This article was originally published on THUMP UK.There you are on a Saturday night, in the depths of a club. Humidity hangs in the air; tingling bodies jostle for position on the dancefloor; other things that you traditionally associate with nightclubs are happening because you're in a nightclub and that's what happens in nightclubs. For an hour or so now the music's been rigidly instrumental, just a clanking lattice of percussion and stabs, curlicues of curdled melody and flurry-punches of sub-bass. And then, like day break, like grey skies into blue, there's a vocal. There's something real and human and there.
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For all that we tell ourselves that restraint and minimalism are important artist tools, that, no, we don't need to hear songs in a club to have a good time, deep down we're all longing for something that's even tangentially linked to the verse-chorus-verse structure we grew up with. Man cannot sing along to "Inspector Norse" only.With that in mind, we've decided to put together this list of the ten best male vocal house records ever. You'll notice that there's no Robert Owens or Jamie Principle here, and a few other omissions that might initially seem glaring. Whilst the list can't purport to solid objectivity, I can confirm that as of right now the following tracks definitely are the best male vocal house records ever. Enjoy, and don't forget to remind us about what we've missed out.I tried to be really CLEVER and FUNNY with this one and replicate in writing how Kerri Chandler punctuates every line of his 1998 deep house classic with a yelped cry of the word "RAIN!" but it was actually quite difficult to do it without the result looking something like, "On Kerri Chandler's 1998 deep house classic RAIN he punctuates every line with a yelped cry RAIN of the word "RAIN!" which is incredibly ugly and difficult to read. So now I'm doubly sorry.A fun insight into life at VICE: the happiest moment of my time at the company so far came on a Friday afternoon when the former editor of VICE UK commandeered the office stereo for the last hour of the working week, winked at me from across the room, and played this gospel house classic —as I sipped on a lukewarm beer and cracked on with some vital admin work, I was floating on air. Bobien's ode to the glory of God's loving glow is enough to reduce even the most ardent of Dawkins-fans to idol-worship. It's a truly thrilling vocal performance that's both feather-light and strangely forceful.
1. Kerri Chandler - Rain
2. Kenny Bobien - U Gave Me Love (Unreleased Mix)
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3. Aaron-Carl - Crucified
4. Romanthony — Let Me Show You Love (Gerd's Crooklyn Full Vox Mix)
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5. Lenny Williams - Gotta Lotta Luv (House Mix)
6. Basil Hardhaus Feat. Burrell - "Black Man" (Nicholas Black & Proud Mix)
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