Over the past decade, !K7’s long running DJ Kicks mix series has become easily one of the most reliable names to go by in the ever-crowded mix compilation marketplace, and what’s also become remarkable about the series is its continuing unpredictability, with each new guest selector bringing their own diverse flavour (witness forays into leftfield dub and disco / punk-funk, from Massive Attack’s Daddy G and The Glimmers, respectively). In many senses, this latest volume sees !K7 returning to the original vibe of the series and selecting a guest compiler who’s perhaps better known for his skills as a DJ, than as a producer, in this case Berlin-based producer / DJ Henrik Schwarz. While he’s certainly amassed a significant reputation amongst the European scene for his club sets, Schwarz already has a backcatalogue of reworkings for other artists under his belt that stands at odds with the relatively short length of his production career, indeed he’s already remixed such respected names as Alex Smoke, Coldcut and Tosca. In addition to these aforementioned remixes, he’s also co-responsible for last year’s storming Derrick Carter-fronted 12” ‘Where We At’, a track he produced alongside fellow Berlin wunderkinds Ame and Dixon. This latest DJ Kicks volume shows Schwarz taking advantage of laptop technology to fuse together a decidedly after-hours flavoured mix that certainly takes in some diverse stylistic territory over its 23 tracks; heck – when was the last time you saw Womack & Womack and Rhythm & Sound next to each other on a DJ mix?

After a brief opening intro that sends shimmering melodic chords slowly looping into focus like something out of a dream, Moondog’s ‘Bird’s Lament’ kicks this mix off on a languid vintage jazz trajectory, whilst also revealing where Mr. Scruff pretty much ripped the entire basis for his ‘Get A Move On’ track from, with slow jazz horn solos tracing a path against melancholic-sounding double bass and muted brass, before Double’s ‘Woman Of The World’ ushers in Balearic house rhythms and clicking disco snares, as cut and twisted brass loops its way around icy tinkling keys and retro-analogue synth bass that carries more than a hint of ‘Substance’-era New Order. D’Angelo’s ‘Spanish Joint’ segues effortlessly into the funky drummer percussive roll and liquid-sounding guitar grooves of James Brown’s ‘Since You’ve Been Gone’, while Schwarz’s own ‘Jon’ retools things towards spacious tribal-infused soul house, its curiously ‘Push Upstairs’-esque tumbling piano lines capably laying the groundwork for the densely rhythmic afrobeat funk of Cymande’s ‘Anthracite.’ ‘Imagination Limitation’ meanwhile offers up the one new exclusive Schwarz production amongst the tracklisting here, its spacious Balearic-inspired piano-laden house sweep leading into the buzzing minimal Detroit techno atmospheres of Drexciya’s ‘Black Sea’, as distorted analogue synth lines inject a menacing acid edge.

Schwarz’s recent laidback house reworking of Coldcut’s ‘Walk A Mile In My Shoes’ recasts Robert Owens’ soaring vocals amidst a spacious backdrop of pulsing analogue bass-synths, disco-inspired house snares and brooding cinematic orchestration that calls to mind Massive Attack’s ‘Unfinished Sympathy’ in its epic sprawl, before Robert Hood’s ‘The Core’ ushers forth the tumbling acid 303 sequences over a dry pulsing backing of programmed kick drums. It proves to be only a brief flirtation with the acid, as things soon take another turn down into a socially-conscious themed bracket of tracks, disco / punk-funk NYC eccentric Arthur Russell opening things with the tense angular Talking Heads-esque New Wave funk of ‘Get Around To It’, before the live instrument-dominated slowburning soul of Womack & Womack’s ‘Conscious Of My Conscience’ slides forth into the gorgeous bottomless digidub pulse of Rhythm & Sound’s stellar collaboration with Studio One veteran Sugar Minott ‘Let Jah Love Come.’ Lastly, it’s left up to the man himself Marvin Gaye to close proceedings, which he does in truly heartbreaking style with an alternate studio version of his classic ‘You’re The Man.’

With this latest DJ Kicks instalment Henrik Schwarz has managed to bring forth easily one of the most consistently exciting and unpredictable chapters in the series so far; no mean feat considering the calibre of recent guest compilers. Perhaps the neatest trick here however, is the ease and style with which Schwarz smoothly incorporates minimal house / techno and soul / funk-styled selections into one cohesive mix here; two styles that you previously would have assumed would go together like chalk and cheese. For my money, this is easily one of this year’s most stellar late-night listening mixes, not to mention one of DJ Kicks’ best offerings for the last couple of years – let’s hope we get Schwarz out this way for a DJ tour sometime soon.

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