DJ Kicks: Honey Dijon

Fashion icon, catwalker, curator, historian, commentator, activist, Grammy winner and – damn right – DJ, there ain’t much these days that Ms. Honey Dijon doesn’t do with aplomb. Most of her achievements thus far came via her passion for clubbing and the art of DJing, from those early Chicago parties to her role as a de facto ambassador for world dancefloors. Chatting to Honey for a few minutes, you swiftly realise when it comes to records, labels, releases, she’s a house music nerd, having been schooled by some of the Windy City’s masters and is as adept at bringing the past into the future as anyone else in the business. This compilation is a testament to someone whose knowledge of the underground labels of yore is encyclopaedic and Ms. Dijon has dredged the recesses of her clubbing memories. ’I’m a huge fan of research. So putting this compilation together was basically going into my dancefloor experience and finding gems I wanted to present to people that they may not have been familiar with or that they didn’t even know existed.’ Thus we have Psychedelic Research Lab’s anthemic NY banger ‘Keep On Climbing’, which came out on producer Scott Richmond’s own store label, Satellite, or Sir Lord Comixx’s London vibes on the aptly-named ‘Soul House’ which, says Honey, ‘I heard Danny play it at 7am in Twilo and it was so fuckin’ weird’. Kingsley O, the London boy marooned in Connecticut, contributes the Jersey vibes on Maydie Myles’ brilliant debut single, ‘Keep On Luvin’, reinforced by Blaze associate Cassio The Cassmaster’s ‘Getting Hot’.

This compilation is a pan-global, multi-era waltz through house music’s storied past. Repping Chicago, there’s Dance Mania’s Dance Kings, Blackjoy and Art Of Tones carrying the flag for Paris and even Shaboom’s Blackpool gets a nod. Some of these are forgotten classics, some are dollar bin finds, and there’s also a brand new Dijon track, sprinkled with her usual mustard-hot flourishes and lightly seasoned with some more recent efforts by Waajeed and Kiko Navarro. This can be consumed on a dancefloor, in the back of a cab or relaxing at home with a glass of something cold (or, if you must, hot).

Tracklist

2LP
A1. Honey Dijon - Finding My Way (DJ-Kicks) ft. Ben Westbeech
A2. Buika x Kiko Navarro - Mama Calling (Tedd Patterson Remix)
A3. Shaboom - Bessie
B1. D:Ream - U R The Best Thing (Def Club Mix)
B2. Stereo MC’s - Good Feeling (Mr G’s Turn On Dub)
B3. Black Joy - Untitled (Solid Groove Remix)
C1. Scott Richmond & John Selway present Psychedelic Research Lab - Keep On Climbin’ (Mix 2)
C2. Charly Brown - Freaked Out
D1. Maydie Myles - Keep On Luvin’ (West Tribe Beats)
D2. Johnny Dangerous - Dear Father In Heaven (Mr. Marvin’s House of Dreams Mix)

CD
01. Honey Dijon - Intro
02. Chestnut - Pot Of Gold
03. Charly Brown - Freaked Out
04. Stereo MC's - Good Feeling (Mr G’s Turn On Dub)
05. Johnny Dangerous - Dear Father In Heaven (Mr. Marvin House Of Dreams Mix)
06. Psychedelic Research Lab - Keep On Climbin’ (Mix 2)
07. Blow Out Express - You’re Mine (Sound Factory Bar Mix)
08. The Dance Kings - Climb The Walls
09. Buika x Kiko Navarro - Mama Calling (Tedd Patterson Remix)
10. Cassio The Cassmaster - Getting Hot (Broad Market Street Mix)
11. Maydie Myles - Keep On Luvin (West Tribe Beats)
12. Michi Lange - Brothers And Sisters (Radio Mix)
13. Shaboom - Bessie
14. D:Ream - U R The Best Thing (Def Club Mix)
15. Sir Lord Comixx - Soul House
16. Honey Dijon - Finding My Way (DJ-Kicks) ft. Ben Westbeech
17. Art Of Tones - Praise
18. Waajeed - Right Now
19. Black Joy - Untitled (Solid Groove Remix)