Yesterday !K7 announced that Kemistry & Storm's lauded DJ-Kicks mix was getting reissued as part of their 25th anniversary celebrations. Originally released back in January 1999, the album deservedly brought Kemistry & Storm to a wider audience after they had built a reputation throughout the 90s as two of the finest DJs on the drum & bass scene. Tragically just three months later Kemistry was killed in a car accident. Rest in peace.
John B's 'Olé' is the second track on the mix and what a tune to select for your first blend. It was released in 1998 as part of Formation's Countries Series on the Mexico 12", hence the title. The other side 'Viva' has a Latin American flavour to it but 'Olé' couldn't be further away from the sounds of a carnival, with a much darker feel.
It opens with superb choral synth pads that recall the '93 darkcore sound as a galloping beat gradually builds up. Anticipation is heightened with the introduction of some brooding bass, before the drop unfurls that nasty bassline in full. After teasing you for a while with little snippets the tune moves to the next level when an explosive Amen/Think combination is finally deployed. A dark banger of a tune.
'Olé' has also just been reissued and remastered by John B himself for his mammoth Timelines retrospective, featuring on Part II: The Lost Tapes. Formation's Leroy Small AKA DJ SS gets singled out for praise in John B's notes on the release, the producer commenting that SS "deserves a special mention for putting up with my probably superannoying nerdy overeagerness back then & put out almost all of my early stuff, including my first album ‘Visions’ & introduced me to all the important people in the scene right from the start - took me on tour to the USA for the first time with the World of Drum & Bass, and always put me on where he could at DJ gigs up in Leicester & label nights around the world... Big ups".
A remix of 'Olé' appeared on the World of Drum & Bass LP that was the culmination of the Countries Series. Kemistry & Storm's DJ-Kicks is available to download and stream now (I've added a few tracks from it to my DnB 365 Spotify playlist) while a limited edition white vinyl release will follow on May 8th, featuring selected tracks from the mix including John B's 'Olé' and 'Pressure'. Check out the mix below: