Last year saw the welcome reintroduction of ‘Serve Chilled’ to the Hed Kandi fold, following a five-year hiatus. Critically lauded on its release, it was eagerly lapped up by music lovers and left the Kandi faithful begging for more. In fact, the series’ comeback proved so successful that the impending summertime just wouldn’t seem complete without the latest ‘Serve Chilled’ instalment. Never ones to disappoint Hed Kandi have pulled out all the stops, so that this summer’s aural equivalent of a week lounging by the pool goes well beyond expectations.
Kicking back in style, the first CD opens with an exquisitely stripped back ambient mix of Fish Go Deep’s anthemic ‘The Cure And The Cause’, a version that, alongside Freemason’s ‘Rain Down Love’ and Kings Of Tomorrow’s breathtaking reading of ‘Finally’, effortlessly demonstrates the strength of ‘proper’ song writing in dance music. Blissed-out songs remain the focus as the first CD takes in the Latino flow of Sara Tavares’ ‘One Love’, the spiralling melodies of Ganga’s ‘Down But Up’ and the Jazz-Hop funk of Aim’s ‘Northwest’. ‘Little Man’ an exclusive, unreleased peach from Cagedbaby’s forthcoming and highly anticipated album and Fous De La Mer’s superlative ‘Watersong’ mark the pinnacle of Balearic beauty, whilst ethereal voiced chanteuse Julee Cruise makes an appearance on Kenneth Bager’s ‘Fragment Two...The First Picture’, leading into the divine majesty of Cicada’s first side closer ‘Tricks’.
The enveloping warmth of Solar Stone’s timeless ‘Seven Cities’ gets the second half of Serve Chilled underway in suitably languid fashion, followed up by the aforementioned Kings Of Tomorrow and their stunning take on a classic. Koop’s swinging blues grooves and the infectious samba stylings of No Logo, the latest guise of Hed Kandi favourite Steve Miller with fellow chill-out legend Pete Gooding, keep the sultry vibes rolling. Team Kandi continue the musical heat wave with Mitchell & Dewbury’s ‘Love Is Flowing To Love’ and the return of Steve Miller, this time as the famed Afterlife, giving the Stereo Mutants the benefit of his mellow manoeuvres. Prime moving Danish duo Owusu and Hannibal prove why they are one of dance music hottest prospects with Lonnie’s Secret as Secret Stealth’s soulful ‘Drive Me Crazy’ and Lovebirds’ ‘Modern Talking’ edge things towards the sonic sunset provided by the drifting funk of Ashley Beadles’ The London Heavy Disco Revue.
