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Hed Kandi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Hed Kandi | |
 |
|
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1999 |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
| Key people | Mark Doyle (1999-2005), Phil Faversham |
| Industry | Record Label |
| Products | Dance Music CDs |
| Revenue |  |
| Website | www.hedkandi.com |
Hed Kandi is a UK-based record label and a music brand, established 1999, specialising in house music. Founded by DJ and A&R man, Mark Doyle, Hed Kandi's catalogue includes both artist albums and various genres of club compilations.
The brand has grown in strength through the years, culminating in the purchase of the record label at the end of January 2006 by the Ministry Of Sound, one of the largest dance music brands. Hed Kandi, along with the Enterprise Records division of Smooth FM was purchased for an undisclosed sum from Guardian Media Group Radio Holdings.
Hed Kandi also hold nightclub events around the United Kingdom and worldwide, most notably summer residencies in Ibiza. There is also a monthly residency in London nightclub Pacha and New York's Crobar.
The Ministry Of Sound plans on maintaining the current style of Hed Kandi, whilst Mark Doyle has now established a new house music label called Fierce Angels.
Contents
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This is the complete listing of available compilation series as taken from the Hed Kandi catalogue. Note that the majority of releases are presented in an un-mixed format over two CDs where the tracks are featured in their full length - the exception being the albums listed under "Hed Kandi MIX" which are usually released as you would expect in a mixed format from Hed Kandi genres over three CDs. Releases since 2002 were categorised with the compilation release number for that year and the year released (for example, Disco Kandi 05.04 would relate to being the fifth compilation album of 2004) however since 2006 this format seems to have been dropped in favour of the compilation title and a short description or simply just the title itself with the catalogue number (Twisted Disco 03.06 actually bears no "03.06" on the CD and is simply referred to as "Twisted Disco 57.") Certain compilations, particularly early releases pre-2001, have since been deleted and can be very difficult to find and are therefore sought-after.
Hed Kandi's unique choice of artwork through the years have succeeded in distinguishing the brand from other house music labels and creates an instant association with the brand. The trend of the current "Kandi Girl" style of artwork started with the release of Nu Cool 3 in 1999 (the first two volumes of Nu Cool were re-released with new artwork) with designs by British illustrator Jason brooks (and art direction by Zip Design) who continued to create over 50 artwork designs for the brand until 2005 when New York design company Vault49 took over the task of creating cover artwork whilst maintaining the trend and format set originally by Brooks. The cover artwork usually relates to the genre of the album released, for example Back To Love features music from late 80s/early 90s therefore the artwork will normally depict a female dressed in club attire from those times, sometimes on roller-skates or on chopper bicycles, Beach House releases usually feature females listening to music on portable audio devices on a beach backdrop, Disco Heaven releases always feature winged females on a disco-styled backdrop, etc. From September 2006 onwards the album artwork has yet again been redesigned with the release of Back To Love 07.06 along with a new style format for future Hed Kandi releases.
Hed Kandi had its own radio show which was broadcast late night/early morning on radio station JazzFM. Since the takeover by Ministry of Sound in early 2006, Hed Kandi now has more radio presence, notably a Saturday evening show on Galaxy FM, as well as several other slots on Ministry of Sound radio.
The Back To Love series features house music and some hip-hop from the late 80s and some early 90s. Mark Doyle referred to Back to Love as his "vanity project" because it features music he played at his first regular club night that ran from 1988 to 1992.[1] This series is very popular amongst Hed Kandi fans; the first two compilations are no longer pressed and are the most sought-after of all Hed Kandi releases on internet auction sites. From the release of Back To Love 07.06 onwards the compilation style has changed slightly in that both CDs in the set consist of only house music (whereas before one CD would feature house and the other hip-hop) and that the selection of tracks are now from the mid-90s.
