DJ-Kicks: The Glimmers (DJ Mix)

DJ-Kicks: The Glimmers (DJ Mix)

Belgian DJs The Glimmers (formerly known as The Glimmer Twins) made their name with a cheekily eclectic mixing style capable of pulling Queen, Roxy Music, and Liquid Liquid into loose, rangy, indisputably funky dance-punk sessions. In other words, they were a shoo-in for DJ-Kicks’ famously far-reaching series. On their 2005 installment of the franchise, The Glimmers open with Scottish group Bis’ electroclash-era cover of A Certain Ratio’s “Shack Up,” collapsing the timeline between ’80s post-punk and 2000s retro; those terms being established, they proceed to dig in. Acts like Big Two Hundred and Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas provide the set’s dubby disco pulse; the Lotterboys’ wailing “Heroine” adds a rock ’n’ roll gut punch; and Marshall Jefferson and Kerri Chandler lend a welcome dose of house rhythm. What makes the set so electrifying is the way The Glimmers manage to make such contrasting styles cohere; in that sense, the key to it all is Hamilton Bohannon’s “The Groove Machine/The Boogie Train,” a heavy slab of hard funk that sets up the sweat-soaked finale. To close it out with Chicago’s brass-fueled “I’m a Man” is a stroke of genius. LCD Soundsystem may have introduced Daft Punk to the rock kids, but The Glimmers’ DJ-Kicks mix deserves just as much credit for teaching the rock kids to dance.