Customer Reviews

Essential Elements-DJ Icey Presents

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

After discovering this guy thru napster, I put together a killer CD. Then came his essentials last year. Bought that. Awesome!

Had such great luck with this guy, bought this one too.

Except for a couple songs where the lyrics sound a bit too close to the old sped-up aerobics tunes I remember from the 80's, this is a kicker CD. This guy has a great sense of humor and puts together CD's that actually get months and months of spin time compared to my typical play a few times and then bored modus operandi.

First of all I have to say that I am Breaks fan and I get most cd releases, Promos and tons of vinyl every week covering nu skool, funky and electro Breaks but......Every year comes this one mix cd that lives in my Cd Player for a very long time and it's always Icey's new Mix. Last years Essential Mix was insane and Essential Elements continues right there. The CD starts off with nu skool breaks, continues with Florida Style Funky Breaks, makes a hard turn at Electro and continues with a little 2 Step and in between some gorgeous vocals. 20 songs in one mix sure do offer a lot of variety. The Cd offers all styles of Breaks and still manages to be supercharged with funk. While older Icey mixes are straight out funky breaks, last years mix was a bit more trancey due to Americas "Tranceformation" and this years release adapts the nu skool & 2 Step wave coming from the Uk. Even with including new styles every year he still mangages to inject every mix with his very own Icey Breaks and to create an atmosphere that is unique. His mixing is tight and this Cd is for sure his best technical work up to today. The King of funky Breaks has proven again that he is the #1 US Breakbeat Dj. For all the wannabe dj reviewers commenting about bad mixing and bad production - give me a break ! There would be no Florida scene if Icey would not have started it all back in 92. Try to pop out a single every month that sells out and still be on the road the whole year and in between hook up with Pete Tong and release a few essential mixes . First of all try to get somebody to remember your dj name.

Wow, i don't understand the other reviews on here bout this mix so i had to come to its defense. This very well might be the best Icey mix on disc i'm telling you. First of all it contains the excellent Plump DJs' mix of Orbital's Funny Break, a track that gives you goose bumps and commands you to feel euphoria. Secondly, that track being #4, tracks 1-6 are flawless breaks funk, pretty much starting with Icey's own Frequent Yet Vague - track 2. Track 11 - City Wide Allstar's The Gallon is stonkin'. There is some filler, but none more than usual and there plenty more gems including Meat Katie's two contributions - Rotten Dot Com & Bring Yourself Off. This is a great breaks mix for real.

alright this is my first review, but by no means my first house/breakbeat cd. all i can say is when i paw throught the reviews posted on amazon, i am always a bit sceptical. sometimes people will say: it's "hard," and it, "kicks ass," when really it's weak and it [not good]; however, with this cd, it is very different...it'll kick your [rear body part] six ways from sunday, with skillful mixing, most excellent breaks and hard, hard beats...it's downright beautiful, man. buy it. you will not regret it!

This is an incredibly good cd. It has lotsa bass with almost no songs. The only set back is with all that bass it's hard to dance to. It's great for cruisin or just chillin.

I dont get why anyone would say they dont like this cd. I dont know how you could. Even if you dont like breakbeats this cd goes beyond breakbeats. Icey pretty much invented the New wave Breakbeat genre. This is the first cd in which icey had that wierd breakbeat flow that you just cant get enough of. Back in his first albums like The funky breaks and Generate, you could tell his beats are not nearly as powerful, even his new cd Amplitude and a couple years from that, Disco Rodeo, his music just is not as powerful as the Essential Elements cd. I reccomend this cd to anyone that likes New wave Breaks. But even if you dont, I really reccommend it to anyone. No One has the flow like Icey does.

Icey, you have done it again...Listening to the CD for the first time outside in the parking lot of Sam Goody stopped my heart. Icey did it again and evolved just enough to show that he is versatile and will never back down. When he caught a little flak for his first Essentials CD for spinning too mainstream, he said "screw you" and popped this one out. The perfect blend of underground and electro acid beats that have still not lost their audible flavor after 200 times in my stereo. Let's put it this way, 20 of my friends who absolutely hate techno or maybe even don't care for it, immidiately change their mind when I play some of Icey's stuff from MIXED, and his Essentials albums. If he can turn eventhem into liking tecno, he has got a gift and an ear for music. Keep on spinnin' Icey and hopefully I will get to your shows in the DC area.

In this age of Epic Trance and Hard House, it's refreshing to hear some quality New School and Progressive Breaks. Don't buy this CD if you're expecting droning synthesizers, 4 x 4 beats, and lovey-dovey vocals. If you're looking for a good place to start your pilgrimage to some techy, hard-hitting Electronica, then DJ Icey's Essential Elements is the place to do it. But, like I said, Ravers Beware, this might put a sour taste in your mouth at the thought of going to your favorite local club for a night of Zombie Nation and System F. And all you Breaks fans, this is a must have. Enjoy!

I'm usually the last person to say something good for Icey. In the past, his mixing has been terrible, track production boring and the like. But with this new release, he ventures into areas he previously ignored, playing a mix of nuskool and hard funky electro along side his signature funky breaks. Ranks right next to his Essential Mix as the best thing he's ever done..... not perfect, but he's getting better.

DJ Icey returns to the scene mixing his second compilation in the Essential Series. Other DJ's releasing Essential Mixes have ranged from UK's Radio 1 Pete Tong to former Culture Club front man Boy George. MTV's DJ Skribble has even gotten in on the act. Icey, arguably the U.S.'s best known breakbeat DJ, lays down 20 tracks in just over 75 minutes. This provides the listener with a wide range of music, which on the surface would appear to be a delight, but unfortunately, ends up to be the demise of the album. The mix overall had some great cuts that got my head shaking (Orbital's Funny Break, and Meat Katie's Rotten Dot Com were my favorites), but the mix seemed too hurried. Icey's first mix in the Essential series released last year was in my opinion, his finest work, but could have also led to my high expectations for this mix. Having seen Icey live many times, this album does the man and his legend no justice. Don't worry Icey, we all have our days.