- Back To Love 1 (1999)
- Back To Love 2 (2001)
- Back To Love 3 (2001)
- Back To Love 03.02 (2002)
- Back To Love 03.03 (2003)
- Back To Love 03.04 (2004)
- Back To Love 03.05 (2005)
- Back To Love 07.06 (2006)
Beach House consists mainly of summery and soulful deep house with some latin inspiration.
- Beach House 1 (2000)
- Beach House 2 (2001)
- Beach House 04.02 (2002)
- Beach House 04.03 (2003)
- Beach House 04.04 (2004)
- Beach House 04.05 (2005)
- Beach House 06.06 (2006)
Deeper is as one would expect, deep and dark house. This series was replaced by Twisted Disco.
- Deeper (2001)
- Deeper 01.02 (2002)
Another extremely popular series, Disco Heaven is primarily made up of US Garage (dance music) and funky disco club cuts. Often described by the label as "fluffy," Disco Heaven features some commercial as well as some classic and hard to find club hits.
- Disco Heaven 02.02 (2002)
- Disco Heaven 02.03 (2003)
- Disco Heaven 01.04 (2004)
- Disco Heaven 01.05 (2005)
- Disco Heaven 04.06 (2006)
Disco Kandi is usually a collective of the majority of clubbing house music that Hed Kandi releases, often the first CD will consist of music from the Disco Heaven or Beach House genre whilst the second CD focuses more towards the electronic and progressive side of house normally found on Twisted Disco compilations.
- Disco Kandi 1 (2000)
- Disco Kandi 2 (2000)
- Disco Kandi 3 (2001)
- Disco Kandi 4 (2001)
- Disco Kandi 5 (2001)
- Disco Kandi 05.02 (2002)
- Disco Kandi 05.03 (2003)
- Disco Kandi 05.04 (2004)
- Disco Kandi 05.05 (2005)
- Disco Kandi 08.06 (2006)
- Disco Kandi - The Mix (2007)
Hed Kandi releases on average two mix albums a year, most will usually be in a 3CD mixed format with one CD in each set mixed from various Hed Kandi genres, for instance The Mix Summer 2004 is made up of CD1 "Disco Heaven" Mix, CD2 "Twisted Disco" Mix and CD3 "Back To Love" Mix. Exceptions to this rule are sampler CDs which are usually released during Hed Kandi's residency in Ibiza and are released as a single mixed CD featuring a few minutes of selected tracks from major Hed Kandi releases around that time. Interestingly, Australian releases of The Mix Summer 2004 and The Mix Winter 2004 are released as World Series 2 and World Series 3 respectively with some tracklistings slightly modified or shifted around.
- The Mix Summer 2004 (2004)
- The Mix Winter 2004 (2004)
- The Mix 50 (2005)
- The Mix 2006 (2005)
- The Mix Summer 2006 (2006)
- Hed Kandi Classics (2006)
Different Kandi flavours on one album.
- Summer Sampler 2001 (2001)
- Summer Sampler 2002 (2002)
- Summer Mix 2003 (2003)
- Summer Mix 2004 (2004)
- Spring Sampler 2005 (2005)
- Summer Sampler 2005 (2005)
- A Taste Of Kandi Summer 2006 (2006)
Nu Cool was the first genre to be released by Hed Kandi, these compilations comprise of soulful laid-back bar grooves. The series ended in 2000 but Hed Kandi reinvigorated the genre in 2006.
- Nu Cool 1 (1998)
- Nu Cool 2 (1999)
- Nu Cool 3 (1999)
- Nu Cool 4 (2000)
- Nu Cool 01.06 (2006)
- Nu Cool 01.07 (2007)
Another of Hed Kandi's early releases which ended in 2001 but again resurfaced for 2006. Serve Chilled speaks for itself; a polar opposite to Winter Chill, usually more brighter chilled out grooves.
- Serve Chilled 1 (1999)
- Serve Chilled 2 (2000)
- Serve Chilled 3 (2001)
- Serve Chilled 05.06 (2006)
The Twisted Disco genre took over where Deeper left off and regenerated the genre to a more electronic and progressive style of house.
