The Upper Cuts (2023) [Rose Pink Baby Blue Vinyl]

“Simplicity, sincerity … et voilà!”

If you want to understand how French producer Alan Braxe ended up making some of the most important house music records of the late 1990s and early 2000s, you need to understand his modus operandi.

Everything has to be simple; and everything has to be sincere. You hear this time and again in Braxe’s music, from the golden emotional minimalism of Stardust’s “Music Sounds Better With You”, a worldwide hit he produced with Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter and singer Benjamin Diamond, to the perfectly uncluttered house music strut of “Intro”, his underground anthem with Fred Falke.

The Upper Cuts, originally released in 2005, is a compilation that rounded up several of Braxe’s greatest hits. This newly reissued version of that album adds seven bonus tracks, including the classic Braxe / Falke production “Chrystal City,” which originally appeared on the “Rubicon” single; Braxe’s iconic remix of Britney Spears’ “Anticipating,” “You’ll Stay In My Heart,” a tear-jerking Braxe / Falke work that was never properly released; and two completely new tracks that show Braxe at his best.

“My music is simple,” Braxe (né Alain Quême) explains. “The drums are very simple; the production is simple and the construction is basic. And if you respect that, then your music can be timeless.”

Tracklisting

1. Alan Braxe & Fred Falke - Most Wanted (Remastered 2023)
2. The Paradise - In Love With You (Remastered 2023)
3. Stardust - Music Sounds Better With You (Radio Edit)
4. Alan Braxe & Fred Falke - Intro (Remastered 2023)
5. Shakedown - At Night (Alan Braxe Remix)
6. Alan Braxe & Fred Falke - Love Lost (Remastered 2023)
7. Alan Braxe & Fred Falke - Palladium (Remastered 2023)
8. Alan Braxe & Fred Falke - Arena (Remastered 2023)
9. Alan Braxe- & Fred Falke - Rubicon (Remastered 2023)
10. Alan Braxe & Fred Falke - Penthouse Serenade (Remastered 2023)
11. Alan Braxe & Fred Falke - Chrystal City (Remastered 2023) - Bonus Track
12. Alan Braxe - Voices (Remastered 2023)- Bonus Track
13. Britney Spears - Anticipating (Alan Braxe Remix) - Bonus Track
14. Alan Braxe - One More Chance (Feat. The Spimes) [Redux] - Bonus Track (new version)
15. Alan Braxe - True Love - Bonus Track (new song)
16. Alan Braxe - Never Coming Back (Feat. Annie) [12 “ Dub Version] - Bonus Track (new song)
17. Alan Braxe & Fred Falke - You'll Stay In My Heart (Instrumental) (Remastered 2023)