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The world of dance music has always been the one arena that has accepted every kind of artist, woman or man, gay or straight. In fact, many dance artists have embraced the gay community as the audience that will give honest opinions and reactions to their work. Many popular dance acts have openly gay members themselves such as Erasure's Andy Bell, the Scissor Sisters, and the late great Sylvester.


We can now add a set of brothers to this roster. The Perry Twins have been backup dancers for Ari Gold & Kristine W and now present us with their first single "Activate My Body," With a bevy of mixes from names such as DJ Escape and Julian Marsh and vocals from newcomer Jania, there is surely a mix here that will work your floor.

The Perry Twins Original Anthem Mix is a perfect slice of dance floor goodness. With a thumping bass line and tribal drums, this mix is good all on its own. The synth stabs aren't overwhelming and the vocals fit inside the track without being overwhelmed by the music surrounding them. The DJ Escape & Dom Capello Club Mix goes a little darker, with more synthesizer action and a harder beat, but it still stays true the feel of the song. The added percussion is also a nice touch. The Moshe Faim & Amir Marcus Remix fuses a chugging beat with less bass and drums. The track moves in a constant steady direction, never really building up into any peaks but still worth a listen.

Dena Cucci offers us a Big Room Mix that relies on lots of drums and drum rolls, but feels very repetitive and sometimes the vocal placement seems to be out of synch. Cory Conley's P3 Mix goes in the opposite direction and emphasizes the synthesizers but leaves a heard-it-all-before feeling behind.

Getting away from the circuit and big room tones of the first mixes, the Soul Infinity Vox Mix2inside has a much lighter feel. Organ riffs and jazzy guitar replace the thumping of the drums and the song veers into a decidedly jazzy house direction. This mix turns the summer stomper into a summer breeze and is a totally correct choice for those Sunday afternoon tea dances. The addition of the sax solo towards the end only enhances the sexy soulfulness. After this reprise, we are brought back into the night with the Julian Marsh Club Mix. More upbeat and dramatic than the earlier mixes, Julian uses keyboards and a pulsing trance beat to make this track a little fluffier. It reminds of the old Euro-house style from the mid-nineties. Continuing in this style, the Diva Nation vs. Ananyi Mix amps up the synths and drums and turn this track into a throwback to Real McCoy and Corona. All that is missing is a cheesy rap from some German MC and we're back in time! Finally, the Oscar Velazquez Activated Mix transforms the song into a minimalist late night journey. The longest mix here, clocking in at 10:46, it starts to feels very monotonous about halfway through, but does redeem itself just past the seven minute mark when the music completely disappears and rebuilds into a drum and synthesizer frenzy. The afterhours clubbers will appreciate this mix the most.

The Perry Twins give us a lot of choices with the debut single "Activate My Body." Though some of these versions miss the mark, there are enough good mixes to make it worth a listen. Jania's vocals are great and are one of the key elements in making this song a surefire summer hit. It's a good debut that will surely leave you wanting to hear more. These former background dancers are stepping out into the limelight so keep your eyes and ears open to see what's next from them.

Perry Twins Original, DJ Escape and Soul Infinity mixes—4 stars
All other mixes—3 stars

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