Customer Reviews

DJ John Kelley Presents: Knee Deep

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This is the third of five releases DJ John Kelley has put out with Moonshine music to date. If you are familiar with the FunkyDesertBreaks series or the High Desert Sound System CDs you may notice the mix is a little different. If you haven't experienced Kelley's sound this may not be the best way to start out as it does not represent the sounds of any of his other recorded releases except maybe towards the end.

This said, Knee Deep is an incredible journey of very forward-looking electronic dance music. There are a few things that are very consistent about Kelley's mixes, even this one. They are all hard and edgy; acid house, nu school breakbeat, and techno might be the best descriptive terms. They are all less danceable than most trance or house music mixes you might find. And, all his mixes are extremely well constructed and mixed.

Knee Deep is really a mix in three parts. The first five tracks are a seamless mix of a sort of minimalist trance that build slowly into whirlwind of heavy beats and swirling electronic sounds. Jan Driver's "Filter" and X-Cab's "Engage" are the climax of these sounds. These first five tracks are so well overlapped that you might be minutes into a new song before you notice things have changed. Then the words "the freaks" start to echo in the background. It is the start of the second section of the mix.

Here is where Kelley gets off track a little. The next three songs hold the typical funky Kelley sound, but they seem repetitive and uninteresting. But, "Fly Mutha Beatz" by Brownie kicks in and all is right in the world again. It's a sample laden song with deep bass and a woman bellowing "Whoa! Yes!" throughout that adds a human element to the music. The transition to "Drum Tumbler" begins and things explode. It is this moment of the CD that Kelley really shines. It is a climactic moment that has few equals. Kelley's ability to use the transitions between songs to strengthen each piece is prominent throughout all his mixes, but here might be the best example.

There is a sharp change as Urban D.K.'s "Soul Survivor" begins. The remainder of the CD is a little more typical of Kelley's sound in the newer High Desert Soundsystem mixes: funky, but a little lighter urban sound with lots of breakbeats, samples, and vocals. Again, typical of Kelley's mixes the landing is a soft one as the final two tracks are more gentle than the rest of the mix and even somewhat soothing.

John Kelley's skills as DJ are highlighted at their peak on this CD even though it may not be his best track selection. A sense of beginning and end, amazing transitions, and the use of songs to build into peak moments are things he does like few other DJs can. Check this one out...

John Kelley's latest release, KNEE DEEP is an absolute must have for your collection. while on the more minimalist side compared to his FUNKYDESERTBREAKS 1 and 2 discs, there is no shortage of good material here. having seen John spin on many a full-moonlit night in the desert landscape, I can attest to both his fluid seamless mixing and his artistry and cartography. John is without a doubt, a creative genius and with not only his vinyl collection but the original tracks he himself is now creating. all of John's titles are essentials for anyone with a taste for the pure energy of beats and breaks. Thank You John!

GREAT breaks. VERY good for parties.Not that deep, though.

John ! You did it again ! This is a trememdous album. Very inspirational. You brought back the positive feeling of the Desert Raves from back in the day and captured the new funky styles of tomorrow. I play it all the time ! See you in the desert buddy ! Congrats on the new tour !

From start to finish, DJ John takes you on another wonderful journey of sound and ceremony. Don't forget to raise the low-pass on your subwoofer. GREAT EFFECTS!

Thanks for another awesome disc DJ John!

Great third disc from the desert spinner. Busting out of the funky breaks mold of FDB1 and 2, the disc starts off with some minimal techno, before gradually busting out with the acid and the breaks. Great DJ Icey track. Highly recommended.

It has been about two years since I first became familiar with DJ John Kelley and his work. I first became familiar with him when I purchased "funky-desert-breaks." I live in the desert southwest so I am very partial to `desert trance.' At the desert raves out here in the middle of nowhere the music is everything. There are no light shows or club gimmicks. It is truly all about the music. Unfortunately this lends us `desert ravers' to be extremely picky and hard to please. But this DJ does an outstanding job showing us that not all `desert trance' comes from the desert.

This amazing digital creation showcases John Kelley in top form. He is responsible for the highly acclaimed "funky-desert-breaks" series. He is an outstanding `Acid Trance' DJ. He has several DJ mixed CDs released under the moonshine label. This one is probably his best with "High Desert Sound System" at a close second. There are more than a thousand buzzwords that I could think of that could explain the sound of `trance.' None of them would tell you very much unless you are familiar with the scene already.

What I can tell you is that this type of music will be magic for some people and torture for others. It is repetitive, that is why they call it trance. And, to the untrained ear, all the tracks will sound the same. But we in the "Wired Generation" know different. All country songs sound the same to me because I am not very familiar with country music. It does not strike a chord with me so I have never taken the time form an opinion. However you might find that with all music, not just Techno, there will be those who will be too quick to judge.

There have been many people that have told me, "this noise must be a generation X thing." We are not gen x-ers anymore. We are not disenfranchised youths who are searching for our identity in fads or trends simply to rebel against the establishment. We know what we like and we are becoming the establishment. With that in mind, I have played this CD and others like it numerous times at work and have heard both sides of argument. It is pretty much a hit or miss. But this should be no surprise to anyone that has been with the scene more than about ten minutes.

Some of the best tracks on the CD are #10) Jack Mackrel - Drum Tumbler; in this track the DJ does some outstanding flange and distortion work, #5) X-Cabs - Engage; a good example of trance kick work, and #3) Melrob - Incessant Sound; a great example of drum and bass trance.

In short, if you are in to funky, acid, desert trance than you should check this CD out. It is great music to mellow out to or to play at a party. What ever tickles your fancy. But don't just take my word for it, make your own decision. :)

This was my first John Kelly CD, but I'm very glad I purchased it! It's a great disc and a must have for compilation collectors. The mixing is a 9 out of 10 with only a few minor noticable adjustments during song changes ... one of my favorites right now ...