There’s always a frisson of excitement when a big name DJ delivers a new mix for Defected, and Kevin Saunderson is a totally logical choice after helping them see in the new year at the O2 in London. He thinks it’s the best mix CD he’s ever done, and on hearing the evidence it’s difficult to disagree, as CD1 gives plenty of house goodness and CD2 offers a powerful techno set. The house goodness includes a lovely King Britt remix of Jay Haze’s ‘I Will Wait For You’, with Osunlade and the Jimpster remix of Josh Wink’s ‘Jus Right’ keeping a sense of deepness. Perhaps inevitably Inner City’s ‘Good Life’ crops up but it works well in a fresh instrumental guise, sitting as it does on the back of Kenny Larkin’s excellent remix of ‘Future’. CD2 goes back to basics, with little more than heavy drums and atmospherics as Saunderson gradually shifts through the gears, but the wait is worth it as the beats become progressively more powerful. It’s difficult to argue with the likes of Saunderson’s ‘Rock To The Beat’, here in Ben Sims remix form, or the storming take from Christian Smith on Carl Craig’s ‘At Les’, updating Detroit in some style. Saunderson’s claim is right, then – and it’s the best way to start the new year on the dancefloor!
5 out of 5
Reviewed By Ben Hogwood
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