"Ultra Flava" is a

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

song by British duo Heller and Farley Project (

Pete Heller Pete Heller is an English electronic and house music producer from Brighton, England. Biography He is recognised in the dance community for his solo work, and his remixes with frequent collaborator Terry Farley. As a duo, they have released ...

and

Terry Farley Terry Farley is a British DJ, remixer and producer from London, active since the mid-1980s. Career Farley started out going to clubs in the late 1970s and first visited Ibiza in 1982. He then started working as a DJ, performing at the same clubs ...

). After the wide renown with their remix of

Ultra Naté Ultra Naté (born March 20, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, DJ, and promoter who has achieved success on the pop charts with songs such as "Free (Ultra Naté song), Free", "If You Could Read My Mind" (as part of Stars o ...

's "How Long" in 1994 and

M People M People (stylised as ''M''People) are an English dance music band that formed in 1990 and achieved success throughout most of the 1990s. The name M People is derived from the first letter of the first name of band member Mike Pickering, who f ...

's " Open Your Heart" in 1995, they released it as a single in 1996. It is a slightly re-worked version of their mix of "How Long", without Naté's vocals. They entitled it "Ultra Flava" as a nod to the track's origins. It was a huge club hit and peaked at number 22 on the UK Singles Chart, while reaching number-one on the

UK Dance Singles Chart The Dance Singles Chart and the Dance Albums Chart are music charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company from sales of songs in the dance music genre (e.g. house, trance, drum and bass, garage, synth-pop) in record stores ...

. In the US, it peaked at number three on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Dance Music/Club Play The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

chart. A black-and-white

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

was also produced to promote the single.

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...

from ''

'' declared "Ultra Flava" as a "diamond-hard

gem". On the single review, he wrote, "Mega-hot

U.K. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

production/songwriting team is primed to enjoy matching stateside success with this, a rousing instrumental anthem influenced by legendary

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

bands like the

SalSoul Orchestra The Salsoul Orchestra was the backing Band (music), band of session musicians for many acts on the New York City label Salsoul Records and, under its own name, recorded several hit singles and albums between 1975 and 1982. History The orchestr ...

. Partners

and Terry Farley prove adept at crafting taut pop hooks while maintaining a credible deep-house edge. A summertime club favorite on import, the domestic pressing of "Ultra Flava" boasts refreshing new interpretations by

Mousse T. Mustafa Gündoğdu (; born 2 October 1966), best known under his stage name Mousse T., is a German-Turkish DJ, record producer, film music composer and judge on season 15 of ''Deutschland sucht den Superstar'', the German version of ''Pop Idol ...

Ralphi Rosario Ralphi Rosario is an American house musician and founding member of the influential Chicago DJ group Hot Mix 5. Biography When Hot Mix 5 was formed in 1981 on radio station WBMX (now WVAZ), Rosario, the youngest member of the group, was still in ...

Boris Dlugosch Boris Dlugosch (; born 2 August 1968) is a German house music producer from Hamburg. Boris is usually known for funky/deep house tracks, mostly produced in conjunction with Mousse T. and Michi Lange, his partners in the Peppermint Jam Records l ...

, and

DJ Sneak Carlos Sosa (born November 5, 1969), known as DJ Sneak, is a Puerto Rican-born American DJ and record producer raised in Chicago, Illinois, United States. He is noted as being one of the second wave of Chicago house producers, (alongside Derrick ...

. A snug radio edit could easily result in a pop/crossover smash à la

Robert Miles Roberto Concina (; 3 November 1969 – 9 May 2017), known professionally as Robert Miles, was an Italian record producer, composer, musician and DJ. His 1995 composition "Children" sold more than 5 million copies and topped the charts worldwid ...

' "

Children A child () is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking ...

James Hamilton James Hamilton may refer to: Dukes *James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton (1606–1649), heir to the throne of Scotland *James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton (1658–1712), Scottish nobleman *James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton (1703–1743), Sco ...

from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

s ''RM'' Dance Update described it as an "infectious

Robin S Robin Jackson Maynard (''née'' Stone; born April 27, 1962) is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for her 1992 debut single " Show Me Love", which peaked at number five on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, as well as its follow-up, " ...

-ishly plopped progressive wriggly percussion groove".

Impact and legacy

Mixmag ''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights. History The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was printe ...

'' ranked "Ultra Flava" number 33 in its list of the best singles of 1995, "Mixmag End of Year Lists: 1995". ''

DJ Mag ''DJ Magazine'' (also known as ''DJ Mag'') is a British monthly magazine dedicated to electronic dance music and DJs. Founded in 1991, the magazine is adapted for distribution in the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, France, Italy, Lati ...

'' ranked it number 85 in their list of the "Top 100 Club Tunes" in 1998, and in 2016 ranked the song number-one in their list of the "Top 50 Tracks of 1996".

Tomorrowland Tomorrowland may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Tomorrowland (Disney Parks), a theme land at a number of Disney theme parks around the world * Tomorrowland (festival), an annual electronic dance music festival in Boom, Belgium * ''Tom ...

featured it in their official list of "The Ibiza 500" in 2020.

Track listing

* UK 12-inch single #"Ultra Flava" (Original Flava) #"Ultra Flava" ( Grant Nelson's 3 Tier Experience) #"Ultra Flava" (Vox Version) #"Ultra Flava" (Pete's Dub) * UK 12-inch single #"Ultra Flava" (

Rhythm Masters Rhythm Masters are an English house music duo composed of DJs Robert Chetcuti and Steve Mac, a.k.a. Steve McGuinness. Biography They began mixing together around 1993 after meeting in Malta, doing remixes for, among others, Todd Terry, Michae ...

Club Mix) #"Ultra Flava" (Rhythm Masters Trans Disco Mix) #"Ultra Flava" (Melody Flava) #"Ultra Flava" (Bass Flava) #"Ultra Flava" (Just a Groove) * UK CD single #"Ultra Flava" (Vox Edit) – 3:14 #"Ultra Flava" (Original Edit) – 3:55 #"Ultra Flava" (Original Flava) – 7:03 #"Ultra Flava" (Grant Nelson's 3 Tier Experience) – 6:17 #"Ultra Flava" (Vox Version) – 6:43 #"Ultra Flava" (Pete's Dub) – 7:10 * Europe CD maxi #"Ultra Flava" (Vox Edit) – 3:45 #"Ultra Flava" (Original Edit) – 3:56 #"Ultra Flava" (Original Flava) – 7:03 #"Ultra Flava" (Grant Nelson's 3tier Experience) – 6:16 #"Ultra Flava" (Vox Version) – 6:43 #"Ultra Flava" (Pete's Dub) – 7:10

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Reflist 1996 songs 1996 singles AM PM Records singles Fire Island (duo) songs Black-and-white music videos