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The phrase "pop-star/DJ" sends shivers up my spine? not the nice warm fuzzy ones. No, these shivers are more like those I get when while I'm in the middle of mixing a Bugz in the Attic tune with Azymuth and someone asks "Can you play some Britney". What gives? Madonna never tried to DJ, or. . . did she?
Whatever the case, thankfully Norwegian pop singer Anne Lilia Berge-Strand, better known as Annie, is as adept at compiling mixes as she is at singing bubbalicious tunes like "Chewing Gum" and "Heartbeat." Hers is the latest installment of K7 Records' DJ Kicks series and is unequivocal evidence that she has a grasp of music that extends well past Billboard's 1996 Hot 100.
Annie's DJ Kicks is quirky, funky, electro-pop centric, campy, rad, even nu wave?not all the way leg-warmers and sweat bands, but definitely glow-in-the-dark t-shirt lettering. The cool thing is that Annie delivers all that with such style and finesse that the end result is a truly fun listening (and dancing? 'cos unless you're listening in the car or some other confined area, you won't be able to sit still while this CD is playing) experience.
Included on this mix are the early 80s New York-based girl pop-funk crew ESG with "My Love For You," one of Annie's personal favourites from that era, Alan Vega with "Jukebox Babe," and "I Wanna be Your Lover" from Italian disco legends La Bionda. Yeah, told ya she was deep. Alongside those vintage cuts are Death From Above 1979's "Black History Month" and a previously unreleased bit from Japan's Zongamin.
The old adage rings true? don't judge a book by its cover. Pop star or not, I'll give anyone mad props for including the Gucci crew and Bow Wow Wow on the same mix.
DJ Annie's my kinda girl.
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