Brandt Brauer Frick - DJ-Kicks

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  • If anyone is still describing Brandt Brauer Frick as some classical version of Kraftwerk, it's time to stop. The German trio once dealt in austere minimalism, but on their DJ-Kicks mix, that sound has been jettisoned in favour of heavy, eclectic, acid-fried funk. Think: house and techno by way of Flying Lotus. 
 Brandt Brauer Frick's DJ-Kicks shows the German trio rifling through 28 tracks like music nerds excitedly sharing new records with friends. The mix has an arresting, non-linear flow (rhythmically, it jumps from 4/4 to choppy breaks and into slippery broken beats), but there is little artistry in the transitions. Instead, it's just a bunch of tracks pretty much laid-out as is: bang, bang, bang. 

 There's nothing fundamentally wrong with that, of course—especially when you have Brandt Brauer Frick's taste and sense of curiosity. The mix covers a lot of interesting distance between, for instance, the politically-charged funk of cult Nigerian artist William Onyeabor, Galaxy 2 Galaxy's "Transition" (one of those grave, spoken-word techno tracks that asks you to consider the meaning of your life), the glossy synthetic funk of Jam City's "How We Relate To The Body," Chico Mann's "Soul Freedom" (a tribute to dusty Latin funk and scratchy ska 7-inches), and the drowsy, soft-focus piano house of Glenn Astro's beautiful "How I Miss You." Further seasoned with high-grade techno (Cosmin TRG) and moody bass music (Peverelist), Brandt Brauer Frick's contribution to the series, while not a classic, is still a little treasure trove.
  • Tracklist
      01. Jan Jelinek - HipBird 02. Inkswel - Australaborialis 03. Theo Parrish - Electric Alleycat 04. Dollkraut - Rollercoaster 05. William Onyeabor - Better Change Your Mind 06. Max Graef - Bummse 07. Brandt Brauer Frick - Bommel 08. Kingdom - Stalker Ha 09. Parental Control - Feel Like / Le K - Abraz 10. Alfabet (Awanto 3 & Tom Trago) - Lap The Music 11. Fantastic Man - Late At Night 12. Brandt Brauer Frick - Out Of Tash 13. Galaxy 2 Galaxy feat. Atlantis - Transition 14. Peverelist - Sun Dance 15. DJ Do Bass - To Catchy 16. French Fries - White Screen 17. Chico Mann - Soul Freedom 18. James Braun & Troels Abrahamsen - Wooden Knuckles 19. Glenn Astro - How I Miss You 20. Philogresz - Edge 21. Bok Bok & Tom Trago - Vector 22. Cosmin TRG - Echolab Disaster 23. MMM - Re-tics 24. Jam City - How We Relate To The Body 25. Brandt Brauer Frick - Hugo (DJ-Kicks) 26. Machinedrum - Now U Know Tha Deal 4 Real 27. Thundercat - Tenfold 28. Dean Blunt - Galice
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