Hed Kandi: The Mix 2013

The Hed Kandi label's yearly overview of big hits and future anthems uses -- like the auto industry -- the "model year" on its cover, so don't think of these tracks as ones that were released in 2013. All of them come from the year 2012 and before, but they were still hot enough to get play in the early part of 2013, and more importantly, what Hed Kandi lacks in archival accuracy it more than makes up for with both impeccable taste and licensing muscle. Fine and important club music, with selections covering the dance spectrum from just above the underground to just below the pop charts, fills this set, which is comprised of three thematic discs. Disc one is dubbed Bar, with Hed Kandi DJ Nathan Cozzetto presenting a mix of pre-prime-time music, starting with some smooth, jazzy house that gets the hips moving and building up to the sure beat of Richard Earnshaw's Kraftwerk-meets-DJ Sneak construction "We Are." Dan Van mixes disc two, or Club, where big bangers from big names (Fatboy Slim, Joey Negro, and ATFC, to mention a few) re-create a club where the arms are in the air and the floor is filled. Carl Hanaghan curates the third disc, Lounge, where titles like "Dawn," "Go Slow," and "Back to Basics" all evoke the downtempo post-club come-down their titles imply. Well done and well sequenced, this is proof the Hed Kandi label is still going strong in 2013. ~ David Jeffries