Label:      Ministry of Sound
Genre:     Electronica
Release   Date: Available Now

Having followed Kid Kenobi's work since 'REMIX' and 'Beginners Guide to Breaks', I was looking forward to a great double CD. But did the kid break the mould this time? Not Breaks. Not Chillout. Not Hip-hop. What was it then?

Firstly, the cover art. While I will forgive less expense spared in the digital download age, I think the red, white and blue could have been done more impressively by year eight art students. It looks decidedly amateur for a DJ who has a great deal of resources at his disposal, given his fame and popularity.

Once I got over the uninspiring cover (yeah what about the tunes I hear you say!), I played the first disc without bias. A common thread of many recent releases of Kid Kenobi is the way he 'watermarks' the first track by repeatedly stating his name. An effective intro and branding aid, but other than that, it didn't float my boat. MC Shureshock remained his reliable sidekick on this track, but it appears the Kid has interspersed other vocals.

Starting with The Drum (Groove Diggaz remix) from Soul of Man, he lost my attention with a screeching siren sound that might appeal to teeny boppers at a blue light disco and gave a hint of Breaksville, but it struggles to let rip. The annoying sirens continue into Fancy Footwork (Guns & Bombs remix) by Chromeo. 'Beer Chucker' is not something I'd be when it came to dancefloor etiquette, but I'd be tempted if I heard track three. Armand Van Helden did an nice original with NYC Beat, but the next track presented me with something that had been shredded in the electro/breaks food processor. Now, if you like coleslaw, you will like this mix. I hate coleslaw. This, despite being an original treatment of the MSTRKRFT remix, it left me wanting more. More plain lettuce perhaps?

As a venture into the more commercially palatable genre of everyday DJing, the Kid attempts to break out of his breaks mould. The MOS stable is prolific in producing commercial DJ mixes and big names at that. This double CD was on the brink of convincing me that Kid Kenobi had mad the transition out of breaks and into house or electro or some other cocktail in between, but it struggled to find its footing on stable ground.

I can't help thinking that the MOS crew gave Kid Kenobi a track list and said, "Remix these!" Well he did and technically pulled it off, but I don't know where it took me. If you were listening to CD one, I would suggest starting at track 12 and see how you go for the remaining six tracks.

CD two slowed the tempo to a place that resembled somewhere between the 'Chillout Sessions' and a Breaks compilation, but it was just too slow for my liking. The typical track list of previous discs in Kid Kenobi's discography built up into a comfortable place where your ears could enjoy a climax. These tunes hinted at foreplay, but offered no aural orgasm.

I think the sampling of everything from a phone dialler to a Flinstones-style car skid were cheesy and repetitive. I loaded the tracks into my iPod, hoping to find a fresh audition on the train. My train was cancelled and I honestly gave these two discs a good ear, but they are yet to grow on me.

I did enjoy many of Kid Kenobi's other releases. This was not one of my favourites.

Tracklisting

Disc 1.
1. Soul Of Man – The Drum (Groove Diggaz Remix)
2. Chromeo – Fancy Footwork (Guns & Bombs Remix)
3. Krafty Kuts - Beer Chucker
4. Armand Van Helden – Nyc Beat (Mstrkrft Remix)
5. Sebastian – Ross Ross Ross
6. Jape – Floating (Alex Metric Remix)
7. The Screetch – The Screetch
8. Green Velvet Feat.Walter Phillips–Shake & Pop(Aston Remix)
9. Trevor Loveys & Sinden - Organ Grinder
10. Q45 & Amy B – Naughty (Kissy Sellout Remix)
11. Basement Jaxx – Make Me Sweat
12. Jesse Garcia – Off Da Hook!
13. Global Deejays Feat. Technotronic –Get Up Gen. Electric Version)
14. Aaren San - Osc Low Nyzz (Blende Remix)
15. White Rose Movement – Love Is A Number (Kid Kenobi Remix)
16. 10 Rapid - Master System (Koma & Bones Remix)
17. Justice Vs Simian - We Are Your Friends (Milke Remix)
18. Bloc Party - Banquet (Boys Noize Remix)

Disc 2.
1. Mike Monday - Zum Zum
2. Dj Kentaro Feat. Mc Spank Rock – Free (Armani Xxxchange Remix)
3. Modeselektor Feat. Sacha Perera - Silikon (Siriusmo Remix)
4. Aphletik – Bump (Fsd Remix)
5. Dj T – Funk On You
6. Space Cowboy Feat. Nadia Oh–My Egyptian Lover (Macklin Remix)
7. Kelis Feat. Too $hort - Bossy (Alan Braxe & Fred Falke Remix)
8. Studio R - A+r (Llorca Remix)
9. Wahoo - Make Em Shake It (Stanton Warriors Remix)
10. Radio Clit – Mature Macho Machine
11. Ttc - Une Bande De Mec Sympa
12. Elektrons Feat. Eska – Dirty Basement (Sinden Remix)
13. Partial Arts – Trauermusik (Alter Ego Remix)
14. Alter Ego – Beat The Bush (Freeform Reform Vocal)
15. Shitake Monkey – I’m Gonna Take U Home (The Glass Remix)
16. Sono - A New Cage (Digitalism Remix)
17. Tiga - (Far From) Home - (Dfa Remix)