Four to the Floor

On the first disc of this double mix CD from 2003, DJ EZ delivers a solid hour of what had formerly been known as speed garage, and would soon spawn bassline house. But it’s the second disc that makes it essential. It comes from the exact moment that Todd Edwards was finally realising that he was worshipped as a god in the UK, and features him mixing all his own tracks and remixes (for the likes of St Germain and Moloko), sped up as per British garage tastes. The elegance of his DJing matches the extraordinary way his chopped up voices and synths slip and slide around shuffling beats and the tightest basslines — and while there are hefty compilations available of his full tracks, this is a more authentic way to hear them, and as such is probably the closest thing that exists to a commercially released Todd Edwards album as such. It remains a dance music high water mark and inspiration to legions of artists and DJs to this day.