Five of the best: Benoit & Sergio

Benoit & Sergio very rarely perform in the UK, particularly outside of London. Unlike a lot of artists that have released on the same calibre of record labels and have delivered slick, infectious tracks, they don't often feature on our festival line ups either, despite their production activity. It's an infrequency that leaves fans lingering on their releases... really good, releases.

Benjamin Myers and Benoit Simon perform like a band. Their sets are built on their own original productions and remixes, an assemblage of material both released and exclusive that they are wholly responsible for, and that you don't generally find in other mixes. It's their individuality and proficiency which adds to the allure.

With addictive, quality releases on Visionquest, DFA and Hot Creations and reworks of tracks from indie pop acts such as Matthew Dear, Metronomy and Friendly Fires to their name, Benoit & Sergio's accomplishments as producers stretch much further than your average house music talent.

Citing artists like Talking Heads, Roxy Music and Paul Simon as major influences, their love of music from previous decades has a clear impact on their tracks. Touching on areas of nu-disco, funky house and psychedelic, Benoit & Sergio's sound is hard to pigeonhole, but genres really don't matter when it all sounds so good.

We attempted to whittle down all of their releases to five stand out tracks, a task that proved difficult but also indulging as we revisited their tracks and every little journey they create with each one. 

'Walk and Talk' (2011) 

The Where The Freaks Have No Name EP was Benoit & Sergio's first release on the high profile Visionquest imprint. Their spaced-out and sleazy 'Walk and Talk' became a bit of a staple track, partially because of mesmerising chants of ‘My baby does K all day, doesn’t wash her hair doesn’t wash her clothes’ but mostly because of the depth of the production.

The rhythmic conga drums give it a tribal edge, but the overriding funk that comes with every Benoit & Sergio track is still the focal point along with sleepy vocals and minimalistic keyboard work. It's one of the more laidback tracks in their back catalogue, but dancefloor perfection nonetheless. 

'Everybody' (2011) 

Benoit & Sergio took it up a notch with the Principles EP on DFA Records. They are a good fit for James Murphy’s imprint, stylish and forward-thinking with their approach, cool without trying too hard and mega talented in the studio.  

The feel-good, trickling pianos are set off with 'tropical' sounding synths done properly. Epic and empowering, carefree but well executed. It’s simple and completely addictive, proper dance music magic. 

'New Ships' (2012)

Back on Visionquest the next year, they followed up with the sophisticated and layered 'New Ships'. Something about this track is otherworldly. It boasts a luxurious groove which yearns along with the vocals and a bassline which is best listened to rather than explained.

The euphoria of the music juxtaposed against ‘so many nooses around my neck’ is another example of Benoit & Sergio's lust for melodrama in music. Lush builds, kick drums and rich synths make this without doubt a standout. 

Hot Natured 'Reverse Skydiving' (Benoit & Sergio remix) (2013)

Around the same time that they released their first EP on Hot Creations, the duo got their hands on one of the biggest tracks of summer 2013, Hot Natured's (Jamie Jones and Lee Foss) 'Reverse Skydiving' featuring Anabel Englund. They arguably came back with a better version than the original.

The irresistible hook is partnered with more of Benoit & Sergio's signature stabbing synths and deep basslines, whilst Englund's eerie vocals are still in tact, keeping this on the right side of dance music's pop border. 

'Rev 909' (2015) 

Although this was only released as a free download at the tail end of last year, this had been a staple part of their sets since the 2013 mark. A smouldering bassline, light symbols and highly edited vocals make up this Daft Punk inspired piece.

For long enough this was considered one of those tracks which would only ever surface on live videos, to be kept under lock and key by the pair, leaving us continuously Shazaming and rewinding recorded sets, but low and behold it became available to anyone. Thanks B&S. 

Benoit & Sergio play at this year's Secret Solstice in Iceland. Tickets are available from the box below.

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