:29 PM on June 21, 2015

Uh, that Øye mix is from back in 2004, actually…
posted by Going To Maine at 8:34 PM on June 21, 2015

I remember because I used to play it, Funeral, and You Forgot It In People nonstop, to my roommate's vexation.
posted by Going To Maine at 8:35 PM on June 21, 2015

FWIW at least a few of the mixes are on Spotify too. Kruder & Dorfmeister. Motor City Drum Ensemble. Gold Panda. Actress.
posted by asterix at 9:25 PM on June 21, 2015

> most of the older CD mixes are re-selling for a fraction of the sticker price

Truth. I filled out our household's K&D collection a couple weeks ago on an Amazon binge and the postage cost more than the CDs did.
posted by ardgedee at 3:36 AM on June 22, 2015

There are a number of fucking stellar mixes in this series, and the most recent, DJ Koze's, is yet another entry in the "OH. MY. GOOOODDDDDDDDDDDD." list. Kode9's probably had the most impact on me as it was a perfect encapsulation of where he was/what he was doing at the time, but that's up for grabs.

It's a real shame the rumored Burial one never happened. I bet that would've been a trip.
posted by sparkletone at 4:04 AM on June 22, 2015

This is good
posted by asok at 4:07 AM on June 22, 2015

Nthing the Hot Chip and Erlend Øye mixes, but the one I've listened to the most is Apparat. I just love whatever sweet spot he hit with it.
posted by ultraviolet catastrophe at 4:23 AM on June 22, 2015

I listened to the Stereo MCs DJ Kicks mix while writing my dissertation that I thanked it in the Acknowledgments.
posted by googly at 6:16 AM on June 22, 2015 [2 favorites]

Really digging the Kode9 mix right now. Thanks!

(Also recommended: the Fabric Series. Or at least Fabric 60 by Dave Clarke. For some reason every time I think about checking out the others I just fire up that one.)
posted by Foosnark at 7:16 AM on June 22, 2015

Turns out several of these are on Google Play Music, including the K&D and Hot Chip. I think I have a new gigantic playlist ready for my car.
posted by Foosnark at 7:20 AM on June 22, 2015

There's a lot of talk about the Hot Chip mix, does anyone have a link to the whole thing? Or where to purchase it if that's the option.
posted by synthetik at 11:16 AM on June 22, 2015

So, to be clear about ye sales: most of the mixes can be purchased on your platform of choice for $7. The Bleep deal will net you two-for-$12.
posted by Going To Maine at 11:18 AM on June 22, 2015

It's a real shame the rumored Burial one never happened. I bet that would've been a trip.

Burial and Kode9 did one for the last episode of Mary Anne Hobbs' Radio 1 show. I feel like Burial probably doesn't have much experience actually performing as a DJ but Kode9 is pretty much his appointed public representative.
posted by atoxyl at 11:37 AM on June 22, 2015 [1 favorite]

I am really enjoying these, as well as the Back To Mine series (Orbital is the best one, IMHO), and the Late Night Tales, which has some Bandersnatch Cummerbund in it...

Music to code by: Back to Mine.
Music to run by: DJ-Kicks.
Music to design by: Late Night Tales.
posted by Monkey0nCrack at 3:40 PM on June 28, 2015 [1 favorite]