Hed Kandi

In 1999, Club DJ Mark Doyle started the Hed Kandi record label in conjunction with his radio show on the BBC station, Jazz FM. With a music show featuring House music as a medium for promotion, Doyle assembled a collection of his favorite club hits, with Jason Brooks as the cover-art illustrator, and released the CD set with success among club-goers.

Seeing the success of his first release, Doyle decided to make a series out of Hed Kandi compilations that focused on different aspects of House music such as; chill, soul, and twisted disco.

By 2003, Hed Kandi was a solid success, the radio show had a world-wide listening audience, the sales of the CD sets had passed 1 million, and clubs hosting Hed Kandi themed nights were over-packed. Even Brook's cover-art had become popular among computer users with sites set up distributing Hed Kandi wallpaper.

In 2005, Jazz FM, including the rights to the Hed Kandi label was bought out by the Guardian Publishing Company. Doyle left to form his own label, Tokyo Disco, with himself as the owner and eventually reorganized it as Fierce Angel records. The next year, Ministry Of Sound assumed ownership of Hed Kandi and has continued the tradition of assembling and releasing eclectic compilation albums of sexy, glamorous, danceable grooves.

Today, Hed Kandi album releases are more popular than ever and the number of other compilations releasing cover work similar to Brook's style speaks to the impact the series has had on the sales of House music compilations.

Disclaimer

Hed Kandi is a trademarks of the company, Ministry Of Sound. This website is not affiliated with nor endorsed by the company, Ministry Of Sound. You can visit the official Ministry Of Sound site at ministryofsound.com.