Kode9 – DJ-Kicks

Mixed only. For a label to sell the release digitally in separate tracks, each being a castrated minute-long version while charging standard price for each track? Yeah fnck off m0. I guaran-fu​cking-tee you there's a number of people who didn't note the durations in advance and bought this just for the sake of DMZ tracks only to discover them being cut to sh​it (or worse, believing that those are actually full versions of tracks not knowing any better). And who could blame them for not checking--after all, the comp is being sold at full price, so it's only sound to assume the tracks are also offered in full.

This is a mix. A mix is something you put on soundcloud for free or include as a bonus alongside complete versions of the tracks, not press to physical formats and release for the price of a standard LP. Granted, this was released in 2010 when this practice was still marginally acceptable, but the labels keep pulling that trick today just the same from time to time while taking advantage of the ones mentioned above, and I seriously pity those who are either unable to differentiate between cut and full versions in advance or can't think of a better way to spend money than to buy a mix at a time when internet is bursting at seams from all the music podcasts. And don't get me started on justification that CDs or vinyl records allow for superior quality and that's why the mixes must absolutely be pressed as well as albums--no one's stopping anybody from ing them online in lossless.

It's an exposition on sound that could only come from the head of one of the most innovative labels in dance music in recent times. Kode9 explores an array of moods and styles and still manages to make it all sound cohesive. It's a flawless mix (one of the best in the DJ Kicks series) that defines the so-called "post-dubstep" genre. No longer just dubstep, it now has influences from techno, house, RnB, dancehall, grime, hip-hop, and IDM - which gives the artist so much freedom in musical direction.