Hey everyone - welcome back at the discotheque!
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It's been a hot minute since I did a post centered around the stuff that's been on heavy rotation in my life at this moment in time, and seeing as we're now basically in autumn (which really sucks in my opinion, I absolutely adore summer!) - I thought that I'd give you readers some sweet recommendations for your month ahead, whilst also doing some mini reviews on tracks I absolutely love.
Without further ado - let's get started!
Eric Prydz - Slammin' (2003)
I've been listening to French / filter house properly for almost around two years now, and while I'd consider myself to be decently knowledgeable on most of the genre's eras - the early to mid 2000s scene is where I'd like to think the majority of my gaps are, especially with the Swedish scene from that time, which pumped out loads of absolute classics in what was essentially a three year golden period, perhaps the most popular purveyor being Eric Prydz - who also went under the names Pryda and Cirez-D. The opening track from his third EP for legendary label Credence, which was later released as a single with an equally cool remix from Axwell - I've actually been listening to for years, yet I only rediscovered it when going through his early catalogue earlier this month, and boy, is it a beauty.
I genuinely find it really hard to believe that this is one of Prydz's most underrated tracks - purely because it has all of the ingredients to be a total club smasher, a jam to dance to on your own, or for just feeling pretty damn cool in general - and it shows the man at what I'd consider to be his absolute prime, mixing lush synths and atmospheric, dreamy production with slamming (ha, see what I did there?) beats and a truck load of groove to boot - but that could just be from the pretty nasty bassline that seems to take obvious inspirations from Alavi or everyone's favourite Turkish avenger Sedat, or the swingy percussion in the back (wow, I didn't exactly expect this to sound like a track breakdown!)
Basically, this track is lit. If you want a nice introduction to the work of one of the world's biggest electronic music superstars, but aren't super into modern EDM as of yet - this is the way to go, in my eyes. Go and stream it now, or pick up one of the twelves for relatively cheap on Discogs!
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Light Year - Motor Booty (2010)
Fast forwarding to seven years later, and building onto the topic of extremely fantastic, underrated music - my next weapon of choice comes directly from Australian DJ and underground lord Night Year, who, in March 2010 released his debut EP Night Vision for iconic label Bang Gang 12 Inches, delivering six killer tracks that blended together kick-ass beats, funk, disco, synths and filter house all together in a super sweet package. While it's all really damn dope, my personal pick for the month has to go to Motor Booty - which I initially found on a random person's music collection on Soulseek a few weeks back and was completely floored!
The majority of stuff I cover on the blog is often quite tight, punchy and smooth - take what's above for example with Prydz - however it's always nice to write about something a little different, and I sure as hell have a lot to say about this particular ditty. Clocking in at just under four minutes, and somewhat a homage to Parliament-Funk (well, at least by title, real ones know!) - to me, this track sounds like something that could have been included in the second half of Cassius' seminal debut 1999, or the only (yet legendary) full-length record put out by Motorbass - albeit, it's a little bit slicker and a whole lot sexier in my eyes, and despite being technically a house track - I feel like you could play it out and have B-boys and girls start busting to it, because it's surprisingly loose, playful and above all, it packs a massive punch amongst what's already an extremely solid EP - so it gets a major seal of approval from me.
Go and buy / stream it now.
Pete Heller - Big Love (1999)
While the last two tracks explored on today's post were underrated classics - I wanted to flip the switch and talk about a track that, despite being extremely well known (and supported by many legendary DJs, including Thomas Bangalter!) - is hands down one of the greatest to come out of the filter house movement that had now made its way over to England, and perhaps, many may consider it to be one of house music's finest examples. This is of course the deeply euphoric and damn incredible Big Love, which was written by Brighton-born artist Pete Heller, who by this point had made his name as one half of legendary production duo Fire Island, whilst also being a highly in demand DJ towards the second half of the nineties.
I initially discovered the Stargard-sampling classic at the age of ten many years ago after stumbling across a cheesy, yet surprisingly good mix CD with the track put neatly after the opener (which, from memory, was Needin' U by David Morales!) and it pretty much instantly grabbed my attention. The words I would have used to describe it back then would have simply been that it was ridiculously summery, insanely fun and in general, just so damn cool, and after I managed to grab a promo copy on wax at the very end of August - and promptly running up the stairs, turning the turntables on and letting the needle drop - all of those feelings came back, and I then played it ten times in a row.
Yes, I'm being completely serious.
I think what makes Big Love so great, is the fact that amongst just being produced really, really well - it works splendidly as a DJ tool to drop at any point in a set, whether that's as an opener to get a crowd going, right in the middle when things are peaking, or as a closer for the night, to make things feel particularly bittersweet - and to add, it's an extremely hypnotic, and somewhat deep slice of house music that just does the job damn near perfectly. A classic, that I'm sure every reader will likely know (and if not, educate yourself, quick!)
You can buy and stream Big Love on Bandcamp now.
Dominic Pierce - Good Friends (2008)
When I finally started to get into French house in the autumn of 2024 (I can't quite believe that was two years ago by now!) - one of the first artists I stumbled upon in the underground scene was none other than Canadian producer and DJ Pierce, who later began using his full name shortly after the first wave of the bloghouse era drew to a close. A man with many, many ideas, his music blends a whole bunch of awesome stuff together - ranging from chilled out hip hop, nu disco, R&B, electro and most importantly, French house, and one of his earliest jams, the absolutely fantastic Good Friends - which I believe was released out into the world eighteen years ago through MySpace, I've been playing heavily across September for a whole bunch of different reasons.
At heart, Good Friends is basically just disco-infused house music - and while that might seem fairly normal, considering that I talk about the late 2000s internet fueled, disco explosion a ton on the blog, heck - the reason this blog is even a thing is because of that time in electronic music - this particular track feels quite atypical in various ways - it's a fair bit slower compared to the usually energetic jams people like Phantom, Louis La Roche and LBCK were pumping out this time - there seems to be buckets of hip-hop influence (which, looking back isn't all that surprising, knowing the direction he went in!) and most importantly - Good Friends feels a lot more refined, bad-ass and crisp compared to lots of stuff coming out at the time - which is why it comfortably sat in my listening habits for a long time, whilst also being (not that it isn't now!) a major inspiration on my own music.
To sum it up - this is an absolute heater from one of Canada's dopest producers, and you can grab it online through his compilation album Some Older Stuff now - but be sure to check his (equally awesome) work too, or drop the guy a follow on Instagram!
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Louis La Roche - Me and Her (2009)
I find it somewhat funny that just sentences ago when covering Good Friends, I mentioned the 'energetic jams' that people like London-based producer, DJ, label owner and singer songwriter Louis La Roche (who's probably one of the most featured people on the blog!) put out during the blog-era - and seeing as he's one of my favourite artists of all time, it's no surprise that he's back on the blog again, this time through the titular track from his second EP - which is an extremely groovy, glamorous and bright, post-disco classic that's often regarded by fans as one of his best tracks, whilst also being, in his own eyes, a major influence on the 'future funk' movement that spawned in the mid-2010s and beyond.
How I ended up deciding to put this track on the list for this month is quite interesting - sure, I listened to it a bunch on the bus to college in the morning, in the shower, preparing for the blog or doing work in general - however the major catalyst came after scrolling on Instagram one day and re-discovering a recently found video of Louis dropping it at the now defunct Oxygen Festival in July 2010, to an eager, raucous tent containing seven thousand house music lovers, and let me tell you, it sounded super, super epic (even if it was recorded using a phone, and the kicks were massively distorted on the original recording!) - proving it to be a classic that you can dance to either with your friends, or in a packed, excitable club with a damn fine system, provided the DJ has some super sweet taste.
(Come to think of it, why haven't I dropped it in a set yet? Gahhh...)
It's an absolute classic. If you want to delve a little into how dance music sounded at this particular time (I mean, it was very unique, so let's just say in the areas where sampling disco became cool again!) - then go and give this track a spin. It can be found on all major streaming services, but to support Louis directly, then grab it on the Bandcamp, alongside the rest of what is an absolutely killer EP.
The Phantom's Revenge - Absolute Ego Riot (2008)
Before I start talking about this track, I feel like a tiny bit of context is needed as to why it's ended up on this month's 'What I've Been Listening To' post.
I've been a major fan of The Phantom's Revenge since I was about fifteen (which is pretty much a given, considering how much I talk about the guy here, and also because he came into the virtual hot seat at the end of July, which I'm still so, so thankful for!) - and while I listen to loads of other French house acts, every single month since discovering him, I'll have a period of around one or two weeks where I'll pretty much listen exclusively to his incredible music, and for this month, my pick has to go to the original version of Absolute Ego Riot - one of the guy's most iconic tracks - which was released on iconic Australian label Idiot House in November 2008, backed with the equally awesome I Can't Lose and a rework by Louis La Roche (hey, there he is again!)
