In 2006, something happened. Something changed.

Dance music has always experienced shifting points, where some sub-genres explode into the mainstream and others fade into obscurity.

Some genres stay put while others disappear but in 2006 and 2007, a hybrid of electro and indie fizzed into focus, bringing together club kids, gig devotees and fans of raucous, rowdy and unrelenting dance music.



Electro pop/electroclash had been around for a while because of people like Miss Kittin, The Hacker and DJ Hell but was made infinitely more popular by the likes of Justice, Boys Noize, the Ed Banger crew and one man who brought everything together.

Without Erol Alkan, where would we be today?

For a large group of people, Alkan's DJ sets, label curation via Phantasy and his legendary Trash night at The End became the reason they fell in love with dance music. He brought a new idea and style to the table and it was an invigorating time to be a part of something.

For the next ten years, Erol continued to evolve, to innovate and to move with the times. While the sound of the previous decade might not be as present today, Alkan's sound is fresher than ever. He's just finished his XOYO residency and is about to release a retrospective that documents the outrageously large quantity of edits and remixes that have had kids dancing for years and years.

Here we look at ten of our favourite cuts from the boss and celebrate the work of an artist whose re-imaginings and reworks of tracks always seem to make the stellar originals that tiny bit better.

Every. Damn. Time.