Cassius 1999 Astralwerks

1999 is no Prince remake (thankfully), but another release in the French disco house genre that entered the global consciousness last year with the enormous success of Stardust, Daft Punk, and Bob Sinclar. Cassius comprises ace French producers Boombass and Philippe Zdar, and their experience as DJs (Paris's Respect is Burning; London's Basement Jaxx) and musicians (Motorbass and La Funk Mob) shows. The album's delectable pastiche of 4/4 beats, cut-up vocals and instruments, and funk-tinged deep bass (even the Foxy Brown theme gets sampled) creates some of the most massive tunes to hit the dancefloor, including the storming single "Cassius 99" with its shout-along layer of Donna Summer's "Love is Just a Breath Away" vocals. There's an edgy feeling caused by the precise pruning of the synths and vocal samples midway, and this collage effect both reinvigorates old samples (Gwen McCrae's voice on "Feeling for You") and draws you into new songs ("La Mouche"). It's not all uptempo, though. Cassius's clean, even sparse, beats shift into low gear occasionally in tunes like "Nulife". No pre-millennial tension in 1999: the French have made fun in dance music respectable again. This last tango in Paris has legs.