Upon a first play-through of GTA 5, I was flicking through the countless radio stations, searching for the perfect tune to play as a I careened around the streets of Los Santos at breakneck speeds. My teenage self was undoubtedly hoping for some form of gangster rap to soundtrack the questionable activities I had in mind, and I cannot stress how pleased I was to not find any. Instead I stumbled across the quick hitting guitar loop of Stardust’s French House classic, ‘Music Sounds Better With You’. Oozing an infectious, intergalactic funk it was the perfect track to compliment the spectral, neon-lit streets of downtown Los Santos, and it hasn’t left my playlist since.

There is so much I want to discuss about the feel-good sound of this song; however, I will start with some backstory on its conception. It was the sole track to be released by French House-music collaboration, Stardust, consisting of Thomas Bangalter (of Daft Punk), Benjamin Cohen, and Alain Quême. Just as I had accidentally fallen onto this masterpiece, the track itself had essentially come together by accident. French artist Alain Quême, was due to play a live set at the venerable Rex Club and desperately needed some more material. Thus, he called upon the last-minute help of the aforementioned artists and after a few studio sessions one of the most instantly recognisable tunes in House music history was born. Stardust were about to change the sound of the industry, and they didn’t even mean to.

Simple and direct, the core of the track is made up of a seconds-long Disco sample from Chaka Khan’s ‘Fate’. Disco samples, such as this one, were key facets within French House as a genre. Artists would painstakingly work to structure an entire track around a mere spoonful of 1980s Disco stew, manipulating it with filter and phaser effects in an attempt to encapsulate everything that bouncy sound stood for. Once Stardust had unearthed that perfect loop, they quite literally sat back and let the music do the talking. Anchored by nothing but a straightforward four-bar bassline and Cohen’s ecstatic vocals, the track takes the wheel, driving us towards an unknown yet undeniably funky destination.

Structurally it broke away from typical dance music conventions of the time. There is no grandiloquent build-up or massive breakdown, apart from a short passage when the guitar is filtered down to an almost ethereal echo. Why does it refuse to follow the expected structure? Because it simply doesn’t need to. Never has a two second loop sounded this good, so why would you even consider interrupting it? Injected with the bouncy optimism of the Chaka Khan sample, Stardust capitalised on a zeitgeist that was already underway in cinema, with the likes of ‘Boogie Nights‘ and ‘Casino‘, they focused upon pure feel good music that could go on all night long.

Something which I think is massively overlooked with the track is Stardust’s ability to ensure the constant repetition doesn’t become tedious, instead the catchy beat keeps us engaged without ever deterring from its intended course. Rather than choosing to skip over the track, we never want it to end. The spacey, rhythmic electronics trap us in a bubble where all our earthly problems vanish; every note is faultless, every lyric captures the moment, you never want to leave this pocket-verse of warm, optimistic tones. It exists in a state of pleasure giving perfection, where the loop could theoretically play on forever. Once the play button is hit you can’t help but submit yourself to the infectious sound, picturing yourself in the hazy afterglow of an 80s nightclub, surrounded by flared trousers and hairy chests. Managing to put a smile on the faces of all who hear it, ‘Music Sounds Better With You’ symbolises a simplistic ideal that resonated with its audience in the 90s and still does so today.