- Notoriously famous for their double CD compilations featuring some slick artwork, Hedkandi are back once again to bring the funk for the floor with 23 of 2003's latest anthems for the funky house generation.
Being a disco house compilation, there is no need to ramble on about how funky and dancey each tune is - that just comes with the territory, however each CD has some highlight tunes that are worth mentioning.
CD 1:
Mindinfluence start things off with The Best Part hitting the keyboards hard for a sweet melody while San Francisco's deep house hero, Jay-J features with Latrice Barnett on Keep On Rising, funking up the bass while Latrice's vocals give off enough sensuality for one of 03's sexiest vocal house tunes - it has also featured on Jay-J's In The House Mix.
Inaya Day's Shout It Out is one for those hands up in the air moments which should give the crowd enough energy to "Shout it out!" along with the tune, while Michelle Weeks gets all spiritual with The Light.
CD 2:
Fatboy Slim's other guise - The Mighty Dub Katz - brings out the horny horns on Let The Drums Speak for a taste of that conga line house music - nice tune! Fuel seem to have attracted the attention of mainstream radio stations as Let Yourself Go has been getting heavy rotation since it's release.
Like Michelle Weeks on CD 1, Praise Cats' Shined On Me brings back that uplifting spiritual vibe even bringing out the church organ for a quick solo - it's got "anthem" stamped all over it.
Featured on the first Dimitri From Paris Playboy Mansion CD back in '99, Salome De Bahia's Outro Lugar brings back that Latin/Brazillian vibe to house and makes an interesting selection here.
Overall, Disco Heaven is a pretty average selection of the latest disco house tunes. The individual songs would definitely work better as a mixed compilation as disco house tends to shine when heard as a continuous journey - with build ups and climaxes included. A perfect compilation for people who really love their deep house - especially those who can't seem to get out of that Saturday night phase - and even more so for a CD DJ who couldn't be stuffed having to purchase each song individually.
Hedkandi could have easily fit more tunes onto this CD, as I'm pretty sure the mass majority of clubbers couldn't care less whether they got the full 12" mix of a tune or not... most would just press repeat on the CD player if they wanted to hear it all over again. The term disco has been around for 30 years now and inclusion of some classic tunes would have added icing to the cake.