Dec Lennon, aka Krystal Klear, is one of those guys it’s hard not to be ever so slightly jealous of. The Hoya:Hoya resident DJs round the world, smashes out remix after remix, has a monthly show on Rinse, runs the fantastic Cold Tonic label with Bolton’s ultimate boogie connoisseur Maurice Alexander, and probably has loads of good t-shirts and probably wears really nice aftershave too.
Having lived in Manchester for years, but now based in London, the Irishmen’s set to return to the city this weekend for a set at Saturday night’s Thrasher party at the Warehouse Project. Ahead of that, we asked the massive fan of massively extended mixes to give us the low down on the essential edits that he reckons every music lover has to have.
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1. Devin Dare – Feels So Wrong
Krystal Klear: This one’s a pretty sough- after 12″ off STILOVE4MUSIC, with both the A and B being heaters. Everything off STILOVE is worth checking, and I love this edit because I am a huge hoarder of building percussion edit breaks as I find them really handy when getting in the mix.
2. Johnny Vicious – I Luv Musik
To say there are likely to be 10,000+ edits or sampled versions of the O’Jays “I Love Music” is probably an understatement, as this disco classic has been chopped and screwed by close to everyone at some stage, which doesn’t bother me as it’s still a record that gets me going in a club no matter how many times I have heard it, but this edit has to be the best flip of it I’ve ever heard. Johnny Vicous of Downtown fame —amongst tons of other house/techno 12″—chops this to make it a much more aggressive version which I find works much better on dancefloors today. Truth be told…I own all pressings of this record, and it’s a tough pressing to sound good but it’s worth owning a copy without a doubt!
3. E Versions – Khan
A fucking genius flip by one of the absolute kings of flipping samples/edits etc, Mr Marc E. As the title would indicate, this an amazing extended flip of “I’m Every Woman” by Chaka Khan. The genius behind this edit is that it turns from one totally different-sounding groove into a full-blown hands-in-the-air belter, which makes it perfect to sneak in when playing out and can also be a real lifesaver if the dance floor is becoming a bit stagnant. And it’s an even more perfect “last 20 minutes of the set” track.
4. Black Cock – Blue Love
I couldn’t not drop a Harvey edit in the mix really. For those not familiar, Black Cock records was set up by Simon Lovejoy, Gerry Rooney, and DJ Harvey back in the early ’90s doing pretty mind-blowing edits ‘unofficially,’ that still to this day reign supreme on the dancefloor and have their own cult status in many ways. I love this edit because, as Harvey said in an RBMA discussion, he felt that good edits were about finding tiny fragments of a song that get overlooked or perhaps the “real’ meat of a track and extending it or elaborating on it, and truthfully I think BC really only advertises that with their edits. “Blue Love” is a perfect example of this taking a tiny chunk from Paul Mauriat’s “Love is Still Blue” and turning into a lovely extended groove. The perfect record for the early part of a set.
5. Illvester – Feel Reel
Kon is no stranger to turning a multitrack session into an absolute flip of all proportions, and this edit of another disco staple is a perfect example. I bought this 12″ the minute I could and have played it in the last 30 minutes of every set since. I had a real moment playing it out last year at Panorama Bar’s NYE celebration just before Virginia, and the way it’s sequenced gives you that euphoric reaction at least three times. With edits I always look for a flip… I LOVE functioning edits or really rare edits of really rare, sought-after 12″s more than anything, but when someone totally changes the original vibe to a new one, then I generally have to have it. Kon has showcased a fairly unknown element of “Mighty Real” bringing the guitar chord progressions to the forefront which to me adds a new vibe of urgency to the track, which I fucking love… check most of the Basic Fingers releases as they are all belters.
BONUS TRACKS: NO SPIEL FOR THESE AS THEY SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES!
Milton Hamilton – We Have all the Time (Mr K Edit)
First Choice – Let No Man Put You Asunder (Ron Hardy Edit)
Wood, Brass and Steel – Funkinova (forthcoming Kon edit)
Gay Marvine – Southern Freeze
Moses – We Just (Krystal Klear Edit)
Krystal Klear is playing at Warehouse Project this Saturday alongside the likes of Evian Christ, Special Request, Leon Vynehall, Swing Ting and a tonne more. Head here for tickets and further information.
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