The Meat Street Beat

Oh it's hot...The Faya Combo Sessions have changed my summer. Courtesy of the marvelous Amanda G, who introduced DJ Gregory to yours truly just a few short weeks ago, I offer you a sample of some of the best house I've heard in...oh...let's say the past five years. These groundbreaking house tracks are the stereo-ready addition to any party you plan to throw over the next few months.



This is what his MySpace page has to say:

Defected Presents Faya Combo Sessions Mixed by DJ Gregory

‘Faya Combo’ translates to English as ‘Oh It’s Hot!’ – and if you’ve ever heard any of Gregory’s tracks you’ll know this is accurate! Elle, Attend 1, Tropical Soundclash – if you know anything about house music you’ll know that these are just some of the landmark House tracks brought to you by one of France’s finest house producers . This album showcases all of his classics alongside remixes from today’s heavyweight producers and new exclusive Gregory cuts across 3 Cds.

DJ Gregory is one super-cool player, highly intelligent, passionate about music and more than a little bit crazy, this producer holds great respect from all heavy hitters in the dance music community. His DJ sets are unmissable and he has an army of fans that follow him wherever he performs. Never selling out and always wary of commercial crossovers this is a

person who has absorbed all the various cultures around him and reproduced them in his highly individual House sound. From Paris, to New York, London and Tokyo, he travelled the globe to hone his production and DJ techniques and absorbed everything that House had to offer. He has been regarded as the king of the afro beat scene with his highly percussive traces that feature many African, West Indian and Caribbean flavours. His biggest production, "Elle" has touched every house DJ that has heard it and became an instant classic. It is a permanent fixture in most of their record boxes. Gregory was one of the first pioneering house producers that was invited by Bob Sinclair to become part of the legendary Africanism project; a project that embraced the percussive riffs and flavour of Africa and translated them into energetic house tracks. However the success he enjoyed here made him realise he could do bigger things with his own label. "After Africanism, I wanted to do exactly my own shit, I wanted to release my stuff, I wanted to be on my own also not to be under someone else's record company."

My favourite track is "Sookoos" - take the time to check it out.