On temporary hiatus from injecting the spirit of acid house into the French dance scene as half of
Daft Punk,
Thomas Bangalter crafted one of the catchiest dance anthems of the late '90s,
Stardust's "Music Sounds Better With You." A warm, breezy, endlessly catchy mid-tempo anthem that launched hundreds of similar filter-disco tracks over the next few years, the single was recorded quickly by
Bangalter with co-producer
Alan Braxe and released on his own Roulé label in June 1998. After ruling the roosts at Ibiza that summer -- along with another
Bangalter co-production,
Bob Sinclar's "Gym Tonic" -- the track was licensed by Virgin and hit number two on the British charts that fall. Though the label offered
Bangalter three million dollars to produce a
Stardust LP, he decided instead to make it a one-shot project. ~ John Bush