It’s been more than 10 years since Jean-Jacques Smoothie’s Minnie Riperton-sampling 2 People was released. In the early 2000s, French, sample-based disco house was the in-trend dance music of the time, but with so much competition it took a particularly special effort to stand out from the ever-swelling crowd. 2 People was certainly that, and has since held a proud spot in the collective dance consciousness.

Now back with a fresh set of remixes for 2011 from Olav Basoski, Louis La Roche, DCUP and Simpleton, this seminal record is primed to re-visit the world’s dancefloors for a whole new generation of clubber. We caught up with Smoothie – who day-to-day goes by the slightly less fancy name of Steve – to get his thoughts on the reissue…

It’s been a decade since you first release 2 People… do you think the record has stood the test of time?

Definitely. The original mix still gets regular plays on prime time Radio 1. It's one of those tracks that because of the fantastic vocal sample it doesn't really get dated.  The vocal was very different from most other disco sampling house records. Minnie Riperton's haunting voice really got to people. I know of at least three people who had it as ‘their tune’ at their wedding. The music also has held up because I used chords and melodies that were new and original rather than just chuck a beat and bassline behind a sample. The Mirwais Radio Edit was so out there and original that it gave the track a timeless quality unlike some other house records.

It’s arguably become more well known than the song it sampled… were you always a fan of Minnie Riperton or did you just like that particular record?

I could say I was listening to obscure rare groove and soul since I was a child and blah blah blah but it would be a lie. I discovered Minnie Riperton through other dance records that had sampled her like Nu-Yorican Soul's I am the Black Gold of the Sun and The Orb's A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld. I heard it when I was just crate digging for samples, wanting to make a filtered disco house track. I was skipping through a vinyl compilation and the vocal sent a shiver up my spine. I knew I had to do something with it.




What would you say to cynics who might say that re-releases of seminal tracks are simply cashing in on the success of the original?

That's one way of looking at it but I would say that those cynics probably would be the kind of nerdy purists who would have complained about me sampling the classics when it was released the first time around (I could name, names, I never forget!). My answer is the same; if it's a great tune and a fantastic vocal why shouldn't it be made available and refreshed for the next generation?  This new release has a new vocal, showcasing the fantastic Tara Busch which enabled me to be more flexible with the vocal and give the remixers space to break free of the sample and get much more creative. It's a completely new project.

Are you happy with how the remixes have turned out? Any in particular that have impressed you?

The remixes are fantastic. Being loyal to my co-producer, Sam Evans, his Simpleton remix is the one that kicked this whole re-release off so props to him and the superb, electro workout. Louis La Roche continually amazes me; such fantastic talent for such a young guy. Also I love the fact that just like me he fell in love with French house so also came up with a crazy fake French name. His remix is a no-nonsense, disco, funk workout and I love it. The Olav Basoski remix is great too and it’s fantastic to see him back on form. The mix is driving and goes straight for the dancefloor. When I heard the DCUP remix I was so glad we re-recorded the vocal. His mix is really quirky and different. I love the way he just did his own thing and created a quirky, sexy chilled out funk mix. It's my wife's favourite and who am I to argue with that?

Anything else you’d like to tell us about..?

I've been working on some solid disco house grooves with Sam and we're looking to put those out through Gramophonedzie's Diskozoo label pretty soon.  I'm looking at releasing some more vocal house later this year.

2 People (2011 Remixes) is out now on Beatport and Traxsource