"Music Sounds Better with You" is the only record by the

French house French house (also referred to as French touch, filter house, or tekfunk) is a style of house music devised by French musicians in the 1990s. It is a form of Eurodisco and a popular strand of the late 1990s and 2000s European dance music s ...

trio Stardust, released on 20 July 1998. Stardust comprised the

Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. They achieved popularity in the late 1990s as part of the French house movement, combining house music, funk, disco, tech ...

member

Thomas Bangalter Thomas Bangalter (; born 3 January 1975) is a French musician. He is best known as one half of the former French house music duo Daft Punk, alongside Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. He has recorded and released music as a member of the trio Music S ...

, the DJ

Alan Braxe Alain Quême (), known professionally as Alan Braxe (born 9 July 1971), is a French electronic musician. He is most widely known for his collaborative work with the musicians Fred Falke and Kris Menace, and for being part of the musical trio St ...

, and the vocalist Benjamin Diamond. Stardust formed for a performance at the Rex Club in Paris. They wrote "Music Sounds Better with You" using a guitar riff

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: * Sample (graphics), an intersection of a color channel and a pixel * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of something * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample ...

from the 1981

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan ( ), is an American singer. Known as the " Queen of Funk", her career has spanned more than five decades beginning in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of ...

song "

Fate Destiny, sometimes also called fate (), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predeterminism, predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often used interchangeably, the words wiktionary ...

". It was initially released on Bangalter's

Roulé Roulé () was a French record label founded in 1995 by former Daft Punk member Thomas Bangalter. Roulé had a side label entitled ''Scratché'' () which released only one record, produced by the Buffalo Bunch (Paul de Homem-Christo and Romain S ...

label, followed by a wider release on

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

, with a music video directed by

Michel Gondry Michel Gondry (; born 8 May 1963) is a French filmmaker and producer noted for his inventive visual style and distinctive manipulation of mise en scène. Along with Charlie Kaufman, he won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay as one o ...

. "Music Sounds Better with You" debuted at number two on the UK singles chart in August 1998 and stayed there for two weeks, becoming one of the UK's bestselling singles that year. It also topped the US ''

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 ...

Dance 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 for two weeks. It is

certified Certification is part of testing, inspection and certification and the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestatio ...

double platinum in the UK, platinum in Australia, and gold in Belgium and France. By 2018, it had sold more than two million copies worldwide. The song received acclaim and was named one of the greatest dance songs by several publications. Stardust performed once more, at a festival in France, before disbanding. Bangalter declined an offer of $3 million from Virgin to produce a Stardust album.

Background

By the late 1980s,

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 ...

and

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

had become popular in gay nightclubs in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. In France, the DJ

and the singer Benjamin Diamond met in boarding school and bonded over music as teenagers. When house music became popular in the French gay scene, they bought every house LP they could find, went clubbing and attended

raves A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

. By the early 1990s, Braxe had dropped out of university and completed a year of

military conscription Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...

. With no job prospects, he decided to pursue music. He met

, a member of the electronic duo

, in a nightclub, and later gave him a demo of his track "Vertigo". Bangalter released it on his label,

, in 1997. After the release of "Vertigo", Braxe performed at the Rex Club in Paris, with Bangalter on keyboards and Diamond on vocals. While rehearsing, the group needed one more track to complete the set. Braxe said they wanted to write a song rather than a "pure club track". They composed the first version of "Music Sounds Better with You" using a looped sample from the 1981

song "

", sampled using an

E-mu SP-1200 The E-mu SP-1200 is a sampling drum machine designed by Dave Rossum and released in August 1987 by E-mu Systems. Like its predecessor, the SP-12, it was designed as a drum machine featuring user sampling. The distinctive character of its so ...

. At the time, Diamond was the singer in a punk band. He left the band when they expressed contempt for his collaboration with electronic musicians, telling him to "go back to see your Daft Punk friends and forget us".

Recording

After the Rex Club performance, Stardust worked on "Music Sounds Better With You" at Bangalter's home studio, Daft House, for six days. They arranged it using a

Rhodes piano The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, th ...

