Still riding high on the success of the all-conquering ‘Wonky Bassline Disco Banger’, Danny Berman talks us through his musical favourites.
What’s the first record you ever bought?
MC Hammer – ‘You Can’t Touch This’. I had this on 7″ single and I just loved the Rick James beat and the “oh oh oh” backing vocals on it. Dope.
The first time you remember hearing electronic music?
Jean Michel Jarre – Oxygene. My parents had the LP of this and I was scared of the cover as there was skull inside the earth. This is definitely the first electronic music I heard.
Your favourite ever record?
Astrud Gilberto – ‘Beginnings’. My friend Fraser played this to me one drunken night in Edinburgh and it’s just such a beautiful song. Her voice and the backing vocals are just so awesome. The whole track is an opus.
The guaranteed floor-filler?
Eddie And The Eggs – ‘A Cup Of Coffee’. One of Maurice Fulton‘s lesser-known bangers. Garage beats mixed with ravey stabs and a guitar solo – shouldn’t work but always slays it.
The guilty pleasure?
DAF – ‘Party’. I love everything DAF do but I am aware that they also sound really shady at times. I love their music – it makes me feel so perverted.
The last track of the night?
Luther Davis Group – ‘To Be Free’. Me and my younger brother used to put this on after a heavy night out when we lived together and dance around to it. The playing is pretty rough but it’s got such an innocent vibe about it. Freeeeeeeeee…
The best chillout record?
Vladimir Cosma – ‘Sentimental Walk’. This is some proper no talking, only touching vibes. Sometimes words are too much.
The record everyone loves but you hate?
Donna Summer – ‘I Feel Love’. Jeezus H Christ – do we have to hear this again. It’s so schmaltzy and lame. I can feel the collective boredom of the room when this gets dropped.
The best record for a family party?
Air – Modular Mix. I bought my parents this on CD years ago and they love it. So if we have people over to dinner and stuff like that my dad often puts it on. It’s the perfect background music for socialising.
The soundtrack to a lazy Sunday afternoon?
Bo Hansson – ‘Solen (Parallellt Eller 90°)’. Me and my friends all got into Bo Hansson in Nottingham during our pretentious yacht rock phase. The Magician’s Hat is an amazing cosmic psychedelic trippy album and this is my favourite track from it.
The worst record you’ve ever heard?
Aqua – ‘Barbie Girl’. Up their with ‘Agadoo’ for just shocking pap. I dunno what else to say really. I guess some modern EDM is on the same level.
The record you’re proudest of?
‘Wonky Bassline Disco Banger’. I just released my new album Self Portrait on my Bergerac label and I am really proud of it because I worked on it for four years. I picked ‘Wonky Bassline Disco Banger’ because it was the biggest selling dance record of 2016. That’s something to be proud of.
The future classic?
‘Tomato Pope’. I think this track is even better than ‘Wonky Bassline’, but it got kind of lost in the Wonky hype when it came out in November. I really think ‘Tomato Pope’ deserves as much attention, but I guess it’s not as accessible as Wonky. Booo…
Red Rack’em’s album, Self Portrait, is out now via Bergerac. Find him on Facebook, Twitter and SoundCloud.