Safe ground to most music producers means trawling out the old favourites, being careful not to upset anybody, walking on eggshells, where necessary, and scoring a 5/10 from the majority of reviewers and critics. The consumer will treat this kind of performance as ‘typical’ and, depending on the former brand values, will either opt for a listen and make up their own minds or discard it as another waste of space. I know Hedkandi of old. If its latest double-CD offering were ‘safe ground’, then ‘Destroy The Disco’ would be a mighty fine way of going about it.

Featuring on the first disc the kind of Annie Mac mash-up that is guaranteed to make you wonder at which point the word ‘discothèque’ had any relevance in the current music scene, the bass-heavy beats and edgier cuts from such sterling performers as Bloc Party, Calvin Harris, latest dirty sound sensation, Noisettes, Fatboy Slim and The Prodigy will have Essex girls grabbing their handbags and heading for the night air lickety-split! Easily the best assemblage that Hedkandi has ever put together, the sound explosion is spectacular and, while it may be dance-based, this is speaker-shredding, downright dirty music at its very finest.

To be frank, I always worry about second discs, when the opening gambit is so thoroughly and outrageously excellent but, despite the fact that the big names have been reserved for Disc One, the other pressing contains enough glory from The Young Punx, Simian Mobile Disco and Louis La Roche, among a Who’s Who of club-land’s best underground DJs and mixers, to make it equally fascinating. To be honest, it is not as brilliant as the first disc and may even lack some of its vibrant fire but it is still every bit as vital in the disco-deconstruction act. Were you to take a disco mix, re-mix it and then do it again, enhancing another element of its timbre, then you might get somewhere close to comprehending this exquisite end-of-summer sound. As I said earlier, I know Hedkandi of old and I have invariably enjoyed its past offerings for their sheer quality if nothing else. Destroy The Disco, with its futurist intentions and semi-noir comic-book presentation is up there with the best albums of 2009. Hedkandi’s hot stuff is brand new this week. Be there, or be square!