FHJay, Nov 21, 2006
Personally, I love Hed Kandi. I own most of their disco releases, a few releases from other series, and am actively getting the rest. The Beach House, Disco Kandi, and Disco Heaven series are just the kind of modern House and Disco I love. Living where I do, there's hardly a club scene, and the CDs are a great way to hear some songs I never would have heard otherwise (and the complete versions no less!). I would definitely recommend them as a starting point for House, and a good place to get some great songs.
Back To Love is especially great, as it allows me to get a lot of those classic House songs that are otherwise hard, or expensive, to obtain. The other series have their ups and downs, but Back To Love, Disco Kandi (the most "commercial of the releases, showcasing disco house and U.S. garage), Disco Heaven (an extension of Disco Kandi, focusing more on the house side of things), and Beach House (house songs, with some deep house thrown in) are definitely the high marks of the label.
Recently, however, I've been disappointed with them. The first Disco Kandi release after the purchase from Ministry of Sound was lackluster, with only a few good songs on the first disc, and a terrible second disc that consisted mostly of electro. The second disc didn't fit under any kind of definition of disco I've ever heard. Not that I have anything against electro, but the songs themselves were very mediocre, and nothing worth seeking out or listening to again. I plan on giving it a second chance by buying the newest Disco Heaven and Disco Kandi sometime soon, both of which have been released by this point. However if I'm as disappointed as I was with the other recent release, I'll be thinking twice before I buy more.
Overall, I would recommend the label's early days, and releases back when Mark Doyle was still running it. The new installments have some good songs, but hardly enough to warrant a purchase. The lack of the actual full length versions in lieu of a truncated version is a turn-off as well. Unless things improve, I will be buying solely Fierce Angel releases, the majority of which remind me of the good days of Hed Kandi.
