We continue our feature series in which we ask producers, DJs and electronic artists to pick out the records that define their ‘house’.
With a new mix album recently announced and an appearance at the Defected In The House Amnesia Ibiza Opening Party just around the corner, here Danish house don Noir makes his personal selection.
THE RECORD THAT GOT ME INTO ELECTRONIC MUSIC
Kraftwerk - Home Computer
When I was about six or seven years old my best friend's big brother introduced us to electronic music and recorded music from vinyl to cassettes so we could listen to it in our rooms. I totally fell in love with Kraftwerk from the age of 7, as well as almost anything that was electronic and had a robotic voice on it. A day in my friend's big brother's room listening to his new records would always be the best day ever. I remember we even talked about the special smell and sound of vinyl back then. I know it sounds almost too early in my life to be talking about those kind of things, but it is 100% the truth. We listened a lot to Kraftwerk, Midnight Star, Africa Bambaataa and early ‘new age’ music by Duran Duran, Yazoo and New Order.
THE RECORD THAT GOT ME INTO HOUSE
Inner City - Big Fun
From the age of about ten I started listening a lot to the house music that came from the US and UK. I tuned my radio to stations from the UK to be able to hear those records because the Danish stations didn’t play them. There were a few shows in Denmark I would listen to each week but they had trouble keeping up to date with the latest tracks. One of the tracks that I never get tired of and have about six different copies of on vinyl is Inner City ‘Big Fun’. That track was a game changer back in late 80s and all the dance music that followed in that period was on repeat loud in my room: Adamski, D-Mob, Techno Tronic, Blue Pearl, Mantronix, Soul II Soul – the list goes on forever. These records made me buy vinyl before I even had a turntable, which I got when I was 12.
THE RECORD THAT CHANGED MY LIFE
Depeche Mode - World In My Eyes
In the early 90s I became a Depeche Mode fanatic. Regretfully, I even sold a lot of the rare records I picked up in the 80s to buy and complete my collection with Depeche Mode, although most of the records I sold I have now rebought. In 1990 when I brought home the album Violator on the day of its release it changed my life completely. I was so impressed with the music, the lyrics, the vocals and the emotion on that album that I instantly became a hardcore Depeche fan and had to own everything, look like them and hook up with other Depeche fans. I still remember putting the needle on the first track ‘World In My Eyes’ on that newly bought vinyl, feeling the goosebumps and falling completely in love. I listened to that album day and night, in and out without getting tired of it. I can safely say the music on that album is the music I have listened to the most in my life.
THE RECORD THAT INSPIRED ME TO MAKE MUSIC
Daft Punk - Revolution 909
In the late 90s my head was back in house and techno again and I once again started listening to UK radio shows to be up to date on all new music. I also started buying a serious amount of club-vinyl each week as I was starting to DJ more seriously than just in the bedroom. At that time, I was very much into the compressed French house sound, with slices of funk and disco wrapped in house and techno beats. The kings of that sound were undoubtedly Daft Punk, Homework was a game-changer in so many ways. It was an album that I listened a lot to over the years and definitely one of those that inspired me to become a producer, and some of my very first productions were imitations of the French sound.
MY ALL-TIME FAVOURITE HOUSE RECORD
Sandy Rivera & Haze - Changes
This record is the reason that ‘Around’ exists: it's my all-time favourite house record. I have so many memories associated this record which was released in the early 2000s. It combines all the emotionIi loved from my Depeche Mode days with the more dance-friendly and housey production behind it. I played a lot of the more soulful stuff back in early 2000s but it was always the deeper and moody records that really got me hooked and this record was a firm favourite for many years (I still play it from time to time today). Once I had made the instrumental for ‘Around’ I just knew I had to get in touch with Haze to make him sing on that record. Luckily he liked the music and ended up writing that fantastic hook. Dream come true.
Deep Down & Defected Vol. 8 – Noir is out 12 July (digital) on Defected Records - order from iTunes. An album sampler is out 29 June.
Noir plays the Defected In The House & Together Opening Party at Amnesia Ibiza Tuesday 09 June – click for full line-up and tickets
