This mix was originally commissioned by Coldcut's Solid Steel, a radio program which usually finds high-minded recombinantors like DJ Food and Steinski trawling the vaults for the dustiest breakbeat ever. On Too Hot For Solid Steel, Kawasaki revels in the cheesy mainstream tripe which the obscurantists choose to pass over. Chopped up, flipped and (yes, Missy) reversed, Bette Midler's Beaches-era vocal takes on a spectral, affective tenor. Tina Turner's "What's Love Got To Do With It" is here gloriously resurrected, its tall-haired pop-romantic trappings stripped away to leave only Tina's stirring voice and a wicked funk-hop loop. Far more technically accomplished than 2 Many DJs' much-hyped "bastard pop," this record is a pop addict's nightmare, a pirate's wet dream. Kawasaki's project reminds us that there's beauty in pop music, even if it's only skin deep.
--Martin Turenne