Album Review: Stargazing

Sweet Mix Kids are an Auckland DJ/Production duo made up of Sandon James and Chris Scott. They’ve played some of the hottest parties around the world, including a sold out 14,000 Synthony show at Spark Arena.

Stargazing is a disco influenced intergalactic journey featuring an eclectic line-up of NZ and international guests. It’s sparkly and slick, covered in classic affectations of soul, funk, jazz and R&B as well as retro vibes from the last 30 to 40 years. Deep Diving ft Pati even makes a Spice Girls reference; a sultry and understated delivery of the classic refrain “tell you what I want, what I really really want” within a musical setting that evokes 2002 Jennifer Lopez.

Never Going Home Feat. GetSet & Zado conjures nostalgia for upbeat M-People anthems with revelling trumpet melodies. 80’s movie synth bleeds through tracks like Stranger Danger Feat. Vikae and Indian Palms Feat. Sens F.

Indian Palms also features a bass tone that purrs like a panther. It’s a great example of how Sweet Mix Kids can fold together vintage disco with retro pop and slick, modern dance production. Sincere ft Blake is one of my favourite tracks. It merges a subdued, headachey low end that feels like you’re drunk at a heated pool party with crisp clean vocal delivery and a jazzy bent to the chords.

The album is full of clever and catchy cadences and vocal rhythms supplied by the talented line-up of features. Every chorus shape seems to grab your attention with enough curves and edges to the delivery that it becomes stuck in your head after the first repetition.

Another favourite of mine, Kiss It Better ft Hawkins, is a song about being trapped in a doomed booty call situation, but the choice of when to run words together and when to space them out is outstanding. It’s got a Lionel Richie, Prince imbued melancholy balanced perfectly with the wish-it-wasn’t casual sex to maximize the romanticised resignation. It’s cool to see the flagship single, Stargazing ft Rei, reworked in Te Reo at the end of the album. Google translates arorangi te tiro as Astronomical View, which sounds insanely epic to me, like a galaxy sized dose of dance music. Rei has arranged the syllables artfully and delivered them beautifully to bring a whole new hue to the song.

The Stargazing album is a joyful journey of dancey styles and gooey eccentricity. Sweet Mix Kids seem to be constantly playing amazing parties all over the globe, so don’t miss your next chance to catch them live back home.