DJ Mehdi - Lucky Boy Album Review

DJ Mehdi
Lucky Boy
Album Review

Remember when you first heard Daft Punk's 'Homework' and you listened to it repeatedly for weeks, but was still in denial about the fact you liked house music? Well here's another effort from the French to get you hooked on their particular brand of housey aural goodness. This time it's DJ Mehdi, the album is 'Lucky Boy (At Night)' and its out now on the unstoppable Ed Banger label. Lets see who's a lucky boy then.

Immediately upon pressing play you get the feeling that there's a new wave of French House ready to take over. This isn't French house as we know and love it thought, this has a distinct hip-hop flavour. First single 'I Am Somebody' features guest vocals from Chromeo, and though this should give the track an unmistakable hip-hop vibe it comes across more as a soul-house demeanour. Following this is 'Signatune (Thomas Bangalter Edit)' which isquite possibly the finest cut-up house tune ever, keeping the beat simple but cutting and pasting the synth in every imaginable way give this tune both a dancefloor feel and scope for the most seasoned headphone audience aswell. The greatness continues as Medhi lets the synths do all the talking, treading the line between old school electro and heavy French house beautifully. Guest spots by numerous vocalist and production collaboration with Feadz make this album feel like a very family affair, like a production party of which this album was the result.

As the album continues to meander through different tempos and rhythm shifts, we are subject to the sheer talent and scope of DJ Mehdi. The title track is an eerie shift to darker pastures and creeps over you like the soundtrack to your darkest moments. We then reach more rhythmic territory with 'Wee Bounce' where DJ Mehdi has adopted some ethnic percussion, and leaves the track to naturally progress.

Initially, based on what I had heard on Ed Banger samplers, I wasn't really that intrigued by DJ Mehdi, nothing really grabbed me.but this album has completely blown the cobwebs out of French house, and with Justice's debut '┼' on it's way I can only imagine that Ed Banger will continue to reign for a long while to come.

-Thom Holmes