Dance Downunder

As the '90s drew to a close, it looked like dance and electronica was set to thrive mainly in the margins of Australian music, but then the 21st century began . . . and something incredible happened. Homegrown dance started to go massive. Pnau (Nick Littlemore and Peter Mayes) debuted in 1999 with Sambanova and by the time PNAU (featuring "Baby") arrived in 2007, the duo had mastered a mad, fruity, sax-sampling groove of exceptional catchiness. TV Rock (featuring Seany B) cleaned up in 2006 with the hyper-kinky bass squelches of "Flaunt It" and Bag Raiders rounded out the decade with their funky matrix of beats 'n' bleeps, "Shooting Stars." Dip your toes on Dannii's Day-Glo dance pop, in Next Steps.

Dance music spread through the country like a flaming rash in the '00s, flooding the underground and energizing the mainstream, which got a taste of things to come back in 1996 when export Gina G took her Eurodance single, "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" to the Eurovision Song Contest (representing the U.K. to an eighth place finish). Dannii Minogue teamed up with Jason Nevins to take Day-Glo space disco cut "Touch Me Like That" to the top of the U.K. club chart in 2007, while Bardot rode the success of their victory on Popstars into a bright but brief run of singles, including the smooth, warm, funky dance-floor come-on "I Need Somebody" (2001). If you can take the pace, club cadets, our Deep Cuts will push your limits.

You want it loud, hot, and non-stop . . . you've come to the right place. The 12-inch, seven minute version of the Potbelleez "Don't Hold Back," the first single from their 2007 self-titled debut album, still comes on like a blast of synth-scorched afterburn; Miami Horror's "Bellevue" takes us to a cyber-disco somewhere several clicks beyond Jupiter; the Sinden remix of Sneaky Sound System's "When We Were Young" belongs in an electro-rockin' cabaret midway between Sydney and Berlin; and Koruption takes Gershon Kingsley's seminal 1969 synth-pop recording "Popcorn," supercharges it with sonic nitro, and blasts it heavenwards.

Ever since those millennial fireworks flared outwards from Sydney Harbour Bridge on the last day of 1999 — the signal for a glittering future — an entire nation started to find its groove. Sure, there had been simmerings of homegrown dance and electronica before then, but things really started to take off in the 21st century, and a whole new subculture emerged with especially strong roots in Melbourne. Whatever the reason for the resurgence — perhaps it was just a collective desire to cut loose and rave on — Aussie dance finds itself in especially fine fettle, thanks to the likes of Cut Copy ("Out There on the Ice"), Pnau-splinter outfit Empire of the Sun ("Standing on the Shore"), and Grafton Primary ("All Stars"). Our Dance Down Under Essentials is an invitation to shake it, and shake it good . . . so what are you waiting for?