!K7 Records

While talking to Nicolette an idea took shape: Why shouldn’t a Non-DJ select the tracks for a mix album ? Why shouldn’t a mix album extent to private favourites like young people do it all the time on mix tapes ? The current release of “DJ-Kicks” is proud to present DJ Nicolette with the realisation of a last summer’s idea. An impressive release on two CDs.

Nicolette is already an international well respected artist. For those who are not so familiar with her here are some details: Cooperations with Massive Attack (on the album “Protection”) and with Shut Up And Dance (who produced her first solo-album) made Nicolette – born 1969 in Cardiff/Scottland – famous overnight. Changing residences – Glasgow, Paris, Nigeria and finally London – as well as her intense enthusiasm for complete different music-styles formed a sensibility which helped to create Nicolette’s second solo-album “Let No-One Live Rent-Free In Your Head” (1996 on Talkin’ Loud). Critics from all over the world were impressed by the band-width of the different underground dance-styles, which Nicolette was able to combine. Being a singer as well as a writer and producer Nicolette left a permanent mark in the fast changing underground.

Nicolette’s “DJ-Kicks” combines naivity with an unlimited selection of unreleased, not longer available or brand-new tracks. The high quality level and the courage of combining extremes is what both CDs have in common. Underground united: Producer-Duo Plaid aka Ed and Andy (both used to work with Nicolette as well as with Björk before) helped Nicolette finalize the mix without avoiding the difficulties in combining such an exotic selection (tracks from the Czech Republic, Sweden, Japan a.m.).

Digital interferences of Aphex Twin or Alec Empire from Berlin combined with techno-tracks of Mark N-R-G or C.J. Bolland; connoisseur drum’n’bass tracks of Roni Size, DJ Krust, UK Apache or Doc Scott alter with swinging trip-hop structures (Mike Flowers, Nav Katze). Plaid proved their support for this project with rare mixes (while Nicolette sometimes speaks short poetries). A new track “All Day – DJ Kicks” was produced exclusively together by Nicolette and Plaid for this double CD.