DJ-Kicks (DJ Mix)

Leon Vynehall made his mark as a producer by stretching house music’s conventions to accommodate, well, anything—avian mating rituals, say, or his grandparents’ migration from England to New York. His debut mix album ranges just as widely, collecting tracks old (Haruomi Hosono’s ’80s electro-pop, Bourbonese Qualk’s chilly industrial) and new (like exclusives from UK bass savant Ploy and rising house maven Peach), and taking the tempo from skulking hip-hop through skipping garage to full-on jungle. As much as a display of mixing prowess, it’s a snapshot of the UK DJ’s unusual thought process, making connections between moods that are dreamy and aggro, ethereal and paranoid, all with exceptional skill and enviable grace.