Steven Julien - DJ Kicks

 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.”

CD TRACKLIST:

01 Steven Julien - PAYN ME MIND ft. Kristian Hamilton

02 Hudson Mohawke - Expo

03 d’Eon - Transparency

04 Ryuichi Sakamoto - A Day in the Park

05 The RAH Band - Out On The Edge

06 Steven Julien - Retriate ft. Dreamcastmoe

07 Elli - Just For Me & You

08 Suze ijó - Call Me

09 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

LP TRACKLIST:

A1 Steven Julien - PAYN ME MIND ft. KristianHamilton

A2 d’Eon - Transparency

A3 Ryuichi Sakamoto - A Day in the Park

B1 Steven Julien - Retriate ft. Dreamcastmoe

B2 Elli - Just For Me & You

B3 Steven Julien - Number

C1 Brothermartino - KAH

C2 DāM-FunK - Morphing

C3 My Girlfriend - UBER HYPE

D1 Mr Flash - Disco Dynamite

D2 Devin Morrison - Shesbi

D3 Ryuichi Sakamoto - Rio