Mauritius

Da Funk was a track on one of the first CDs I ever bought, Daft Punk’s first album, Homework. This was in 1997 and the whole album was a revelation. It was top-notch house music and the sound quality was (and still is) astounding.

Da Funk is one of my reference tracks. Whenever I need to test a new amp or a new set of speakers, I fire Da Funk. You know that you have good equipment if your jaw drops when the bassline starts at 0:45.

Over the years, Daft Punk released other great albums (most notably Random Access Memories) and tracks (Starboy with the Weeknd) but, for me, Homework rules.

I first heard Tora! Tora! Tora! by Depeche Mode in 1985. I was 12 at that time and the song was amazing on so many levels.

Tora! Tora! Tora! was released 40 years ago (in 1981) on Depeche Mode’s first album, Speak and Spell. It was electro at its best. The bassline was amazing as were the drums. And the lyrics were profound. It was a song about war or, rather, against war. Deep lyrics which had a big impact on my young mind at that time.

It was also the first DM song made by Martin Gore which would give an idea of what the group would move towards during the next few years… More electro and darker but more profound lyrics.

This is Panic Attack, a song from my third album, Turn Around, released in 2016. The working title was Albino. I composed the song in 2015, did a new arrangement and mix later and played all the instruments except the drums. I also did the mastering.

Interestingly, this is the track I have listened to most during the past 15 years… More than any Depeche Mode song!

This is the first post of a series of posts I will make over the weeks on the music I like most.