Wax Motif’s Favorite Classic House Tracks

At Gray Area, we pride ourselves on being your home for everything house and techno. Dance music has a rich history of pioneering sounds, techniques, and technologies inspiring generations of countless producers. Before Wax Motif was headlining DJ and critically acclaimed multi-genre producer, he was Danny Chien, a house and hip-hop head. Drawn to the rich diversity of sample usage, Chien found himself enthralled by the sounds of French house and more. Wax shared some of his favorite classic house cuts with us, and now we’d like to share them with you.

1. Alan Braxe & Fred Falke - Intro

Alan Braxe and Fred Falke were two pioneers spearheading the emerging French Touch sound of the 90s and early 2000s. The two artists collaborated on a series of 12-inches on the Vulture Music and Kitsuné labels. One of those records, Running, featured this Wax Motif favorite. “Intro” incorporates elements from “Crush On You” by The Jets.

2. Cleptomaniacs - All I Do

Wax once described house music to us as “sexy.” After hearing this track, we couldn’t agree more. The trio of John “Julius” Knight, Marc Pomeroy, and Pomeroy’s partner, Brian Tappert, formed the Cleptomaniacs. They teamed with vocalist Bryan Chambers on this dance-focused remake of a Tammi Terrell Motown classic. “All I Do” has been a heavily covered classic, most notably by Stevie Wonder, but this movin’ and groovin’ rendition is certainly our favorite.

3. Together (DJ Falcon & Thomas Bangalter) - So Much Love to Give

Few songs are as uplifting as “So Much Love To Give.” French producers DJ Falcon and Thomas Bangalter (one-half of Daft Punk) joined forces on only two tracks. This particular 12-inch collaboration was released in 2002 with no B-side and contained a sample of “Love’s Such a Wonderful Thing” by The Real Thing. This is 10 minutes of pure electro house joy.

4. The Bucketheads - The Bomb

“The Bomb” is one of the world’s most recognizable dance tracks. This 1995 hit was the first tune Wax Motif had on repeat when he started exploring dance music. Produced by Masters at Work member Kenny “Dope” Gonzalez, the track samples Chicago’s “Street Player” from their 1979 album Chicago 13. While Rolling Stone ranked it number 77 in their “200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time,” we’d be comfortable putting it in our top five.

5. Every Daft Punk Record Ever

The title says it all. The Daft Punk duo have become legends of dance music for a reason: their profound impact on the genre’s scope and sound. Every album brings new cards to the table, including their pioneering effort of producing the entire soundtrack for the 2010 movie, Tron: Legacy. We’d like to take this opportunity to recognize what might arguably be their greatest album, Discovery. Daft Punk member, Thomas Bangalter, described Discovery as an exploration of song structures, musical forms, and childhood nostalgia. The project leaned into a house style more heavily inspired by disco, post-disco, garage house, and R&B. It gave us a slew of legendary singles, including “One More Time,” “Aerodynamic,” “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger,” and “Something About Us.”