PREMIERE: Meridian - Bookie [The Disco Express]

Artist: Meridian Track: Bookie Release Title: I Wanna Be EP Label - The Disco Express Format - Digital Release Date - 04/09/26 Stream & Download - https://go.protonradio.com/r/rlmF_7pmeELks Buying link - https://thediscoexpress.bandcamp.com/album/i-wanna-be South London duo Meridian return to The Disco Express with I Wanna Be, a three-track EP that sees Russell Harris and Louis Grandjean pushing their electronic sound further than ever before. Across three very different productions, Meridian move effortlessly between French house, acid-tinged club music and euphoric vocal house, showing their versatility as creators, musicians and producers. Opening the EP is Phil’s French House, and the title really does tell you everything you need to know. Filtered strings sweep in and out over a pumping bassline, funky string parts and classic house keys, building a huge, rolling groove that wears its French house influences proudly. Think the filtered energy of Stardust and Cassius, but with Meridian’s own modern production edge. Bookie takes things somewhere altogether grittier. A filthy acid bassline sits at the centre of the track, surrounded by twitching electronics, chunky drums and a slightly off-kilter garage house feel. It’s darker, nastier and a little more unpredictable - the sort of track that catches you off guard when it lands in a DJ set. Proper head-nod material. I Wanna Be closes the EP and brings Meridian’s most immediate and accessible side to the surface. Built around the vocal hook “I wanna be right where you are”, classic piano chords, filtered sweeps and an arpeggiated synth line come together to create something warm, euphoric and instantly memorable. There’s a real hands-in-the-air quality here - the kind of record made for festival sunsets, summer nights and sharing with the people you came to dance with. For fans of Disclosure, Fred again.., French house, UK garage and melodic electronic music with a proper groove, I Wanna Be shows Meridian continuing to blur the lines between underground club music and those big, memorable moments that stay with you. Three tracks. Three sides of Meridian.