In similar company with new school French dance producers Daft Punk and Cassius, Alan Braxe has risen through the ranks to become one of the pivotal masterminds in the Gallic house movement. The creative force behind Stardust’s chart-topping Music Sounds Better With You, he helped launch the career of vocalist Benjamin Diamond, and with sometimes partner Thomas Bangalter, define a new genre of dance music that helped propel Roule Records releases to the top of every budding DJ’s must-have list. His debut, Vertigo, took the filtered sound to the world and helped kick-start the French house revolution back in 1996. Ten years on The Upper Cuts pulls together a dozen of his classic productions that really define an era built on simple melodies, warm throbbing basslines, disco and funk sampled riffs, and the occasional vocal hook. It’s a simple formula, often imitated yet rarely equalled. The principle ‘friend’ is fellow Parisian Fred Falke who are paired on a handful of cuts: Intro – the theme tune to summer 2000, a subtle instrumental with soul-iced harmonies ‘borrowed’ from the Jets that sit atop a killer bassline not heard of such memorable proportions since Another One Bites The Dust. There’s also the restrained jazz-inflected house instrumentation of Most Wanted, the bass heavy Palladium and the equally warm and inviting Penthouse Serenade. Add a handful of lesser know, yet equally essential offerings, (many making their first appearance outside of vinyl) and you end up with the must-have purchase of the month.
5 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: Lewis Dene
