7. Para One – Club
Para One’s third album ‘Passion’ was a work of art, mixing genres and musical eras. Improving upon such perfection should be impossible, until that is, we listened to ‘Club‘. ‘Passion’ was arguably Jean-Baptiste de Laubier’s best dive into the pop sphere with its bevy of catchy hooks and chord progressions. ‘Club’ takes some of the classics off his last album and injects them with a throwback club bravado. This album, the ‘riding-dirty’ version of ‘Passion’, helps these tracks realise their nineties-rave potential.
An innate ability to craft timeless works with a modern flare through digital and analog elements is what places Para One at the top. He is constantly morphing between twangy, bouncing synths and weird blends of hip hop oriented grooves. ‘Club’ is how Para One believes club tracks should be, a relentless energy focused around the community made through dance. Just like the pioneering ‘Nite Versions’ of Soulwax, he has also made his music accessible to a larger audience by pumping up the energy and returning the music to the dance floor.
Written by Shea Kopp
