Real Tone France Vinyl & CDs

Review: The Real Tone Classics series does exactly what it says on the tin, reissuing older label classics from the storied Real Tone Records house music catalogue, based in Paris. A precocious (the label has only been going since 2011) but still refreshing exercise, this second edition focuses on the older, apposed works of label favourites Franck Roger, Don Swing and Mr. V. Brachiating from as recently as 2023 to as far back as 2009, the ability to group together tracks from different eras here speaks to the modularity of house music when done right: Roger's 'Things We Had', for example, is a kwaito-informed ode to freedom, while the fanned, equitant track 'Come Back To Me' jostles jazz-dancier; the stylistic difference between them speaks nothing of their side-by-side fit, which is as seamless as they come.