Hot Chip / Various DJ-Kicks

The always curious DJ-Kicks series turns over the decks to the much deserved Hot Chip, whose The Warning still hasn’t outlasted its stay more than a year after it realigned the worlds of indie and dance. Usually the source of the songs that shaped the artist or simply the play list for a current DJ set, Hot Chip’s entry into the series is admittedly the latter, although one could imagine how animated a disc of their influences would be. There’s always a sense of the artist at play while you listen to the work they’ve done here, and this mix is a shapely example of the quintet’s exquisite tastes and frisky persona. Much like the colourful palette of their two albums and countless remixes, the song selection is wide in scope, stretching from the blue-eyed new wave of Grovesnor to the hip-hop bounce of Young Leek to the post-punk noise of This Heat. Surprisingly, there aren’t any rattling disturbances the way "Careful” exploded on The Warning, which feels like a minor letdown. Maybe they’re too smooth for their own good, which can be blamed on members Joe Goddard and Felix Martin being regular DJs. Still, the boys can pick winners and the fluctuations they’ve orchestrated makes for a chic, steady mix that includes brand new single "My Piano” (an exclusive for this comp). Plus, they have the balls to throw on Joe Jackson’s easy breezy "Steppin’ Out” after a remix of Audion’s pounding "Just Fucking.” Now that’s what I call a kick! (!K7)

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