8 Tracks: Of Euphoria In Dance Music With Helix

It’s definitely been played before and probably put on many lists, but there’s definitely a reason for that. This record exemplifies the euphoria that good dance music can give you. Every time I hear this record, it’s just pure bliss. There’s honestly no comparison, but it sets the stage nicely for the next track in my revue…

My friend DJ Roy put me onto this one and it’s just pure E from start to finish. Something about the way it moves from staple jackin’ house drums to the most euphoric, disco ball, hands to the sky string bliss… The track always feels like a curveball if you don’t recognise the intro, but the smooth jazz outro brings me down to earth to really start dancing, which leads into my next track…

If you’ve been a fan of Night Slugs for a while, you know we love Soundstream. I don’t know if this is the most played Soundstream record on NS radio shows of a certain era, but it’s the one I remember the most. I love the way the 808s and pianos command your feet to move, but the strings in the background have this beautiful ethereal quality to them that sets off the track so uniquely. That soft touch helps ease the way into the hard driving funk of track four…

Gez Varley has been an inspiration to me for such a long time, and this record even inspired the name of one of my own records (Knight Trax, meet Porsche Trax). It’s such a versatile record for me because I can play it at a hi-nrg moment and drive the vibe of the floor into a frenzy, or I can use the floating chords to open people up for deeper or more soulful fare later in the night. The way these chords are so airy and singular really helps crystalize the focus on the floor to let track five take over…

Bringing the focus of K2 to an even sharper point is one of my all time favourite French house records. The way this track does ONE THING, and nothing else is such an inspiration to me. After something like the intensity of this track, my mind often wanders to something much more subdued, giving me the next record…

I first heard this in a Peter Van Hoesen mix for minimal sausages and it was the standout record in the mix. The way K2 starts to crystalize time, this track outright freezes it. If there’s anything that could be called trance music, this is 1000% it. As deep as I like to take the music though, I can’t help but play a 100% pop music certified HOT record…

This was one of the first dance records I heard that wasnt in the Bill Nye intro or a video game. The whole ‘Discovery’ album really set off my love for dance music and the euphoria that comes with it, which led me to dig deeper to find more records I love, which leads to my final euphoria moment in dance music…

This track by Basement Boys and DJ Spen is a record I found relatively recently when I was living in California. The Jean-Luc Ponty sample just bangs, and the record takes you on a full ride from one to a thousand and back down to earth, making it a fitting end to this 8 Tracks entry. I like messing with people though, so obviously I fade it out at the climax.