***1/2 Funky Derrick

BOOGIE DAWN

(Twisted)

On his two-CD 21-track debut, Paris DJ Mederic Nebinger (a/k/a Funky Derrick) mixes textures ranging from jazzy to electronic funk to sultry, sighing house. Like fellow French homeboys Daft Punk, he rarely uses voices. And he doesn't need to, because his instrumental modes adopt a diversity of quasi-vocal shapes: spitting and sighing, sour drollery, laughter and coughs, screams, heavy breathing. Still, it's the rhythm that matters most in these mixes. Most often Derrick employs a smooth-pumping, even cocky, pulse that preens itself on house music's lush life. Sometimes he turns to a raspy techno boom that swells with lust. Either way, he never compromises the plush purity of true house with the acid style or trip-hop beats that non-house fans seem to prefer. His rhythms feel soft but not wimpy, and they boom loudly without smelling the least bit metallic.

-- Michael Freedberg