EDITORIAL: Local Legends Share Favourite Dance Tracks
A list of classic classics if you like…
It’s hard not to overthink pop culture's recent turn towards the old: Hollywood is consistently rehashing old ideas (last year alone saw the reboots of, to name a few, Mulan, The Witches and Tom & Jerry); Brunswick are filled with kids unironically dressing like they're either stuck in the 80s or a Kath & Kim episode (in hindsight it is the same thing); serious techno DJs are dropping old-school trance like it's a Gatecrasher rave (thx you Nina), and the dense sounds of late 90's prog are sneaking its way back into many productions. Oh, and let's not forget the article which you’re currently reading, lol.
The cultural commentators might assess throwback tendencies as a yearning for simpler times, a period when the western economy seemed fairly stable, the dawn of the internet promised to save us all, and we didn't seem on the precipice of environmental collapse (ignorance is definitely bliss). Now it’s all pandemic, closed borders and extra-shitty politicians. Whatever the reason for all the reminiscing, we're not complaining. The music back then just seemed more optimistic; it hits differently. So if that means we get to hear classics like Stardust 'Music Sounds Better With You' or Armand van Helden 'You Don't Know Me' on a modern sound system all day long, then colour us an antiquarian.
If you dip your toes in the musical past, too, then the upcoming Classics party at Bourke Street Courtyard should be right up your alley. From house legend John Course to trance man Papa Smurf to everyone's favourite Sunshine, the lineup is stacked. The script is no tunes after 2010 allowed on the day - so the music might be old, but the vibe will be gold. Ahead of the show, we asked some of the DJs to run us through some of their favourites from yesteryear. A list of classic Classics if you like.
Sunshine
Kenny Bobien, The DJoon Experience - ‘Old Landmark’ (Catalan FC & Sven Love Vocal Reprise) [2010]
"This is my favourite classic gospel house track. It makes me feel so happy whenever I play it. The music is an uplifting reprise consisting of gospel tambourines, claps, piano and a soulful call and response vocal. I’ve never met a dance floor that doesn’t rejoice when they hear it. Its happiness in the form of music."
Mike Callander
JB3 - ‘Forklift’ (Luke Slater Filtered Mix) [1996]
‘This incredible remix was released at the end of 1996, and by the time I began frequenting Melbourne’s enormous warehouse parties at Shed 14, The Flower Centre (and anywhere they’d let me in) throughout 1997, it had become an underground classic. In 2021, two decades into my DJ career, I was asked to dig through the archives for older tracks (for the last of these parties), and it occurred to me that this had never left my sets.
When playing it, I’m still fascinated to see the always-positive response, eliciting a genuine lift in dance floor intensity from just about any kind of punter, despite the furious texture and tempo that in other tracks might be too much. The magic is in its moving filters that gradually open up to reveal an unmistakable “EDM riser” quality, but without the obviousness. The intensity creeps up on you much more gradually, and when the low pass filter closes down a little, there’s room for the percussion to carry us all to the next moment of shared energy. A genuine classic.’
Anthony Pappa
Schiller - ‘Das Glockenspiel’ (Humate Remix) [2000]
‘This is an absolutely massive anthem of a track. I’ve chosen this because it reminds me of a time when l played it during my closing set at Privilege in Ibiza. The sun was coming up as it played, and the place was going off. Truly a magical moment that l will always cherish and never forget.’
Jacob Malmo
Crazy Penis - ‘You Started Something’ (1998)
‘This was a game-changer for me. Only a few days into being of legal age, I attended Parklife in 2005 in Sydney with my brother and being a country boy, I really hadn’t seen or been to an event even close to that scale. At that stage, I were fairly exposed to all the mainstream electronic music of the time but hadn’t really delved deeper into the roots of house and other genre’s. I remember walking up and immediately being encapsulated by the funk/disco and house offering that Crazy Penis (now named Crazy P) were throwing down. One track stood out for me, and let’s just say it really did start something haha. I still play it regularly, and it set me on a path where searching deeper for those standout tracks was important to me.’
Aldonna
Frank De Wulf - ‘The Tape’ (1990)
‘Frank de Wulf can do no wrong. This track is a staple in a lot of my sets, using it mostly when I need a bit of lift in energy. I love the detuned synth stabs and the groove that’s created when the bass line is introduced, gets me every time!
Papa Smurf
Paul van Dyk - ‘For an Angel’ (1998)
‘This track is one of the greatest trance tracks ever produced. Hearing this for the first time as a kid was something way ahead of its time and put trance right up there with the world’s best sounds. For me, this track started my trance journey... and it still rocks the dance floors around the world. One of the greatest ever produced.’
John Course
Alison Limerick - ‘Where Love Lives’ (1996)
‘There are so many classics, and picking one for this purely means it is one of many! But for the sake of this, Alison Limerick ‘Where Love Lives’ is one of the all-time house music anthems. Beautiful and instantly recognisable pianos kickoff the best version, followed by slinky house production before the wonderful vocal begins. And what a vocal it is too! It’s an all-time classic and sure to be played by me or somebody else at the Classics party! See you there.’
