C.J. Bolland* – DJ-Kicks

CJ was never the greatest mixer but his tune selection is second to none!

Great journey of techno ending with the classic Wayfarer .. mint !!

Great mix of acid techno and some hard trance tracks. Some complain about the "dated" sound but I love that shit. If being dated is wrong I don't want to be right.

Just shy of 20 years since its release, there are few techno sets that I've heard that combine the level of mood, swing and freneticism that this brings forth. It's very well crafted and as earlier stated, a bit loose on the mixing. I like the moments of rest in the mix, which allows for rebuilding and keeps the monotony in check. One of the main reasons this mix garners my high praise is due to a good chunk of these tracks having high amounts of swing. I believe that this is what makes this mix stand out from the rest. It's damn groovy. You get a good smattering of different types of kick drums, high hats and other percussion sounds. Combine that with beautifully accented acid stabs, moody pads and arpeggiated melodies and you become captivated for the entire 68 minutes. I never feel fatigued on a listen because it has it's waning points that give you a mental break. I find that rare on a techno mix.

All that wordiness aside, CJ Bolland's DJ Kicks mix is an aural spanking. It builds properly, captivates and finishes with a bouncy surge of energy not often replicated in the genre.

I was listening to this all the time when it was just out and what i can tell... This is one of my favourite techno mixes ever! It is recorded live and the mixing is not so tight, but listening to the mix you almost can feel the dancefloor magic CJ Bolland is well known for. Most of the tunes are from high-caliber techno producers. For me it is definately a classic mix here.

I was quite disappointed in this release. Many of the records are hokey "Eurotechno" from the early to mid 90's that have dated very poorly. You know, lots of "three note synth wash" sorts of riffs over generic 909 kicks - just way too much filler on here.

Surprisingly not as eclectic as his proper albums, CJ Bolland's slice of the DJ Kicks pie shimmies along to a unified, pelting 4/4 Belgian techno soundtrack. Since this was the first in the much revered line of DJ Kicks mix albums, a modest amount of pressure was on Bolland, yet he rarely succumbs to trying to please too many people. The beats are kept in check, the eye towards the underground releases is focused, and DJ twiddling rarely goes overboard. Bolland's fondness for transforming basic rhythms into complex compositions, however, is disappointingly low. Other than a few old-school squelches (Damon Wild & Tim Taylor's "Bang the Acid") and effective buildups (Nexus 6's "AB-Chic"), the mix tends to lead to a layered climax that never happens. A very danceable, yet somewhat shy, first peek into the record collection of one of techno's most prominent musicians.