Modeselektor – DJ-Kicks
Preface - A Return to Listening
This blog reflects quite well how little—and how superficially—I listened to music over the past year. If I listened at all, it was usually just to individual songs, without knowing anything about their background or taking the time to experience a full album. I didn't find that fulfilling. Music rarely touched me in the way it can when you really immerse yourself in it.
I simply didn't have the patience or the interest, and I tried to keep my expectations low. Sometimes life goes through phases like that. Eventually, though, the urge to listen closely returned—and with it, the desire to write about music again. It's a relief to realize that these things can change organically with time.
For my first review after this long break, I've chosen the only album I that truly captivated me during my absence from writing. Throughout the winter, it became a constant companion, playing whenever I had the chance. I love those rare moments when an album completely absorbs you, when you want to hear every detail and gradually feel as though you've become part of its world.
DJ-Kicks: Modeselektor
Artwork DJ Kicks: Modeselektor
Modeselektor's contribution to !K7's long-running DJ-Kicks series brings together their own productions with tracks by a wide range of other artists.
Despite its wide range of artists and genres, the mix consistently bears Modeselektor's unmistakable fingerprint. Through subtle edits, sequencing and transitions, they imprint their rhythmic, bass-heavy aesthetic onto the entire set, making even stylistically distant tracks feel as though they belong to the same musical world and create a unified experience.
Weaving Contrasting Genres Together
The mix reveals its character from the very beginning, where sharp contrasts in genre and sudden changes in direction immediately capture the listener's attention. Modeselektor effortlessly combine dancehall, dubstep and avant-pop into a cohesive whole. It begins with the dancehall-inspired "Permit Riddim", underpinned by their characteristic bassline, before moving into the pumping, percussive rhythm of "MEGA MEGA MEGA". This momentum is suddenly interrupted by a heavy dubstep passage, only to return to the driving percussion as they seamlessly weave in the avant-pop track "Gaister". Compared to the original, their edit is subtle, yet a deeper bassline and slightly more forceful rhythm reshape the track just enough for it to slot effortlessly into the mix. It naturally builds towards their own track "Kupfer", which in any case sounds unmistakably like Modeselektor: percussive, breakbeat-heavy, frequently interrupted by spacious melodic passages, yet always pushing forward.
That sense of openness briefly returns with the interlude "Hero Once Been" before the mix enters what is, for me, its most exciting stretch, beginning with "10 Minutos".
From Intensity to Reflection
It begins with Little Simz's already phenomenal "Mood Swings", here reworked by Modeselektor with an incredibly pulsating beat that amplifies the track's intensity even further. The marching, percussive rhythm that follows drives the energy higher before briefly slipping into the dark atmosphere of Chlär's "Populism Is Money".
Immediately, however, in the track “Overture” Maxime Denuc's magnificent organ melody takes over. Its rhythmic, techno-infused playing complements the hardness and urgency of the surrounding tracks perfectly. The result is a passage that somehow conveys numbness, tension, and theatricalhopefulness all at once.
The sequence leads into “Movement” with the climax broken by an unexpected beat switch. A heavy, bouncy beat gives way to a lighter, almost floating groove in while you can hear the voice of “Paul St. Hilaire” calmly speaking in a deep, smoky voice gliding effortlessly through the music, creating a strangely weightless feeling.
"The Machine" initially feels as though it wants to slow the mix down before "Spillhaugen" completely changes its direction. Suddenly, Beirut's indie rock melancholy provides a beautiful, almost romantic moment of reflection.
From Club Energy to Quiet Reflection
The pause is short-lived. The mix quickly launches into its second climax with club-focused tracks such as "Spellbound", "Percolate", "Bonk", and "USA USA USA", all driven by a dark, relentless four-on-the-floor techno rhythm.
That intensity gradually opens up again with the breakbeat-heavy "Stone Rinse", which eases the pace without sacrificing the gravity or darkness the mix has built up.
The closing begins with Julien Bracht's spacious, understated contribution before arriving at one of the mix's most peculiar and moving moments: Siriusmo's "Koko". Here, a robotic voice attempts to express vague but deeply human emotions:
"I am Nature. Men Koko love. Earth Koko love, but Men Stupid. Koko sorry. Koko cry. Time hurry. Fix hurry. Help Earth, hurry! Nature seen. Thank you!"
After this strange and unexpectedly touching statement, a melancholic piano passage brings the mix to what feels like its conclusion. Yet even here, Modeselektor cannot resist pushing the music forward one final time, extending the ending with another subtle rhythmic transformation before letting everything quietly fade away.
Few mixes have stayed with me as long as this one. Through the selection of outstanding tracks, every contrast serves a purpose, making the mix feel vivid, unpredictable and constantly engaging.
Listen to Modeselektor: DJ Kicks on Spotify:
