Dance System curates a playlist of body-moving club tracks

Welcome back to Selections, a series of artist-curated playlists from those in the know.

Dance System is an artist that needs no introduction. The London-based producer and DJ, real name James Connolly, inspired a generation of club producers through Night Slugs – the pioneering party-turned-imprint helmed by Connolly (under his previous moniker L-Vis 1990) and Bok Bok (aka One Bok). 

Renowned for its distinctive sonic and visual aesthetic as much as its globe-spanning, all-encompassing approach to club music as we know it today, Night Slugs released groundbreaking works from the likes of Girl Unit, Jam City and many, many more throughout the 2010s.

These days, Connolly’s focus lies on Dance System. First debuted back in 2014 and revived in 2019, the house-focused alias sees Connolly delving into the playful styles and body-moving club workouts he revelled in long before his Night Slugs days. 

Connolly has previously described his approach as “rekindling that first love and exporting it to a new generation”. It’s something he does masterfully on his debut album In Your System, which was released in April. The 11-track record is dubbed a “love letter to house music [and] clubbing culture” and keeps listeners on their toes as Connolly pays tribute to the rich dance music scenes that ignited his love for electronic music way back when.

His Buy Music Club playlist, shared ahead of a must-see appearance at Hideout Festival, resides in this same realm. Fusing tracks from late house and techno greats such as K-Hand and Paul Johnson with hot off the press party fuel from the likes of Sally C, Lauren Flax and DJ Deeon, it’s a whistlestop tour through the people and places that continue to inspire Connolly’s work as Dance System. It also features several of Connolly’s favourites from his own back catalogue.

“You can really get a vibe of my DJ sets from this collection,” he says. Check it out for yourself below.