, a

Roland TR-909 The Roland TR-909 Rhythm Composer, commonly known as the 909, is a drum machine introduced by Roland Corporation in 1983, succeeding the TR-808. It was the first Roland drum machine to use samples for some sounds, and the first with MIDI funct ...

drum machine, a bassline recorded on a

Korg Trident The Korg Trident is a polyphonic multi-section synthesizer released by Korg in 1980, combining three distinct synthesizers within a single instrument: a polyphonic section with two VCOs, alongside dedicated String and Brass sections. The polyphonic ...

, and an

Ensoniq ASR-10 The Ensoniq ASR-10 is a sampling keyboard produced by Ensoniq between 1992 and 1998. The ASR-10 was a follow-up product to the very popular Ensoniq EPS and EPS-16 Plus performance samplers, and was also available with a piano style weighted ...

sampling keyboard, triggering different sections by assigning them to different keys. Diamond's vocals and the final track were compressed with an Alesis 3630. Diamond disliked his vocals at first, but Bangalter and Braxe felt they were perfect. The lyrics were written by all three members. They wrote more lyrics, but failed to find a way to arrange them and pared the song down to its final form. Diamond felt the final lyrics were "like a mantra ... something everyone could understand". Braxe said they were happy with the finished song, feeling they had created something original. He described its repetition and simplicity as "a balance between getting bored and not bored".

Release

"Music Sounds Better with You" was released as a vinyl single on Bangalter's label

in early 1998. According to Braxe, the song initially confused Paris clubgoers. The single was intended for DJs, but demand grew after copies were distributed at the 1998 Miami Winter Music Conference. According to the Roulé co-manager Gildas Loaec, the

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

Pete Tong Peter Michael Tong (born 30 July 1960) is an English DJ who works for BBC Radio 1. He is the host of programmes such as '' Essential Mix'' and '' Essential Selection'' on the radio service, which can be heard through Internet radio streams, for ...

was the first radio DJ to play the song. Loaec and Diamond said "Music Sounds Better with You" sold between 250,000 and 400,000 copies on Roulé. Stardust signed the single to

. On 10 August 1998, Virgin released it as a CD and cassette in UK, where it reached number 2 on the UK singles chart and became the year's 11th-bestselling single. Bangalter did not enjoy the pressure and attention that the success of "Music Sounds Better with You" brought, as he had intended Roulé as a hobby and creative platform. Diamond realised how popular the song had become when he heard it while on holiday in Italy, and found the attention overwhelming. Braxe said of hearing the song in a supermarket; "by that point everyone knew it". In the US, "Music Sounds Better with You" was serviced to

rhythmic contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 20, Rhythmic Top 30, Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and upbeat R&B hit ...

and

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (CHR, also known as contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top ...

on 15 September, followed by a commercial release on 22 September. It topped the ''

chart for two weeks and reached number 62 on the ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

. In Canada, it was released on 6 October, reaching number two on the

Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian music charts are a collection of record charts reflecting the music consumption of people in Canada. '' RPM'' and '' Billboard'' are the biggest publications to have published Canada's official charts for decades. However, the first ...

and number five on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

Dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

chart. It reached number one in Greece and Spain and the top 10 in at least nine other countries. It is

double platinum in the UK, platinum in Australia, and gold in Belgium and France. As of 2018, it had sold more than two million copies worldwide.

Music video

The music video for "Music Sounds Better with You" was directed by

and filmed in Los Angeles. In the video, a young boy constructs a model glider over several days while the members of Stardust perform on television, with Bangalter and Braxe wearing metallic masks and Diamond's face painted silver. Braxe described the video as "heart-warming and nostalgic but

ith The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometers, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is i ...

a hint of melancholy", which he said was a crucial element of dance music. Bruce Tantum of ''

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 ...

'' described the video as "charming" and "dreamy". The ''

Insomniac Insomniac or The Insomniac may refer to: * A person who has insomnia Music * Insomniac (Green Day album), ''Insomniac'' (Green Day album), 1995 * Insomniac (Enrique Iglesias album), ''Insomniac'' (Enrique Iglesias album), 2007 * Insomniac (song ...

'' journalist Jonny Coleman wrote that it "helps reinforce the notion that this whole Stardust concept is supposed to exist in some other familiar but foreign liminal space, something ghostly but still warm and inviting".

Critical reception

"Music Sounds Better with You" received acclaim. John Bush from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

described it as "one of the most irresistible, sublime dance singles of the decade".

