Right place, right time

 Michael Vater, or Phonique, must be feeling pretty smug right about now. While those around him have been lead by the capricious ebbs and tides of dance music trends, the Berlin-based producer has kept true to his deep house ethos all along, producing perfect upbeat electronic dance cuts bathed in warm funk, ignoring the dark excesses of the mnml set who made his city so trendy. And boy, has his method paid off. In 2010, it’s a different, far funkier musical climate we fi nd ourselves in, and Phonique, with his third album ‘Kissing Strangers’, is fi nally due to collect his long overdue rewards.

Easily his best record to date, every one of its 15 tracks  oozes passion, funk and effortless groove. A mixture of original tracks and stunning reworks of several handpicked dance classics from across the ages, this record reads like Vater’s love letter to the dancefl oor and the music that drives it, in all its myriad manifestations. From the throbbing, pneumatic disco pumpin’ bassline of his version of Candido’s classic ‘Thousand Finger Man’, to a very subtle, electroid tech house nod to Toto’s ‘Africa’ in ‘Afrique’ (fear not, it’s genius), this is an album that throws up surprises at every turn.

 ‘Summer’ nabs the gorgeous, molten keys from Kool & The Gang’s ‘Summertime’, and snaps them to simmering house  drums, alternated with disconcerting, steely angular edges. Devastating. ‘Endless Love’ is an emotional, sun-dappled heartfelt houser with the gorgeous tones of crooner Louie Austen at the helm, while the Balearic reggae/Sade hints of ‘Amy’s Heart’ with Ruben quite take the cake. And those wanting some straight-up, anthemic house like they used to make will fall head over heels with ‘Feel What You Want’ (a take on the Kristine W cut). A slinky, perfectly-proportioned little number — looks like your summer romance has arrived early…BEN MURPHY