BRITNEY SPEARS – “Anticipating (Alan Braxe Mix)”
The Britney/Daft Punk link-up never got beyond a delicious rumour but this 2002 remix gives you an idea of what might have been. Halfway between Madonna’s “Music” and Kylie’s “Slow” it remakes Britney as a kittenish electro-diva, a hint (had I been paying attention) of the In The Zone makeover, but minus the explicit stuff. In fact it’s a warmer record than either of those examples – Braxe’s way with a synth wobble is much more playful than Mirwais, and Britney’s yearning seems more innocent and diffuse than Kylie’s come-ons. The track is a paradox: a continual build-up of longing and a steady-state flotation blissout at the same time, like a sound-model of an Escher staircase.