8 April 2011

Dance albums you really should own #2

Following from March's dance albums you really should own post here are two more gems which make for truly great listening. One at the cocktail party end of things and the other a bona fide early rave classic (don't let that put you off - it rocks).

Dimitri From Paris - De-Luxe House of Funk (1997)
Dimitri From Paris, De-Luxe House of Funk
Everyone has heard of Dimitri From Paris' Playboy Mansion compilations but THIS is where he hit the big time in his style of house. None of his other mixes really come close to the soul and funk contained here. It's full of gems like his exclusive remixes of Brand New Heavies and Bjork plus early classics from Bob Sinclar before he was a superstar, Ray Mang, Teddy G and Morning Kids (Daniel Wang) - all arranged in a sleazy groove which is still my benchmark for cocktail party house.

Key moment: Dimitri's mix of Bjork 'Isobel' - regarded by some as the best ever remix of a Bjork track. Youtube: Isobel (Dim's Enchanted Forest)

Eon - Void Dweller (1992)
Eon, Void Dweller
You couldn't get more different to Dimitri than Eon. The brainchild of Ian Loveday & J Saul Kane (aka Depth Charge) this was brilliant early rave with a spacey and often dark twist. A few of the tracks famously sample David Lynch's cult sci-fi film Dune,  'Spice' being the most obvious and 'Fear: The Mindkiller' joining it as two iconic pieces of rave history. The album also had its deeper moments too with the hypnotic 'Infinity' and 'A Kind Of Living'. Eon can be forgiven for the quite cheesy 'Basket Case' here because overall the album is a classic and also one of the first ever to be signed to a major record label - opening a lot of doors for others later on.

Key moments: 'Fear: The Mindkiller' -  a defining moment of the rave era. Youtube Fear: The Mindkiller

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

the dimitri from paris album is amzing. thanks for the reminder.

Anonymous said...

I remember hearing that Eon track back in my Manchester rave days. Nice one brother. Matt K