Artist: DJ Icey
Title: Y4K
Label: Distinctive Records
By: Colin C. | 27 February 2006
Tracklist:

1. Merka - I'll Be Here
2. Ils - Loving You (Atomic Hooligan Mix)
3. Vlad - Plodout
4. Drumattic Twins - Feelin' Kinda Strange (Bass Kleph & Nick Thayer Mix)
5. AB/DC - This Feelin' (Boy 8-Bits Grindhouse Mix) (DJ Icey Re-Edit)
6. Artcrime - Like This (Main Mix)
7. General Midi - Never Gonna Stop The Show
8. DJ Icey - Closer
9. Move Ya! & Steve Lavers - The Ride
10. Transformer Man - Everybody Get Up (Circuit Breaker Mix)
11. DJ Icey - San Pedro
12. Deekline & Wizard - All Your Love (Club Mix)
13. Smithmonger & Kobe - Grizzle (Vlad & Ardisson Mix)

DJ Icey "Y4K"

There is really only one person in America that is truly synonymous with the funky breaks sound that sprouted from the humid wetlands of Florida, and that man is DJ Icey. Since the early 90's he's been cultivating his sound, pulling in the remains of Miami Bass and Cybotron, mixing it with 2 parts of Icey's own flavoring, and topping with some squelchy 303 action. Throughout the years break beat has slowly become more and more popular, and more "four on the floor" oriented DJs are opting to embrace it as breaks sub genres come in and out of style. Through all that, Icey has kept his focus strong with his own label, playing gigs upon gigs, and still having time to get his production credits reading like Orlando’s greater metropolitan area phone book.

Saying that, The Y4K series still looks like an interesting place for this break beat wizard to wind up. With a back catalog boasting some of the best and brightest progressive breaks oriented DJs from DJ Hyper, Koma & Bones, & ILS the followers of this series might not be too keen on this Icey addition. Seems when it comes down to it, people either love him or hate him. Thankfully, Icey lets the track list speak for itself and boasts some killer cuts and exclusives on his Y4K debut.

Right from the get-go there’s no mistake that Icey is in control, he throws us head first into Merka's spaced out, yet funky 'I'll Be Here' before smoothly taking us into Atomic Hooligan’s tough remix of ILS 'Loving You'. Where his Essential mix CDs seemed to focus more on the name brands rather than the flow of the mix, the opposite is on display here. The energy is the focus and he unleashes it across the mix flawlessly with some "anthems" provided by Drumattic Twins 'Feelin' Kinda Strange' and General Midi's 'Never Gonna Stop The Show'. The mix dips into the proper electro style with 'The Ride' from Move Ya! & Steve Lavers before winding up in glitch-y territory with Circuit Breaker's mix of 'Everybody Get Up'. There's no stopping Icey, as he continues with the ass shakin' beats all the way through to the end.

There has always been an element of the U.S. rave culture in Icey's work, and this mix is no exception. However here he does manage to embrace the series more progressive mentality nicely, which not only keeps the series strong but makes this a good edition to his ever growing discography. I believe more fans of Icey will take to this compilation more than the die hard fans of the series will. While It's nice to see the series evolve and stay current, up until now there hasn't really been a representation of the funky breaks sound on the series (Freq Nasty’s mix aside) and some might find this more of a throw back than pushing forward… and yet that's Icey for you. He's one of the few DJs out there that can truly boast a certain sound and you've at least got to give him credit to sticking to his guns all this time.