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Kevin McKay and Norman Doray Team Up on Summer’s Feelgood House Cut

18/07/2021758 views0

Make no mistake: Glaswegians do it better. Fellow Scot and Glasgow Underground record label boss Kevin McKay proves our point with his latest release. McKay teams up with highly respected French house producer Norman Doray on peak-time piano house groove Let Me Work On You. A contender for house track of the summer, this dancefloor destroyer cuts up Sharon Brown’s classic I Specialize In Love.

The auld alliance between Scotland and France plays out here to great effect. McKay spent a lot of time in Paris back in the day, rubbing shoulders with Daft Punk, Pedro Winter and Lauren Garnier and falling in love with the French sound. Norman Doray began his career as part of the next wave of French talent towards the end of the noughties. His big room house has landed on notable labels including Size, Strictly Rhythm, Positiva, Polydor and many more. When Doray conjured up the idea of revisiting Sharon Brown’s 1982 hit, he knew exactly who to call.

New Generation

Kevin McKay, you see, is an expert at turning classic tracks into big house hits for a new generation. The co-producer of Mylo’s era-defining UK-platinum album Destroy Rock ‘n’ Roll, McKay famously mashed up of Mylo’s Drop The Pressure with Miami Sound Machine’s Dr. Beat. The result – Doctor Pressure – climbed to No.3 in the UK charts.

Almost 15 years later, McKay released No Samples Were Harmed in the Making of this Record. The 2019 album featured modern versions of 14 classic dance, disco and R&B cuts. Tracks like Xpansions’ Move Your Body (Elevation), C+C Music Factory’s A Deeper Love and Daft Punk’s Technologic received McKay’s special touch. So too did Brandy’s What About Us, Randy Crawford’s Hallelujah and Missy Elliot’s Get Ur Freak On. But rather than clear samples for the album, Kevin re-recorded everything and released the tracks as cover versions.

Reminder

Now McKay and Doray combine their production chops on Let Me Work On You. The result is a feelgood contemporary track that pays homage to the classic French house feel. An instantly hooky vocal loops over summery, uplifting piano chords, while the bassline delivers delicious disco flavours. The production is big, fat and brilliant. This is house music at its finest and a great reminder why we fell in love with the genre.

Kevin McKay and Norman Doray’s Let Me Work On You is out now on Glasgow Underground. Listen below and feel the magic.