This is a continuous in-the-mix CD compiled and mixed by Vikter Duplaix.
Personnel: Frank McComb (vocals, keyboards); Lady Alma (vocals, background vocals); Dwele, Loretta Heywood, Nadirah Shakoor, Billie Godfrey (vocals); Francesco Romano, Ede Wright (guitar); Sarah Button, Krista Caspersz (violin); Becca Ware (viola); Hilary Skewes (cello); Lawrence Jones (flute); Kebbi Williams (saxophone); Mark de Clive-Lowe, Osunlade (Fender Rhodes piano); Dego (keyboards, percussion, drum programming); Jeff "The Funkmaster" Walker (double bass); Ron Trent (drums, percussion); Tristan Banks, Ben Taylor , Ben Taylor (drums); Ian Grant (percussion, programming); Ben Mitchell (percussion); James Brown , James Razor Brown , Ashley Beedle (programming); Geoffrey Williams (background vocals).
DJ: Vikter Duplaix.
Audio Mixers: Vikter Duplaix; Ron E.; Matt Lord; Jeff Mann.
Audio Remixers: King Britt; Ashley Beedle.
Recording information: Can Can Studios, Brighton; Dollis Hill Studio, London, England; Dolls Hill Studio, London, England; EQ's House of Hits, Detroit, MI; Rocksteady Studios.
Photographer: Ali Kepenek.
Arranger: Dego .
Though his name isn't familiar to most electronica listeners, Vikter Duplaix earned a volume in !K7's epic mix series DJ-Kicks thanks to an impressive, rangy credit list -- artists from Jazzanova to Erykah Badu to MC Dynamite to Jermaine Dupri. For his own feature (the first under his own name), Duplaix fashioned a house mix ranging far and wide for tracks that probably wouldn't have made much sense out of this setting. Duplaix's style isn't that of a traditional house DJ; he's actually more of a selector, choosing tracks he likes and ones that work well together, but never worrying about beat-matching or blending tracks into each other. After a spoken word opener from his own Critical Point project, Duplaix spins through plenty of crucial tracks, but arranges many of them into mini-sets; after a couple of tracks of earthy breaks ("Hold It Down" by 4hero and the excellent keyboard distortion of P'taah's "The Crossing (Evacuation of Form)"), he breaks in -- courtesy of a retro-computer voice -- and then turns to the sensual tribal house of "Feelin Me Feelin You" by Waiwan and "Tree of Life" by Osunlade. His own track, the solid stuttered-funk workout "Sensuality," opens up a few tracks of contemporary R&B. Toward the end, he salutes hip-hop with tracks from De La Soul, hometown friend Bahamadia, and Erykah Badu. Besides a few too many reminders explaining whose mix album listeners are tuned into, Duplaix's DJ-Kicks is an excellent installment in the series, gathering all manner of groove tracks into a tough, tight mix. ~ John Bush
Professional Reviews
The Wire (1/02, p.72) - "...A smoothly composed set of rapid ellipses..."