In my humble opinion, this particular single sums up the late 2000s era of French house in the best possible way, and while I've featured the era heavily on today's post, this may have to be my favourite pick of them all - it's a complete ear worm (which, once again, is pretty much a given!) - it's ridiculously heavy, snappy and punchy, which in turn makes it a golden pick for playing at clubs to completely wreck the dance floor, especially during the track's many breakdowns which often feature just the (extremely detailed) sample chops (Candi Staton has never sounded so damn epic since this dropped, in my eyes!) and to add, it's a track that's perfect for pumping you up before something - such as a show, maybe - or just aggressively headbanging to, if that's your preferred method of dancing.
Acid Jacks sure as hell did the world a favor when he signed this.
You can find Absolute Ego Riot in various places, scattered across the internet - however, if you had to ask me, SoundCloud is your best bet for this classic, or Beatport if you want to grab yourself a high quality copy to spin.
Proux - Funk Express (2014)
Stepping away from both the blog-era and the late 90s / early 2000s scene - I think it's time we went over to the future funk side of things, and I'm very pleased to report that Mexican artist Proux is back on the blog, having been featured back in February with his excellent single Too Late, and this time, his older work takes center stage, with his hit track Funk Express - which some fans and readers may know ended up on the soundtrack for Bomb Rush Cyberfunk a few years back, is an absolute stomper of a track, melding together the sounds of post disco and early eighties electro with bumping house production that somewhat feels reminiscent of the smoother stuff on Ed Banger - whilst being effortlessly glittery, lively and for some reason, and I'm not exactly why I thought of this - it feels super cinematic in a way too. Stick this track in an action sequence and you are good to go, for any film-makers who somewhat happen to read the blog!
Now, this I will admit - I've only started getting into Proux fairly recently, which does sound like an absolute crime, considering the fact that he's one of the biggest modern nu-disco / French house and future funk artists possibly ever - however, I've been listening to various cuts of his for a while now, and discovered Funk Express two years ago after talking with some friends online and thoroughly enjoyed it - however, it's been placed here today because of something fairly simple. During one of the now defunct 'Thursday Night Throwdown' nights put on by Creux La Nuit in late July, Future0s dropped Funk Express, and everything seemed to click at once for me - and I promptly went mad. Fast forward to the end of this month, and it's been on repeat for weeks now - simply because it's just so, so damn good - and here I am now, kicking myself that I haven't either blogged about this track before, or at least dropped it in some of my sets. Ah well, the future is the way forward!
You can grab Funk Express from Bandcamp now.
Burns - Into My Eyes: His Majesty Andre Remix (2009)
When people think of Scottish producer and musician Burns today - their minds may go to his work with American singer-songwriter Teddy Swims or global superstars such as Ellie Goulding, Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande - his remixes for the likes of Sam Gellaitry or a series of releases for globally known dance music label Spinnin' - but if you've been involved in French house for a while, and look a little bit deeper into his catalogue, then you'll end up finding his earliest electro and disco-influenced house works, most of which were released on independent label 2112, often with lots of impressive names involved, such as Fred Falke, Jokers of the Scene, and Italian legend and party favourite His Majesty Andre, who, for his third work under Burns (and his second EP!) turned in a monstrous, party ready rework of the already classic Into My Eyes - turning it from a chilled out, somewhat bittersweet jam into a jacking, energetic banger that's just utterly infectious from start to finish.
I initially discovered it last October while browsing through Andre's SoundCloud profile while I was bored one Wednesday evening, and very quickly, I'd sent it to all of my friends excitedly and had it on loop for pretty much the entire month, largely because it ticked (and still does!) all of the boxes in my head when it comes to filter house - it's fast, it sounds very warm and rich, it's extremely upbeat, it's way too much fun, and it's god damn Andre - who was on a killer streak with his work at the time, already churning out bangers for the likes of Moda and Cheap Thrills and a huge remix catalogue, which was ever expanding with gold, such as this track. To me, it serves as a nice reminder of how cool that time was - and if you haven't heard it yet, it's bound to be a sweet pick-me up, or a future mainstay in your listening, like it currently is for me!
You can find it on SoundCloud currently.
There you have it, everyone!
I hope you've enjoyed reading today's post - and if a lot of this stuff is new to some readers, then I hope that some of my recommendations will serve you well. If you're seasoned, then I hope that you've enjoyed reading my ramblings on some of my favourite tracks this month - it was super fun to write this post!
As always, support all of the artists featured in today's post, and keep enjoying your stay at the discotheque.
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