Daft Punk – Around The World (10 Hr Edit) [1997] April 25, 2012

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McYadYJJrYE]

Well, since its been a week or so, its time for the big reveal. Back to the USA we go which is why its been a bit sparse around here of late. So in honour, we have the 10 hour version of Around The World from Daft Punk. 10 hours, roughly the same length of time you’ll spend on a plane flying from London to the West Coast of the USA.

On to the track, well its the seminal Daft Punk sound and production. I think most people got their start with Daft Punk after hearing this track, its definitely responsible for turning friends of mine to the house sound. Its not all that hard to see either, its catchy as HELL. Probably why the 10 hour version doesn’t sound wholly repetitive since it rearranges the composition enough to keep the track interesting.

So, as for the cans, we’ll be a bit quiet for the next few weeks while moving! See you on the flip side!

Whyte – Purple Haze [1990] April 17, 2012

A truly excellent laid back ravey cover of Hendrix’s Purple Haze with lots of uplifting piano filling in for massive guitar riffs. The addition of the sultry female vocals are a great touch but overall, this is all about the strings, the piano and the vocal. Such a great example of 1990 dance music. From [...]

Global Deejays – Lonely [2006] March 26, 2012

More Simple Minds I hear you cry? Absolutely sir! Another track featuring the Theme For Great Cities string riff. This time an offering from the huge, Global DJ’s. I have to say, I really do dig the vocal and its integration into the sample, it works perfectly!

Corporation Of One – The Real Life [1988] March 26, 2012

I reckon you could credit Corporation of One with the instigation of sampling Themes for Great Cities since this went stratospheric in 1988. I mean, hell it samples everything else as well! You have Queen, some Al Pacino from Scarface as well as that instantly recognisable string section from Simple Minds. But its how they are used that makes this track such a belter. Its breaks are clean and crisp, the moogy bass makes another appearance some four years before Farley and Heller got their hands into it.

Corporation of One was the pseudonym of Freddy Bastone, one extremely prolific remixer from the Bronx who’s work ranged from remixing Queen (surprise surprise), Bananarama, Brandy, Judas Priest, Lil’ Kim, Missy Elliott, Radiohead, Rod Stewart, and Taxi Doll.

Sunscreem – Perfect Motion (Boys Own Mix) [1992] March 26, 2012

Oh god what a track this is. An absolutely timeless piece of electronic house music that always seems to be over too soon despite its hefty length. Despite it not being a hard pounding track, its an all encompassing, fuzzy cashmere blanket type of Progressive House tune. In fact, I cant think of many other tracks that despite their tame sensibility can pack a dancefloor like this one. It might have something to do with the marginally more interesting beat, steering away from solely 4/4 bass drums and adding some interesting snare programming. Perhaps its that moog, twanging along for the entire track. What am I talking about, of course its the Moog slap bassline. An 8 bar riff that just bloody nails its relationship to that bassdrum. You could probably strip out the vocals and the strings and people would still loose their shit to this track. Yet another masterpiece from Farley & Heller.

David August – Hamburg Is For Lovers [2011] March 16, 2012

One from a guy at work and what a cracker this is, taken from the excellent Peace Of Conscience EP. I’ve not been much into my deep house for a while since most of it of late hasn’t resembled the Progressive stuff I used to love. Instead its been a great deal of over produced electro or trance sounding bollocks. Now this on the other hand is how you do a deep house track in my opinion.

Keeping the beat simple is key, mix into it some melancholy chords and pepper it with some uplifting synth riffs. Top it all off with a cracking string set and your on to a winner. The track is so slick it could only have come from Deuchland!

Shapeshifters – Lola’s Theme (Main Mix) [2004] February 29, 2012

Love it or loathe it you cant deny that Lola’s Theme is a master-stroke of house production. Its literally draws upon 20 years of experience to craft a track so damn slick it will be heard for years to come. It has enough disco-y house to please the bunnies, the bass line is chunky enough to satisfy even the most devoted Prog house fan. The four to the floor is crispy and interesting and the vocal is absolutely perfect for the tune, synthy guitar business keep the tech heads happy and wrapping it up is that cracking build up smack bang in the middle. Guaranteed to lay waste to any dancefloor it comes into contact with. What a release this is.

Pamela Fernandez – Kickin’ In The Beat (Extended Mix) [1992] February 27, 2012

I reckon its about time we paid our repects to the excellent Pamela Fernandez and the seminal classic that is “Kickin’ In The Beat”. Yeah, that accapella has been caned within an inch of its life, found predominantly listed as remixes of this tune but often just snippets of the whole. You’ll find a bunch of those tracks listed on here but the highlights for me have to be Sublime’s The Theme and the Club For Life track from Chris & James. Fernandez’ voice is tailor made for house music and the Todd Terry remix of this just brings it all together with a funky but chunky house arrangement and the vocals stomping all over the track like Godzilla. There’s a bunch of other decent remixes out there, some house heavy tracks, some more progressive. Lets see if we cant list some of the better ones eh?

Dave Angel – Funk Music (DJ Tonka Remix) [1997] February 24, 2012

What a cracker this is, its fast enough to be a Dave Angel techno wonder but Tonka chucks in a bucketload of disco-house goodness wrapping the whole track into an absolute dancefloor destroyer. Its got the trademark Angel crispy high hats and snares but lots of string work (from Tonka no doubt). If this track cant get your ass moving you’ve gotta be dead since every dancefloor I’ve seen it dropped on the place has just erupted! What a great track.

Chris & James – Club For Life (The New Skool Balearic Mix) [1994] February 21, 2012

What a huge gurner of a track this one is, another classic from Stress Records. Its a guaranteed dance floor destroyer with that Piano riff just tearing the roof off when it drops. Right now for the life of me, I cannot remember where this accapella is from, its on the tip of my tongue and is going to bug the crap out of me for the rest of the day. That said, the rest of the track is a progressive tinged arm-waving marathon. Yes, there’s panpipes for extra cheese but we can let that one go, it was 93 after all. Cracking!