Kris MenaceNow, let me put this out there before we go any further: I'm not a clubber, raver nor prolific booty-shaker. Sure, when the time is right I can wipe a dancefloor clean with some sweet-arse moves, and have been known to stay up into the wee hours throwing down 50 shades of boogie, but I'm the first to admit there's a lot about the dance music scene that I don't know about.
What I do know, though, is that Kris Menace is more than your standard DJ, and Features is more than your generic house album. Menace (not his real name, FYI) has for the best part of a decade been a fixture on the German electro scene, and his brand of music has unsurprisingly translated into the UK dance scene and beyond. Throughout his career he has collaborated with Alan 'Stardust' Braxe, and remixed everyone from Moby to Bag Raiders (both of whom seem vaguely present during Love Is Everywhere), as well as Robbie Williams, Kylie Minogue and Depeche Mode.
On Features, as the name might suggest, Menace works with a different vocalist on each song. Julian Hamilton from The Presets offers his distinctive vocals on the slow-burner Higher Love, and Daft Punk collaborator Romanthony lends a hand on the comedown track (and annoyingly-titled) 2Nite4U.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, Menace has created an album that could easily – and brilliantly – come together live on stage with a full band. Watching Features on the stage, showcasing the impressive line-up of vocalists alongside a six-piece band (an orchestra would be more suitable at times), would be something of an event. But then again, I don't know much about dance music.
