In Under The Influence, we talk to artists on the MN2S booking agency roster about the music that has inspired them most.

As one of the most promising young DJs to come out of France in recent years, prolific DJ and producer Boogie Vice takes inspiration from a wide range of genres and channels it into a funky electronic package. He tells us about the six tracks which have had a huge influence on his career.

Cassius – Cassius 99 (Long version) [Virgin]

First, this is probably my favourite track of all time. There is not much in it, but it all works together perfectly.

I was a big fan of this track even before I started making music, but when I listened to it again after few years of producing, it showed me how sampling, when it’s done well, can be an incredible source of inspiration. So since then, I have used sampling much more frequently in my productions. And I’m not just using samples, but I’m treating a lot of the elements in my music like they are samples. I often play some chords on my Juno or my Prophet and then use it in a sampler so it brings new patterns, sometimes the sound gets warmer depending of how you use the samples. It’s just a way of working I am comfortable with.

I also use samples from other records from a very wide range of styles. I like trying to bring some contrast by adding for example a funk sample on a more techy track, or a hip hop sample on a melodic disco track. I still play “Cassius 99” sometimes in my sets and it has never failed on a crowd.

Zapp – It Doesn’t Really Matter [Warner Bros.]

I discovered this track watching some videos of Chromeo in their studio. P-Thugg was talking about his Yamaha DX100, the Rocktron Banshee talkbox and the presets he had from Roger Troutman. I listened a lot to Zapp music after this. “It Doesn’t Really Matter” is an instant funky pleasure. I did an edit so I can play a version in my DJ sets. I was loving the talkbox sound from a long time (thanks to “Digital Love” from Daft Punk), and I even tried to build myself one, but after I saw the Chromeo video I found a guy selling a full Roger Troutman pack on the internet with the DX100, the Banshee talkbox and an SM57 mic. So I instantly bought it and from this day I use a lot of the talkbox in my production. It took time to make it sound correct, but I really enjoy playing with it now. Sometimes I send an arpeggiator from the Prophet to the talkbox, then I use my mouth to make some filter or phaser effects.

Denroy Morgan – I’ll Do Anything For You [Becket Records]

This track was played at the Larry Levan Street Party 2 years ago when they opened Larry Levan Way in New York. I was streaming the party while waiting to play one day, and in the middle of Changes’ “Paradise” and Brass Construction’s “Movin”, they played “I’ll Do Anything For You”. I found the whole album on vinyl very quickly after that.

This is the perfect feel-good track in my opinion. The chords and the little synth licks are absolutely mint (especially on the Prophet 5 with detuned oscillators). This record influenced me on the kind of sound I was looking for, to give an old-school funk feeling to some house music I’m producing.

Siriusmo – High Together [Monkeytown Records]

Siriusmo is an amazing artist. I chose this track because it reminds me of good memories playing it and partying to it, but I could have chosen many different records from his discography.

He is doing a kind of underground, sample-infused funk and I really dig how he assembles very different sounding samples, but the way he treats it makes everything come together at the end. He might use some good bus compression and stuff like that and the result is so cool. I also focused on the way he tunes the samples. It helped me understand that sometimes it’s interesting if the elements of a record are not perfectly tuned together. Strange harmonies can work pretty well to create emotions.

Air – Surfing On A Rocket [Virgin]

This is my favourite band. All their discography is fantastic and their sound is phenomenal, especially on the album mixed by Nigel Godrich. On this particular track, I like how they have worked with the vocal. It’s great the way they make their vocals super wide and full on the chorus, and more central on the verse. I try to add some contrasts like this to my music now, working on specialization and making it evolve around the track. It’s probably because I have listened to Air’s music for hours. They also have great sounding Rhodes all the time that I use as a reference.

Phoenix – 1901 [V2/Loyauté]

As I am a big fan of Cassius, and I care about the mixing and production work in the music, I listen to Philippe Zdar’s work on music from other groups very carefully. Taking some cues from the way Zdar mixed Phoenix’s music helped me to find how I could reach the sound I was looking for in my music. For instance if I could compare the lows of a record to a belly, I thought my music’s belly was too flabby and I wanted it tight and solid. Trying to find what Zdar was doing to get this sound pushed me deep into my DAW to discover how much richer and coherent your sound can become by using busses and a lot of effects. It’s all about distortion, equalization, reverb and parallel compression.