Hed Kandi: Pure Kandi
Friday, 27, Nov 2009 04:54
Hed Kandi, out November 30th.
What's it all about?
Pure Kandi is the festive offering from the Hed Kandi guys who have assembled over ninety albums with some of the biggest names in dance. It's a fun, relaxed brand which continues to push dance music into the mainstream; but as we've mentioned previously on inthenews.co.uk, Hed Kandi isn't a label to break boundaries.
This release is billed as being slightly more grownup than the previous cheery cartoon covered creations and the more subtle tones of the album cover certainly reflect this, but so too do the relaxed beats which are hardly demanding of your attention.
Who's it by?
Hed Kandi was founded by a radio team who thought they could do more for the dance music industry than simply play the music.
The popularity of the brand grew quickly and by 2002 the first full residency began in London. Today Hed Kandi host club nights on every continent.
This release comes a decade after the launch of the super brand.
As an example...
"Let the sun shine."
So is it any good?
It seems there was an original plan to split the three discs into past, present and future. The theme works well, but the decision not to divide the discs between the three time frames, as originally planned, is to the creators' merit. Instead we kick off disc one with one of 2009's biggest hits - David Guetta and Kelly Rowland's When Love Takes Over - but then jump in the same CD to Solitaire's Kandi Re-Cut of You Got the Love 2009. This mixed-up approach proves more conducive to the ultimate goal: keeping feet on the dance floor.
Unfortunately, the massive kick off of When Love Takes Over is somewhat misleading, and there is little else on the first disc to you in the party mood - which is surely what a dance compilation is all about at this time of year? That isn't to say that the disc isn't populated by great tracks, but a few more classic beats wouldn't go a miss.
The second CD does better. After launching with Calvin Harris' I'm Not Alone, it slows the pace before coming back with Armand Van Helden's The Funk Phenomena remixed into the Starkillers 2010 version. Not long after comes the Acicii 2009 Remix of Fade from Solu Music featuring KimBleen, and the adrenaline is kept high with the music in the foreground where it rightly belongs.
CD3 gives us some more David Guetta in GRRRR as well and the excellent Oliver Twizt with You're Not Alone. But with too many of the tracks, something has been lost in the remix. The original great tracks are still in there - Candi Staton's You Got the Love for example in Solitaire's Kandi Re-cut - but whereas the original would provoke a massive rush to the floor, the remix struggles to ignite a reaction and the vacuous pseudo rap which is spewed across so many of the tracks detracts hugely from what were previously infectious catchy house tunes.
But it does what it sets out to and delivers some well mixed, easygoing dance tunes, although I must mention two final criticisms. Firstly, the Hed Kandi brand attack gets a bit tiring; the brand's need to own music which has developed and evolved over the years starts to feel a bit wrong. But so long as you can ignore the cover sleeve credits, you shouldn't find it a problem.
Unfortunately my second criticism isn#t so easy to ignore. The music is good, and you really get the feeling that Wez Clarke and co. know what they're doing with the decks. But there is just no 'oomph'; nothing to leave you hanging in anticipation of the next immense tune; nothing to compel you to move and shake until the sun comes up!
Ultimately, Pure Kandi will provide a chilled out track for your car or a suitable bit of background music for the comedown after a big night. Just don't expect the any of the excitement or rush of the Ministry of Sound collections for example.
7/10
Eleanor Ward