DJ-Kicks

Sound DNA

• Electronic
• Synth-Pop / New Wave

• brittle
• swaggering
• hedonistic

About

Ever since his cover of Corey Hart’s “Sunglasses at Night” tore up electroclash dance floors at the turn of the millennium, Montreal’s Tiga has been one of the most irreverent personalities in dance music. His playful streak is in full effect on his 2002 <i>DJ-Kicks</i> mix, with a cheeky cover of Nelly’s “Hot in Herre” snuck alongside Le Tigre’s rowdy dance-punk and Carl Finlow’s whip-cracking electro. “All the good mixed CDs I ever did I did live,” Tiga tells Apple Music about how he made <i>DJ-Kicks</i>. “The times that I tried to do it in studio it was a nightmare, and it never sounded very good because it wasn't spontaneous.” An old-school spirit infuses many of Tiga’s selections, whether it’s the silky funk of retro tricksters Chromeo’s “You’re So Gangsta” or the vintage synth-pop of Soft Cell’s “So.” But a surprising proportion of the set is dedicated to the stripped-down tech-house sounds that were then coming out of Europe and the UK: Antonelli Electr.’s self-explanatory “Dubby Disco,” Swayzak’s sleek “Ikea,” M.A.N.D.Y.’s rubbery “Home Again.” He wraps it all up with Felix Da Housecat and Miss Kittin’s “Madame Hollywood (Mister Hollywood Version),” a song whose flamboyant sass feels like a microcosm of Tiga’s whole aesthetic. “Making a DJ mix that stands the test of time, that's actually good—it's way harder than stepping into a club and playing a two-hour set,” he says. “You really desperately want that if someone just finds it five years later, they get a real essence of you as a DJ at your best.”

via Apple Music

Tracklist

Credits