- The Kid is back once again with yet another installment of his renowned breakbeat compilations - just part of his plan for world domination of the breakbeat scene - and this time volume 3 changes the gameplan slightly. The party breaks CD still remains as CD 1 and this time, the Kid has replaced the chilled breaks CD with a deep tech mix for the hardcore breakbeat heads out there.
CD 1: Party Breaks
CD 1 is and will always be, Kid Kenobi's salute to the current breaks and hip hop slammers that have been known to cause dancefloor mayhem in the clubs and festivals and there's absolutely no better way to start it all than with Punjabi MC's Mundian To Bach Ke - Guru Swami sitting in the Knight Rider car, just about to press the turbo boost! - followed by Australia's favourite international Krafty Kuts on the Tricka Technology.
The mix quickly moves into faster tempo thanks to Scotty Marz' Hot Butta - it's been a long time since Kingsize records have created a hip hop oriented breakbeat tune as they have moved onto harder and darker sounds.
A Kid Kenobi set or mix CD is incomplete without a Plump DJ's track and their slamming When The Funk Hits The Fan is an obvious choice considering it's been accepted by all dancefloors whether it be breakbeat or house. From the Plump's the mix highlights it's first local tune courtesy of Friendly's Glottal Stomp livin' large on the UK's Fat label!
Moguai represent twice for this mix with their two anthem tracks - U Know Y and The Rock - the latter being given the acapella treatment with a wicked ragga vocal workout from Aquasky vs Masterblaster feat Ragga Twins on Coffee.
It's finally good to get the Stanton's remix of Dude Descending A Staircase by Apollo 440 featuring the Beatnuts on CD - especially since in-car turntables are yet to be invented. Following on from that comes everybody's favourite Speak & Spell sampling tune Satisfaction.
The final Aussie onslaught begins starting off with Pocket and Kid Kenobi's remix of Amiel's Tonight and moving onto the very phat (read "Plump") Nick Thayer tune, Theme One - those Melburnians really know how to work their breaks - before Kenobi rounds the mix off with that cheeky Donna Summer and Plump DJ's mix of I Feel Love with EK closing the mix off with Keep it Casual. Interesting tune for him as he's been known to create some dark and filthy breaks, while now he's on a more thumping Meat Katie tip!
The track selection itself feels slightly outdated, however there are about 4 other mixed compilations which I can personally name off hand in which the same tracks appear on this CD, Kenobi only going one step further and including some exclusive local tracks to the recipe. If you couldn't be half-arsed buying 5 mix CD's to get your complete breaks fix, or if you are just a really devoted Kenobi fan - the party mix is definitely down yer alley!
CD 2: Deep Tech Breaks
Elitist breaks fans rejoice as now there is a local release covering the deeper and techier end of the breaks spectrum. It's about time too as there have been some fine releases that never, or hardly ever, get to see themselves on a DJ's playlist at a club.
Lonely Journey Of The Comet Bopp by Shifted Phases kicks off the mix and the seagull samples at the beginning give off that ambient feel, accompanied by some melodic piano lines and mellow bass. Nubreed's Neptune Beach follows on the same mellow, melodic vibe and is a far cry from the dark Midi Killa which appears on the flip side of the 12". Neptune Beach changes mood in the middle to some dark core breaks incorporating lovely bass drops, typical of the Nubreed sound.
Kilowatt star Stir Fry gets the singalong going tune on Lose Control featuring a tasty remix by Hong Kong's Dan F who always manages to get the deep fluid basslines going in all his productions. Check the Disuye website for more of his work.
Ills' remix of FC Kahuna's Hayling brings out the rolling breaks while the lush female vocals and stirring synths sit nicely on top. Layo & Bushwacka's productions always make use of jazzy, funky drum breaks and Shining Through is no different, but what's with the sampled scratch sounds? There seems to be no shortage of scratch DJ's nowadays, how about putting a guest DJ on the scratch?
Some time Fingerlicker's Dreadzone get the vs treatment facing off against Mafia Tone for The Warriors on a deep ragga tip. Feel the bass rumble through your speakers! LBJ pull out the tribal percussion for Funkers before local heroes Infusion offer up their Starwater before bringing the mix to an end, via a remix courtesy of Pulse & Tango AKA Initial Research AKA The Apollo Kids - you know it's got to be good!
Kenobi's definitely represented the breaks scene well on this release, and represented the local breaks scene even more so than on the previous two volumes. The layout is similar to mix CD's by DJ Hyper (Bedrock Breaks 1 and Fractured), so for those who are yearning for that dosage quality breaks whether it be funky or techy, look no further than Breaks 03. Personally, the deep tech mix does it for me.