This is a weapon and it knows it. Melé has always made house that leans on rhythm over melody, and “Body Move” with IRAH is close to a pure functional dancefloor tool in the best possible way, built to do one job on a system at 1am. The groove is all hips, a percolating percussion track and a bassline that struts while IRAH’s vocal gets chopped into a chant doing exactly what the title says. The extended mix gives it room to breathe, long DJ-friendly intros and outros wrapped around a middle section that locks into the pocket and stays there for a gorgeous, sweaty stretch. There’s an afro-house looseness to the drums that keeps the whole thing from ever feeling stiff or mechanical, a swing you feel in your ankles before anywhere else. I put it on at my desk and caught myself moving inside eight bars, which almost never happens before a coffee. Drop it in a peak-time set and watch a room comply.
Not the first time Melé & IRAH has shown up here: Melé - Soul Makossa