I remember, vaguely, the talk in Hanover High School when it became known that Ben Ruttner, a couple years younger than I, had found success as a DJ. Christened in the music world “B-Roc,” there was talk of opening for DJ Shadow and Beyonce. But these were the days of punk rock and Biggie and I turned my attention to more saccharine diversions. Flash forward to now: you can imagine my happy surprise when I discovered that Mr. Ruttner, along with James “JPatt” Patterson, was one of the two core members of the DJ duo the Knocks. He’s also the CEO of HeavyRoc music, which produced, among other successes, College’s “A Real Hero” from Drive. Between gold medalist Hannah Kearney and B-Roc, it should be clear that Hanover, NH has something good in the water.

The Knocks’ last big hit, “Dancing With The DJ,” was awesome. It had a carefree joy that could only have come from fusing the sounds of ESPN’s Jock Jams (remember that?) with the best of the Bee Gees. Along with Penguin Prison’s “Multi-Millionaire,” it kept my hopes alive for a sustained resurrection of disco pop. They’ve just released another single, “Brightside,” which sustains the expected goodness. So here’s that new single, and a set of my favorite Knocks productions – they certainly have a diverse set of sounds they’re comfortable working with. Love the takes on classic soul, in particular. Here’s to you, Ben.

We should start with a few Knocks originals: “Brightside,” “Make It Better, “Blackout,” and “Dancing With The DJ,” The latter is the song that got me into this duo in the first place – still such a great dance piece. It should be a crime not to play it in a club.

Brightside by The Knocks

Make It Better by The Knocks

Blackout by The Knocks

Dancing With The Dj by The Knocks

Last February, the Knocks released a set of covers and remixes of old R&B and soul hits – Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, the Supremes… the good stuff. I’m of the opinion that not nearly enough music from that era is revisited by current DJs. Clearly, these guys are of the same mind.

You Can’t Hurry Love (Supremes cover featuring Alex Winston) by The Knocks

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise at this point that the duo has put out a set of great remixes and mashups. You know what I think might be the most refreshing thing about these? NO DUBSTEP!!!!

This mashup of Ellie Goulding (who just toured with them) and Daft Punk is a good place to start:

There’s Something About Us Under The Sheets (Ellie Goulding vs Daft Punk) by The Knocks

They put out a remix of one of the most redone songs of the past couple years – Foster the People’s “Pumped Up Kicks.” Unsurprisingly, their version is one of the best.

Foster The People – Pumped Up Kicks (The Knocks Remix) by The Knocks

Here, they added a funk guitar and disco-funk beat to give a nice new dimension to Passion Pit’s “Sleepyhead.”

Passion Pit – Sleepyhead (The Knocks Remix) by The Knocks

And… oh my God. We have to end with their take on the Jackson Five’s “The Love You Save.” It’s hard to have too much of this sound.

The Jackson Five – The Love You Save (The Knocks Remix) by The Knocks