Published
Tue, Sep 12, 2006, 13:20
- Latest DJ Kicks comes from deep house DJ Henrik Schwarz, who promises to deliver something “for your mind, your body, and, most importantly, your soul.�
Latest mix in the DJ Kicks series comes from German house DJ Henrik Schwarz, who promises to deliver something “for your mind, your body, and, most importantly, your soul.” ‘DJ Kicks’ mixed by Schwarz will be released mid-October.
Hailing from Bodensee in the south of Germany, Schwarz is a longtime veteran of the German deep house scene. DJing is his first love, but these days he’s also busy as a producer and performer, jamming out sets live via his trusty laptop.
Perhaps most known for his collaboration with countrymen Âme & Dixon on this year’s huge revamp of Derrick Carter’s ‘Where We At’, Schwarz’s twelves are making waves these days, getting support from the likes of Jazzanova, Sonar Kollektiv and Gilles Peterson. But technoheads appreciate their Henrik too: he’s remixed Alex Smoke, and the pattern techno of tracks like ‘Jimis’ – miles away from the party groove of ‘Leave My Head Alone Brain’ – prove inside the soul of Schwarz lurks a man who loves his computers.
Rather than go for the latest bunch of dancefloor tunes, Schwarz’s concept for the album was to pay homage to the music that he’s loved down the years. Schwarz admits that he didn’t want to think too much about his mix, rather he let the music dictate what direction he went in. “I just selected the tracks and then played them,” he admits. “It was more about the feeling of the mix, creating those emotions and combining extremes.”
The 23-tracks promise to be a journey through Schwarz’s record boxes, drawing on jazz (Moondog, Doug Hammond, Pharoah Sanders), afro-beat (Cymande), dub (Rhythm & Sound), funk (James Brown) house, avant-garde (Arthur Russell) soul (Marvin Gaye, Womack & Womack, and techno (Robert Hood, Drexciya). But this isn’t all about eclecticism to prove a point, like the press puts it: “Good times are audible at every turn.”
Also featured are some of Schwarz’s own productions, including ‘Imagination Limitation’ which was especially written for the mix.
Tracklist for DJ Kicks mixed by Henrik Schwarz
1. Intro
2. Moondog ‘Bird's Lament’
3. Double ‘Woman of the World’ (Long Instrumental Version)
4. IO ‘Claire’
5. D'Angelo ‘Spanish Joint
6. James Brown ‘Since You've Been Gone’
7. Henrik Schwarz ‘Jon’ (Live Version)
8. Jae Mason ‘Let it Out’
9. Cymande ‘Anthracite’
10. Henrik Schwarz ‘Imagination Limitation (DJ-Kicks)’
11. Drexciya ‘Black Sea’
12. Amampondo ‘Giya Kasiamore’
13. Coldcut ‘Walk a Mile in My Shoes’ (Henrik Schwarz Remix)
14. Robert Hood ‘The Core’
15. Artist Unknown ‘Chant avec Cithare’ (Track 1)
16. Pharoah Sanders ‘Summun Bukmun Umyun’
17. Luther Davis Group ‘You Can Be A Star’
18. Arthur Russell ‘Get Around To It’
19. Womack & Womack ‘Conscious Of My Conscience’
20. Rhythm & Sound w/Sugar Minott ‘Let Jah Love Come’
21. Doug Hammond ‘Wake Up Brothers’
22. Marvin Gaye ‘You're The Man’ (Alternate Version 2)
23. Outro
‘DJ Kicks’ mixed by Henrik Schwarz will be released on !K7 on October 16, 2006.