Album Review: Heidi presents The Jackathon - Heidi

The Jackathon makes a bit of a poor first impression. Starting with an intro in the form of Derrick Carter telling us Heidi is bringing us something "you ain't never heard before” she then drops into Soul Clap's 'Incoming Bitch (Get Low)'. A problem for me on two counts - the intro smacks of self-indulgence from a DJ who doesn't have the reputation to permit it and 'Incoming Bitch' is a pretty terrible track from a usually dependable outfit - it's tasteless, two-dimensional and the combination of the vocal and high pitched squeals is frankly irritating.

It took me a while to get past this but I'm pretty glad I did - much of what follows is great. 'What The Funk' by Solomon is tasteful, minimal and, yes, subtly jacking house music in all the right ways. It feels old and new at the same time. DJ T. proves he still has something to offer on the drum-heavy dark vibes of 'High'. Featuring vocals from Nick Mauer, it gradually builds into a sweatbox of a track, a tribute to being lost inside the drugs and the music.

Juan Maclean seems to be on some sort of mission - following on from his excellent turn on DJ Kicks where he turned in a fantastic straight up house mix he helps Heidi do the same here with the inclusion of 'Love In Tatters'. It may not be rocket science but it's done very well - straight up head music, perfect for lovers of house.

Actor One delivers a heavy, dubby number on 'March Violets' that keeps things minimal and simple, shining all the brighter for it. The mix closes with Steve Bug's 'Jack is Back' followed by an outro by Derrick. Sadly this feels slightly anti-climatic - Bug's track is fine enough but it doesn't feel like an 'end' and the outro is not much better than the intro. The result feels like the warm-up DJ handing over to a headliner rather than the end of a night peak.

So a duff start and, to be honest, a few too many mentions of the word (/ name) Jack (yes, we get it, it's about jacking) but other than than Heidi hits her target here. The Jackathon is mostly pitched just right - it's a mix album for lovers of stripped back, simple house music that's perfect for a sunny day or a pre-night out warm-up.

BP x

Heidi presents The Jackathon is out now on Get Physical, available from Amazon.co.uk on CD and MP3 [affiliate links].

MP3 Download / Album Review: DJ Kicks - Various mixed by Wolf + Lamb and Soul Clap

Originally Wolf + Lamb and Soul Clap's DJ Kicks album was apparently due to be a 'versus' style affair but the respective duos obviously felt too much mutual love to compete and instead what we have is a four-way collaboration.

And the love here speaks volumes - this is a flirty, youthful house mix. Both Wolf + Lamb and Soul Clap have been on the verge of greatness for some time - with increasingly regularity BlackPlastic will hear a lush slab of disco house somewhere only to go on to discover it is one or the other (or both) of the pair. This DJ Kicks installment seems destined to push them further into the collective consciousness.

Short-skirted and irrepressible, this is an album a little impossible to resist. It's not perfect - there are times when it feels like it's playing you for time... Just like a girl drawing out the thrill of the chase there are some spacers here - the equivalent of deliberately unanswered phone calls or text messages that never get replied to, the odd track just feels like a waste of time and the programming is so flawless it can become a little sterile. But like the heady days of a blossoming relationship the overall experience feels exciting enough to forgive the artists involved - from blissful ambience of opening intro 'My Man's Gone Now' this is a remarkably considered album.

Things are at their best when everything goes a bit twisted and paranoid. Soul Clap's 'Lonely C', featuring Charles Levine, is alienated and distraught (check out the download below) - making the huge, fat bassline of H-Foundation's 'Tonight' all the more welcome when it arrives. And this isn't a mix afraid to drop the bpm and get sleazy - Nicholas Jaar (whose album we reviewed earlier this week) seriously messes with mix album conventions on his tribal and dubby 'Don't Believe The Hype'.

Zev's 'We All', featuring Greg Paulus, is one of the real standout moments, with a collection of warm acid lines and big empty snares encircling the listener, but it is Benoit & Sergio's fairly messed up 'Walk And Talk' that steals the show. A big, warm tech-house monster - it's the most beautiful song about having a ketamine addled girlfriend BlackPlastic has ever heard. Yes, really.

Occasionally caught out by it's own attention to detail it may be, but when Wolf + Lamb and Soul Clap's DJ Kicks album dares to let the chips lie where they fall, as one should with this sort of collaborative effort, it manages to hit all the right notes.

As a taster, download 'Lonely C' by Soul Clap featuring Charles Levine here [right click, save as].

BP x

Wolf + Lamb and Soul Clap's DJ Kicks album is released on !K7 on 15 March, available to pre-order from Amazon.co.uk on CD, LP and MP3 [affiliate links].

Single Review: She's Bad - Gadi Mizrahi & Soul Clap

Gadi Mizrahi & Soul Clap's 'She's Bad' is without doubt the slinkiest little soul jam to have dropped through BlackPlastic's virtual letter box in some time.

Minimal in approach it focuses on doing not a lot but doing it rather well. 'She's Bad' screams for laid back afternoons on beaches, its keys hot enough to make the tarmac go sticky under foot and the snatched vocal performance straining under the weight of a sun-baked libido. This is basically what shithouse funky house would sound like if it wasn't shit an was actually quite good.

'Beautiful Thang' over on the flip is a little less irresistible but still a pleasant way to pass a few minutes, with a thick and slightly rude bassline. It's a more dance-floor focused affair and won't permeate your subconscious in the same way but the campy vocals provide a standout moment.

She's Bad is out on Double Standard Records.

BP x