DJ-Kicks - The Tracks by Stacey Pullen
1996
Techno / Deep House
Allow me to make one thing very clear here before diving into this release: this is *not,* I repeat, *not* the DJ mix version of Detroit techno legend Stacey Pullen's terrific volume in !K7's super consistent DJ-Kicks series. What this is instead is the double-12-inch version of it, which is markedly different. See, sometimes when labels put out a DJ mix on CD or cassette, they also release a different edition of it on vinyl too, and those ones usually come with fuller-length, unmixed versions of tracks that appear within the DJ mix itself.
Now, I have mixed feelings about this particular release here; on one hand, there is some really great mid-90s techno and deep house on this thing, and if you loved any tracks on the DJ mix version of the album, then, with this vinyl edition, you'd have the fuller-length, unmixed versions of its songs. But on another hand, this particular vinyl release is only limited to being a double-12-inch, so you couldn't possibly fit longer versions of every single song that was used in the DJ mix itself onto two records; electronic tunes are generally way too long for you to be able to do that.
So, given that constraining factor, I really don't think that the 7 songs that were ultimately chosen for this vinyl edition are really all that fully representative of the true nature of Stacey Pullen's very excellent DJ mix. Basically, if you've never heard this dispatch from the DJ-Kicks series before, don't bother listening to this double-12-inch to get your fill of it; go listen to the actual DJ mix instead; it's spectacular.
Still though, all of this isn't to say that there aren't bangers on these two records here, because there definitely are; especially the last two tracks: Kenny Larkin's "Q" and "Funk de Fino" by Gypsy. It's just that the actual DJ mix has a whole lot more bangers on it than this release does.
Kenny Larkin's "Q" does this wonderful techno thing of laying down placid string pads and then eventually unleashing intermittently disruptive bunches of stabbing and galloping snares atop it, while also allowing a thin and fuzzy membrane of liquid acid to fester between it all too. In fact, speaking of galloping rhythms, Chicago house pioneer Marshall Jefferson uses a pretty similar formula to that one on a great techno track of his own called "The Horse" too, which was released a few years after "Q." I wonder if he drew any inspiration from Kenny Larkin for it! 🤔
And Gypsy's "Funk de Fino" is a terrifically deep hybrid of chilly ambient techno and dubby progressive trance. This tranquil and pleasing beast only gets a little over 2 minutes in Pullen's mix, but here, in its full-length state, it takes up an entire side of a record, clocking in at over 13 and a half minutes instead! Sweet, sweet, steady journey here to close out this particular release. One of the pros of this vinyl edition of the album is that you get to hear this awesome tune in its entirety 😌.
But nevertheless, trust me, folks: while this has some quality electronic music on it, the actual DJ mix of Stacey Pullen's DJ-Kicks is still leaps and bounds better.
Silent Phase - "Psychotic Funk"
Gerd - "Arkest's Blaze"
Wulf-N-Bear - "Raptures of the Deep"
Kenny Larkin - "Q"
Gypsy - "Funk de Fino"
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