DJ-Kicks - Steven Julien: CD

London-based DJ and producer Steven Julien’s career has always been about contrasts. Across a decade of releases on labels including Eglo and his own Apron Records, as well as club sets around the world, he’s consistently mixed light and dark, soft and heavy, yin and yang. From rough-edged house and techno to laid-back soul and boogie, or meditations on his familial and musical heritage with 2018’s Bloodline LP Julien’s music has always moved between moods, styles and emotions. 

That eclecticism also defines Julien’s upcoming instalment in !K7’s iconic DJ-Kicks mix series. Featuring a broad spectrum of artists including Ryuichi Sakamoto, DāM-FunK and Todd Edwards, alongside a selection of his own exclusive productions, Julien takes us on an imagined journey from day to night: from a bucolic afternoon in nature to heady domestic vibes before a big night out, and finally the euphoric embrace of the dancefloor itself.

Julien describes his creative approach to DJing in general, and this mix in particular, as letting his energy and intuition guide him - it’s only on listening back to the finished session that he realised how often he mixes tracks in key, creating smooth transitions from one moment to the next. 

That instinctive approach, where seamless mixing becomes second nature, speaks to Julien’s decade of appearances in DJ booths around the world: he cites sets at Ormside Projects in London, Doka and De School in Amsterdam, or Mitsuki in Tokyo as specific inspirations for this mix. Julien describes the feeling he’s tried to capture on tape as an out-of-body energy: just letting loose, and being yourself. “When you get in that position of doing what’s true to you, playing what’s true to you” he says, “people just resonate with that.”

Tracklist:

1. Steven Julien - PAYN ME MIND ft. Kristian Hamilton
2. Hudson Mohawke - Expo
3. d’Eon - Transparency
4. Ryuichi Sakamoto - A Day in the Park
5. The RAH Band - Out On The Edge
6. Steven Julien - Retriate ft. Dreamcastmoe
7. Elli - Just For Me & You
8. Suze ijó - Call Me
9. Chaos In The CBD ft. Nathan Haines & Dave Koor - Emotional Intelligence
10. Brothermartino - KAH
11. brandUn DeShay - Rukunetsu
12. Steven Julien - Number (DJ-Kicks)
13. Todd Edwards - Dancing For Heaven
14. DāM-FunK - Morphing
15. Kokoroko - Dide O (Ash Lauryn & Stefan Ringer Remix)
16. Kyle Hall - Sarabi
17. Josh Caffe - Justify My Sex ft. Al White
18. My Girlfriend - UBER HYPE
19. Cheek - Venus Sunshine People (DJ Gregory Remix)
20. Mr Flash - Disco Dynamite
21. Devin Morrison - Shesbi
22. Ryuichi Sakamoto - Rio