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 ...

of ''

'' described it as a "euro-splashed ditty" with "an infectious li'l hook and a solid, old-school disco bassline ... its execution makes it pop with a refreshing energy". Another editor, Annabel Ross, called it "sublime in its simplicity" and wrote that it was one of the best dance songs. ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...

'' called it "an exhilarating hit of dance-floor

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

", praising its instrumentation and lyrics. In ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'', Andy Battaglia wrote that "Music Sounds Better with You" demonstrated the similarities between disco and Daft Punk. He praised the "gliding" guitar figure, the "

earworm An earworm or brainworm, also described as sticky music or stuck song syndrome, is a Catchiness, catchy or memorable piece of music or saying that continuously occupies a person's mind even after it is no longer being played or spoken about. In ...

" bassline and the "lascivious" vocals. Bruce Tantum wrote in ''

'' that it "doesn't do much of anything, really, nor does it have to. It exists in a state of pleasure-giving perfection." ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

'''s Josh Baines called it the "absolute papa of French touch ... one of the most genuinely transcendental records ever committed to wax". He said its "lazy" use of the Chaka Khan sample was "a flippant middle finger raised to anyone who rates originality over impact". The

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

described it as "four minutes of French funk built upon a brutally efficient four-bar loop that became the signature sound of summer 1998".

Accolades

In 2013, ''

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 ...

'' named "Music Sounds Better with You" the sixth-greatest dance song. In 2015, ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. The paper covers music, arts, film, theater, culture, and other local news in the Los Angeles area. ''LA Weekly'' was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin (among others), ...

'' ranked it the ninth-best dance track in history. In 2018, ''Mixmag'' included it in its list of the best vocal house anthems, and in 2019 listed it among the 15 best house tracks about love. ''Pitchfork'' ranked it the 46th-best song of the 90s and included it in ''

The Pitchfork 500 ''The Pitchfork 500: Our Guide to the Greatest Songs from Punk to the Present'' is a book compiling the greatest songs from 1977 to 2006, published in 2008 by Pitchfork Media. The book focuses on specific genres including indie rock, hip-hop, ele ...

'', a book compiling the greatest songs from 1977 to 2008. In 2011, ''

'' named "Music Sounds Better With You" the 99th-best single of the 90s, and in 2012 ''Porcys'' ranked it the greatest. In 2017, ''

BuzzFeed BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet mass media, media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John Seward Johnson III, John S. Johnson III to ...

'' named it the 72nd-greatest dance song of the 90s. In 2020, ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' named it one of the best house songs, ''Mixmag'' readers named its bassline one of the best in dance music, and

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks created and owned by the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With a market share of 43%, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2020, and the third most valuable soft drink brand, behind Coca-Cola and ...

included it on their list of "underrated dance songs from the 1990s that still sound amazing". In 2022, ''Pitchfork'' named "Music Sounds Better With You" one of the best house tracks of the 90s, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' named it the 73rd-greatest dance track and ''

Classic Pop Traditional pop (also known as vocal pop or pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standards ...

'' named it the eighth-best 1990s dance song. In 2023, ''

'' magazine ranked it the 15th-best EDM love song. In 2024, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' named it the third-best

French touch French house (also referred to as French touch, filter house, or tekfunk) is a style of house music devised by French musicians in the 1990s. It is a form of Eurodisco and a popular strand of the late 1990s and 2000s European dance music sc ...

track. In 2025, ''Billboard'' ranked "Music Sounds Better With You" the sixth-best dance song of all time.

Legacy

According to ''

'', after the success of "Music Sounds Better with You", Virgin offered Bangalter $3 million to produce a Stardust album. The group created several demos, but abandoned them and declined the offer. In 2012, Braxe said there were no plans to release the demos, saying it gave the record "a certain magic and mystery". In another interview, he said "what happened with the song was really amazing, and we wanted to leave it like that". Diamond said he had wanted to continue with Stardust, but Bangalter was focused on Daft Punk. Apart from their performance at Rex Club, Stardust performed only once, in a 30-minute set at the Borealis festival in Montpellier, France. Diamond and Braxe resumed their solo careers. Diamond said he found it difficult to return to his own style of music, and his record company,

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

, pressured him to release similar music to Stardust. Bangalter continued to release music as Daft Punk with

Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo Guillaume Emmanuel "Guy-Manuel" de Homem-Christo (; born 8 February 1974) is a French musician. He is known as one half of the former French house music duo Daft Punk, along with Thomas Bangalter. He has produced several works from his now-def ...

