22nd July 2008

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Dancers in the dark.

Michaelangelo Matos reprinted Mixmag’s Top 25 Dance Tunes of the Last 25 Years over at Idolator this morning, and his commentary was largely on point. There was no mention, however, of the sheer lack of American records in the top ten. (Josh Wink’s “Higher State of Consciousness” is untouchable, but Armand Van Helden’s Tori Amos remix? Not so much.) Okay, yes, I get it: Mixmag is a British magazine. But it was their country’s widespread acceptance of Chicago house and Detroit techno that ultimately paved the way for the U.K. acid house explosion — and, truth be told, even most of the best records from that era were left behind. So who made the cut?

1. Underworld “Born Slippy” (Junior Boys Own, 1994; reissued 1996)
2. Massive Attack “Unfinished Sympathy” (Wild Bunch/Virgin, 1991)
3. Stardust “Music Sounds Better with You” (Roulé, 1998)
4. Energy 52 “Café Del Mar” (Eye Q, 1993)
5. Prodigy “Smack My Bitch Up” (XL, 1997)
6. Wink “Higher State of Consciousness” (Strictly Rhythm, 1995)
7. Laurent Garnier “The Man with the Red Face” (F Communications, 2000)
8. Liquid “Sweet Harmony” (XL, 1991)
9. Faithless “Insomnia” (Cheeky, 1996)
10. Tori Amos “Professional Widow (Armand’s Star Trunkin’ Funk Mix)” (Atlantic, 1996)

First of all, I’ve been listening to house music for 13 years, with at least six of those years spent working in dance record stores, and up until now I’d never heard Liquid’s “Sweet Harmony.” After a quick search on YouTube, I understand why Mixmag readers might deem it “important”: there are elements of what later became drum ‘n’ bass, U.K. garage, and dubstep on this record. Unfortunately, it’s also kinda terrible.

As far as the rest of the list goes, I’d argue that if Massive Attack’s “Unfinished Sympathy” belongs on this list, then so does Janet Jackson’s “What Have You Done For Me Lately.” (You can dance to it, sure, but is it really dance music?) I’d also replace Laurent Garnier’s “The Man With the Red Face” with “Acid Eiffel,” which was both artist-defining and genre-defining. And Energy 52, Liquid, Faithless, and Van Helden would be thrown out altogether. (Technically, the whole list is rubbish, but I’m playing nice with Mixmag readers.) So that leaves five slots open. Pay attention, England: here is what you forgot.

• Frankie Knuckles “Your Love” (feat. Jamie Principle) (Persona, 1986)

It was the perfect confluence of Chicago house, German electro, and American disco — and it came out at a time when Huey Lewis & The News were making number-one hits. To say that “Your Love” was the work of a dance music visionary is an understatment: If this record came out today, it would still be hailed as forward-thinking.

• The Fog “Been A Long Time” (Miami Soul, 1993)

Before the internet, the house music sound in America was largely a regional thing: Chicago jack, New York soul, San Francisco deep. But Miami’s Murk took advantage of their geography by appropriating all of it and giving back a kind of electronic disco that you just don’t hear anymore — not even from them. “Been A Long Time” is the quintessential diva track, and if I had to choose, might possibly be my favorite house track of all time.

• Henrik Schwarz, Âme & Dixon feat. Derrick L. Carter “Where We At” (Version 1) (Innervisions, 2006)

I was surprised to see that the oldest track in Mixmag’s top ten was from 2000 — as if there were no classics to appear in the past eight years. Clearly, that was an oversight. Derrick Carter’s “Where U At?” gained instant classic status when it came out in 2002, but this 2006 German remix made it onto my list for its universal quality. Unlike the original mix — which was probably Derrick’s most successfully executed Chicago boompty track ever — this version speaks to house and techno purists alike. Plus, you’ll lose your mind hearing it on a system.

• Dubtribe Sound System “Do It Now” (Imperial Dub, 2000)

If you think disco died at Comiskey Park in 1979, you just missed out on thirty years of classic records. No modern disco record killed me as hard in recent memory as Dubtribe’s “Do It Now” — an astonishing mix of live instruments and programming that pretty much makes me forget where I am for the almost 14 minutes it takes to listen to it. Life-alteringly epic, in my opinion.

• Bobby Konders “Nervous Acid” (Massive B, 1992)

Acid house wasn’t new when Bobby Konders released “Nervous Acid” in 1992, but he certainly revolutionized the sound, making it possible for Wink’s “Higher State of Consciousness” and pretty much every acid freak-out record to follow. But why is it one of the ten best dance records of the past 25 years? Because there has never been another inside cut on a five-song 12” that has been nearly as influential and epoch-making — and there may never be another.

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