The Upper Cuts [2023 Edition] in Bloomington, MN

Alan Braxe
has been a longtime key figure of the French house scene ever since his debut single, "Vertigo," was released by
Roule
in 1997. While his music is certainly filled with disco basslines and filtered effects, much of his work seems far more aesthetically inspired by '70s rock and '80s synth pop than underground house music, even if it's clearly produced with clubs in mind. How many other modern-day dance producers earnestly use woodblocks and cowbells the way he does? Originally released in 2005,
The Upper Cuts
gathered some of his most beloved productions to that point, and became a major indie dance hit in its own right. The big crossover smash, of course, is "Music Sounds Better with You," the inescapable 1998 blockbuster recorded with
Daft Punk
's
Thomas Bangalter
and vocalist
Benjamin Diamond
under the name
Stardust
. Even though
Virgin
reportedly offered the trio three million dollars to record a full
album, they decided to preserve their perfect moment and move on to other projects. As such, nothing else on
approaches the same type of ecstatic feeling as the
hit, but the other highlights are triumphant in their own ways. "In Love with You," produced with
Romuald Lauverjon
under another one-off alias,
the Paradise
, is an opening-credits roller that feels like basking in a blissful sunrise. Many of the tracks were co-produced by
Fred Falke
, a successful partnership that only lasted for a few more years after
was released. "Intro" is as classic as French house gets, looping cheers and sighing vocals along with a nimble disco bassline and thumping beats. "Palladium" modernizes
Cerrone
-style synth-disco, and "Arena" cheekily pays homage to stadium rock, craftily looping rapturous applause and rhythmic clapping along with very '70s-sounding synth melodies. "Rubicon" comes across like an underground disco DJ's edit of music from an aerobics video, with perky synths and a racing, upbeat rhythm owing more to, say,
Olivia Newton-John
than house music. Guitar comes in later, but it ends up being looped and chopped-up rather than playing a full solo all the way through.
remains a seminal document of the era when underground dance music began embracing pop and disco influences, which had largely been thought of as unhip for two decades, and indie/alternative crowds became more open-minded towards dance music and club culture, leading into the blog-house era.
[
was reissued in 2023, after being out of print for several years. The track list differs significantly, with "Music Sounds Better with You" appearing in edited form, and two tracks missing from the original, "Vertigo" and hip-hop cut "Link 'N' Rings." Seven additional tracks take their place, however, including two more tunes with
Falke
, "Chrystal City" and an instrumental of the starry ballad "You'll Stay in My Heart." There's also a short, synth-poppy remix of
Britney Spears
' "Anticipating," a collaboration with
Annie
("Never Coming Back"), and the cute, cut-and-pastey "True Love."] ~ Paul Simpson