On Repeat: Eris Drew — DJ-Kicks

The latest installment of the DJ-Kicks series features trans-ecstatic Eris Drew, with a raw, high-energy, all-vinyl selection of breaks-rave-house, that connects a choice selection of mostly ’90s house tracks with a bunch of contemporary tracks, including contemporary house hybrids like The Soundlords, Dark Globe and KAIR, along with a couple of her own euphoria-inducing rollers, and an intense trance-inducing hypnotic “Cabin Dance”from T4T LUV NRG label partner Octo Octa. The common thread through the mix is that post-rave ’90s vibe, where hardcore and rave music tropes like Detroit-esque chord stabs, sampled breakbeat loops, and ecstatic breakdowns (many of which had been pioneered by house artists anyway) were reabsorbed back into the slower-paced, less manic productions of house. So you get a succession of killer tunes that have something of that raw, funky, hedonistic rave spirit to them, including Calisto’s stark, mighty “Get House,” straight up, raw rave-ish house like ’94s “Detroit” from Hoof, classic ’90s clean, 909/Korg M1 organ house of Cleveland City with Direct 2 Disc’s “Excuse Me,” and Toka’s thudding-and-eventually-euphoric “Toka Love Project.”

a mix made of records that hold the possibility of delivering joy, release, and maybe even moments of ecstasy

When you listen to the mixed version, which was recorded live on a pair of turntables in a forest cabin retreat, you hear a mix with vinyl imperfections, spin backs, expert cuts, scratches and transitions, Drew’s immediate, hands-on, full-on DJing approach the perfect vehicle for her high-energy, instant-rush, funk-on-demand selections. Part semi-nostalgic sonic homage to the strobes, smoke and breaks of raves gone by, part celebration of a particular spirit that runs through every one of these tracks, from ’92 to ’25, it’s a mix made of records that hold the possibility of delivering joy, release, and maybe even moments of ecstasy. Rave on.

⚪️ DJ-Kicks: Eris Drew Tracklisting (Vinyl)

Various Artists: DJ-Kicks: Eris Drew (!K7)
A1 Zen Experience - People Won't You Come Along
A2 Motion Blue - Scream
B1 Direct 2 Disc - Excuse Me (Stab Mix)
B2 Darwin Chamber & DJ Utopia - Tribute (DJ Utopia’s Mix)
B3 Octo Octa - Cabin Dance
C1 Eris Drew - Hope In a Smoke Filled Room
C2 Toka Project - Toka Love Project
D1 Eskimos & Egypt - Fall From Grace (Distressed Version by Moby)
D2 Eris Drew - Momentary Phase Transition

⚪️ Disclosure Statement

This record was not submitted as a promo.

✳ On Repeat: Harold Heath’s 2025 In Albums /

❇   On Repeat: Eris Drew — DJ-Kicks
❇   On Repeat: Joe Morris and Some Kind of Paradise
❇   On Repeat: 15 years of A Love From Outer Space
❇   On Repeat: Black Artists Database’s V/A Synergy Vol 3 compilation
❇   On Repeat: Unspecified Enemies and Romance In The Age of Adaptive Feedback
❇   On Repeat: DJ Bone and The End of Never
❇   On Repeat: Futuristic Sonics for the Soul on rRoxymore’s “Juggling Dualities”
❇   On Repeat: Maurice Fulton’s sparkling house album “Night Blooming Cereus”
❇   On Repeat: A decade of Ron Trent tracks come together on “Lift Off”

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