Review: Gildas and Masaya

One glorious day, not too long ago, in the exquisite French capital of Paris, renowned Daft Punk art-director Gildas Loaec met a young Japanese architect called Masaya Kuroki. At that moment, one of the most important alliances in the short history of the recent dance music revival was born.

Combining music, visual art and fashion, the two men created Maison Kitsuné, a series of collaborative projects which have resulted in the pair now controlling not only one of the most popular clothing lines in France but also one of the most influential record labels in dance music. And they certainly know their dance.

With artists like Digitalism, AutoKratz and Cazals under their wing, these guys are what one might call hot shit right now. It’s not surprising, then, that when the two get together to DJ themselves it’s not just good, it’s very, very good.

The Kitsuné boys mix together fifteen heart-stopping tracks on this album, merging buckets full of heavy electro beats with a flavour of indie and a little bit of harder techno so that even those of you who take dance music far too seriously (ask anyone on the guestlist for the Button Factory on a Friday night for further details) can’t complain. If I was pressed, I’d have to say that the Crookers’ Wow mix of the cheesy-but-you-love-it Chemical Brothers’ Salmon Dance is the high point of the album. It marks the point when even the most timid, uncoordinated or, indeed, drunk of us can’t resist a cheeky shuffle to the heavy bass of this tune on the dancefloor.

Follow that swiftly with an AutoKratz remix of Fischerspooner, a spot of In Flagranti – Business Acumen and the unique electro-funk stylings of Canadian duo Chromeo (who absolutely blew me away at this year’s Electric Picnic) and you’ve got yourself a party.

A perfect record for Freshers’ Week, then. Throw this on during the next few days’ celebrations and make yourself look really cool. Go on, you might even like it.

Maeve Storey