- Twisted Disco 01.03 (2003)
- Twisted Disco 02.04 (2004)
- Twisted Disco 02.05 (2005)
- Twisted Disco 03.06 (2006)
- Twisted Disco 02.07 (2007)
Winter Chill is the other chill-themed album range which features a more darker and sometimes electronic side of chill music which would not sound appropriate on Serve Chilled.
- Winter Chill (1999)
- Winter Chill 2 (2000)
- Winter Chill 3 (2001)
- Winter Chill 06.02 (2002)
- Winter Chill 06.03 (2003)
- Winter Chill 06.04 (2004)
World Series started off in 2003 with World Series UK as Hed Kandi's first venture into the mixed CD format. The set comprised of 3CDs each of which contained a separate mix from a selected genre; CD1 "Beach House" Mix, CD2 "Disco Heaven" Mix and CD3 "Twisted Disco" Mix. This 3CD mix format later became known as Hed Kandi MIX and World Series was re-launched in 2006 as a 2CD mix of live sets from around the world, mixed by two different Hed Kandi DJs.
Hed Kandi also has several releases which usually have a style of their own and are not strictly part of the regular schedule of releases. The Acid Lounge series mixed by 45 Dip consist of music ranging from chill to acid-trip lounge house and usually contain a running theme throughout the music (for example, The Acid Lounge In Space has as you would expect, a space-theme running through the entire compilation.) The Base Ibiza series consists of a mix of house music that is popular at Hed Kandi parties held at The Base Bar in Ibiza, and Es Vive, a plush hotel in Ibiza where the compilation takes its name, provides the backdrop as a companion compilation to Base Bar which is primarily chilled and downtempo house. In 2005 both these compilations were released as one 3CD set as opposed to the usual separate releases that had gone before (it is perhaps worth noting that Mark Doyle's new music label Fierce Angels has taken over the release of Es Vive compilations as of 2006.) Stereo Sushi, house music labelled as "fresh from the deep" is primarily made up from music ranging from lo-fi and soulful house and touching occasionally on disco. This brand underwent a re-launch in June 2006.
- 45 Dip - The Acid Lounge (2000)
- The Acid Lounge Vol. 1 (2002)
- The Acid Lounge Vol. 2 - The Acid Lounge In Space (2003)
- The Acid Lounge Vol. 3 - The Acid Lounge Goes West (2003)
- Base Bar Vol. 1 (2001)
- Base Bar 2002 (2002)
- Base Bar 2003 (2003)
- Base Bar 2004 (2004)
- Es Vive Ibiza/Base Bar 2005 (2005)
- Es Vive Ibiza 2002 (2002)
- Es Vive Ibiza 2003 (2003)
- Es Vive Ibiza 2004 (2004)
- Es Vive Ibiza/Base Bar 2005 (2005)
- Stereo Sushi Vol. 1 (2002)
- Stereo Sushi Vol. 2 (2002)
- Stereo Sushi Vol. 3 (2002)
- Stereo Sushi Vol. 4 - Futomaki (2003)
- Stereo Sushi Vol. 5 - Wasabi (2003)
- Stereo Sushi Vol. 6 - Sake (2004)
- Stereo Sushi Vol. 7 - Teriyaki (2005)
- Stereo Sushi Vol. 8 (2006)
- Stereo Sushi Vol. 9 - Sashimi (2006)
- Swing City Miami 2006 (2006)
Note: This album was a limited release to celebrate 10 years of the music label Swing City and featured a 3CD set of house music mixed by Grant Thomas. This album is no longer available.
- Anthea - Words and Beats (1999)
- Afterlife - Simplicity 2000 (2000)
- Stonebridge (DJ) - Can't Get Enough (2004)
- Late Night Alumni - Empty Streets (2005)
- Peyton - Peyton (2005)
- ^ Mark Doyle, liner note to Back to Love 03.05. 2005. Compact disc. Hed Kandi Records. HEDK048