Year In Dance 2003 Volume 1 | Top Dance Songs of 2003 - a podcast by Keith a.k.a. K j A M

2003 was a difficult year for me. I was putting in 60+ hours a week at work and another 2 hours to and from work. Usually, I would take that time on the road to preview my mixes and then go back and make any necessary changes prior to the final mixdown. It was a system I had in place that worked flawlessly for several years until the nausea began to set in. By that, I mean many of the songs that gained in popularity were literally making me sick. As I had mentioned in my 2002 post, the music was getting deeper and darker to the point one could justify Annie Lennox’s statement that “you had to be on really good drugs to appreciate the mixes of her work.” In other words, she didn’t get it and frankly I was starting to lose faith as well.



At this point, the 2002 kings of the progressive movement Stephane and Creamer K had relinquished their thrown to the likes of Gabriel and Dresden and Scumfrog. These guys were churning out the hits as only they knew how to do it and grabbing the top spots in just about everyone’s set list. How you viewed this was entirely up to your own mindset. However, even the comments on the Perfect Beat review sections were taking a decidedly negative view of the current crop of productions. In short, people were getting bored or older and just didn’t get it. That’s not to say there weren’t some stellar moments in 2003. In fact, three of my all-time favorite club tunes are from this year. The Bill Hamel mix of Seal’s “Get Together” is nothing short of freaking brilliant! Equally, Hex Hector’s remix of Sarah Brightman’s “Harem” and Scumfrog’s remix of “At the End” by Iio were completely mesmerizing.



Ultimately, I think the music itself was trending to what was going on in the clubs and circuit parties throughout the country. AIDS was the celeb cause du jur for many organizations and was heavily criticized for the outlandish benefits that were thrown to raise money for various worthwhile organizations, only to find they were operating in the negative. The same can be said for the big “circuit events” which operated under the auspice of raising money for local AIDS charities. Not only did many if not most operate at a loss, but they were nothing more than an excuse to have a party and did little if anything to promote awareness and safer sex practices. It’s a shame, but this went on through 2004 despite the increasingly negative press attention that was being given to these events. Steeped in work, I dropped completely out of the scene by the end of the following year before allowing myself to be dragged back, once I sensed a new direction on the horizon.



For what it’s worth, these five mixes represent a time capsule of a specific time in the dance industry. It was a time when the dark underpinnings of house music were worn with pride on the sleeves of it’s biggest promoters. For better or worse, this is nothing more than a spec of time in an industry that keeps getting bigger every day. In short, it’s history and deserves its place in the annals of club music.



Standouts on this first set include the obvious “At the End” by Iio and Kristine W’s “Fly Again” a song about overcoming obstacles and empowering oneself after her very public battle with Leukemia. Worth mentioning is Celine Dion’s remake of “I Drove All Night” where Hex Hector incinerates the dancefloor with his production and (Yoko) Ono’s first foray into the club scene with “Walking on Thin Ice” which would be the first in a long line of #1 club hits for this unlikely diva; Danny Tenaglia and Pet Shop Boys really worked this one out.



Of all five mixes, this was the hardest to put together and I had to use some trickery to get it to work. Perfect? Probably not, but damn near close. The next four were generally effortless and should flow with more ease and consistency.

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