10 tracks Marie Davidson loves to play right now

The transgressive, explorative tendencies of Marie Davidson means she’s hard to pin down. But that’s what makes the Québécois producer and DJ so intriguing. At heart, she’s a charming troublemaker who, since her debut solo album 'Perte d'identité'' arrived in 2014, has challenged the status quo, casting a critical eye over the club and beyond while delving into minimal wave and techno sounds.

Davidson has performed alongside her husband Pierre Guerineau as part of darkwave/synth-pop duo Essaie Pas since 2010. But it was much later in 2018 that she experienced something of a breakout moment, with the release of her darkly humorous techno album ‘Working Class Woman’. A Soulwax remix of a single from the album, ‘Work It’, became a club classic and bagged a Grammy nomination.

Read this next: "Work all the fucking time": How Marie Davidson made 'Work It'

But behind her newfound success, Davidson was struggling, and she announced plans to quit performing hardware club music in 2019. But putting the brakes on her clubbing days never meant a break with music. Her detour from dance arrived in the shape of 2020’s ‘Renegade Breakdown’, an eclectic, funk-infused album written with her band L'Œil Nu.

Five years on, and the Montreal artist has returned to the rave. Her sixth studio album, ‘City of Clowns’ (out via DEEWEE) landed in late February, dazzling critics with its blistering lyrics and taut twist on pounding techno. It was part-inspired by Shoshana Zuboff’s book The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, a compelling examination of how tech corporations dictate much of our modern lives.

Read this next: Post-club: Why DJs and producers are leaving nightclubs behind

The album is a characteristic mix of dark playfulness and energising intensity. Like much of Davidson’s work, it skewers capitalistic systems with typical biting wit. Take ‘Y.A.A.M (Your Asses Are Mine)’, on which she deadpans: “You wanna suck me? Screw your fucking brand” before spelling out “fuck you” in her version of an acrostic poem (“F is for fakers, U is for utterly, C is for calculated”...).

To celebrate the album, we’ve enlisted Davidson to share a curated list of tracks we’d find in one of her DJ sets. Speaking to Mixmag, Davidson said: "Being a musician and producer for a while, I’ve been invested in different types of production and songwriting since I dropped out of school to make music. Before anything, I’m a music enthusiast, I find interest in almost any types of genres I come across with.

“When I’m not working on my own stuff, one of my favourite things to do is dancing, either by myself or going out to a party. Here’s a selection of 10 tracks you could hear me play during a DJ set, depending on the situation. I like to mix old and new sounds and I tend to prioritise excitement over optimal production."

“Excellent track to start a night.”

“I consider this track an absolute classic.”

“Very good, very fun and very clever.”

“I like all of what this person has been putting out. This release is new.”

“B A N G E R. This track drives people crazy when played at the right time.”

Read this next: Listen to a playlist of Thomas Bangalter's favourite film scores - Music - Mixmag

“A dose of attitude and cowbell is always welcome.”

“Perfection. This one I love to listen on a loop at the gym.”

“I love a lot of Djejdotronic’s productions and play a lot of his stuff. This one is a nice builder.”

“Possibly my favourite dance track ever. I can’t deny this song had a lot of influence on me.”

“Another of my all-time favourites I keep going back to.”

Henrietta Taylor is a freelance journalist, follow her on Twitter