. They performed a

mashup Mashup may refer to: * Mashup (culture), the rearrangement of spliced parts of musical pieces as part of a subculture * Mashup (education), combining various forms of data and media by a teacher or student in an instructional setting * Mashup (mus ...

of "Music Sounds Better with You" and their 2000 single "

One More Time One More Time may refer to: Film and television * ''One More Time'' (1931 film), a Merrie Melodies cartoon * ''One More Time'' (1970 film), a film by Jerry Lewis * ''One More Time'', a 1974 TV special with Carol Channing, Pearl Bailey, and other ...

" on their 2006—2007 tour. A performance was included on the bonus disc of the live album ''

Alive 2007 ''Alive 2007'' is the second live album by the French electronic music duo Daft Punk, released on 19 November 2007 by Virgin Records. It features Daft Punk's performance at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy arena in Paris on 14 June 2007 durin ...

'', which ''Pitchfork'' described as "a combination so 'holy shit' ecstatic it would seem downright cocky if it wasn't so blissful". In 2011,

Big Time Rush ''Big Time Rush'' is an American musical sitcom television series created by Scott Fellows that originally aired on Nickelodeon from November 28, 2009, to July 25, 2013, featuring the band Big Time Rush portrayed as a fictional version of th ...

interpolated "Music Sounds Better with You" for their track " Music Sounds Better with U". It was used in the 2013 video game ''

Grand Theft Auto V ''Grand Theft Auto V'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the seventh main entry in the Grand Theft Auto, ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2008's ''Grand Theft Auto IV'', and ...

'', and was covered that year in a live show by

the xx The xx are an English indie rock band from Wandsworth, London, formed in 2005. The band consists of Romy Madley Croft (guitar, vocals), Oliver Sim (bass guitar, vocals), Jamie Smith, also known as Jamie xx (beats, MPC, record production), ...

and

Jessie Ware Jessica Lois Ware (born 15 October 1984) is an English singer and songwriter. She came to prominence following the release of her debut studio album, '' Devotion'' (2012), which peaked at number five on the UK Albums Chart and produced the sing ...

mashed-up with

Modjo Modjo was a French house music duo formed in Paris in 1999 by producer Romain Tranchart (born 9 June 1976) and singer Yann Destagnol (born 14 July 1978). They are best known for their biggest hit, " Lady (Hear Me Tonight)", released in 2000, al ...

's "

Lady ''Lady'' is a term for a woman who behaves in a polite way. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the female counterpart of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. "Lady" is al ...

". In 2018, Stardust

remaster A remaster is a change in the sound or image quality of previously created forms of media, whether Mastering (audio), audiophonic, Cinematography, cinematic, or Videography, videographic. The resulting product is said to be remastered. The term ...

ed it for its 20th anniversary. It was reissued by the record label

Because Music Because Music is a record label based in France. The label was founded in 2004 by Emmanuel de Buretel and Eric Bielsa upon their exit from major labels. Because Music has acts such as Justice, Christine and the Queens and Aime Simone on their r ...

and added to

streaming Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a network for playback using a media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of packets from a server to a client and is rendered in real-time; this contrasts with file downl ...

platforms. It was included on Braxe's 2005 compilation album ''

The Upper Cuts ''The Upper Cuts'' is a compilation album of house music by Alan Braxe. It was released on Play It Again Sam records in June 2005. History Xavier de Rosnay, one of the two members of Justice, and graphic designer So Me Bertrand Lagros de La ...

'', which was reissued in 2023. A 2017 cover by Neil Frances was certified platinum in Australia in 2024. It was also played during the opening ceremony of the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

Personnel

Stardust *

– programming, mixing *

– programming, mixing * Benjamin Diamond – vocals, programming

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Sales and certifications

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{authority control 1998 songs 1998 debut singles Because Music singles English-language French songs House music songs Music videos directed by Michel Gondry Number-one singles in Greece Number-one singles in Spain Songs about music Songs written by Frank Musker Songs written by Thomas Bangalter Virgin Records singles Songs written by Dominic Bugatti