Twenty-three years ago this week, Inner City was sitting atop the Billboard Dance chart with “Good Life.” It was the Detroit techno/house group’s second single and their second #1 club hit, following “Big Fun.”

In high school when that still-brilliant pair of tunes came out, I definitely benefited from living close to Chicago, the birthplace of house music. Though neither “Big Fun” nor “Good Life” impacted the national Top 40, both were in rotation on local stations, and I can’t imagine school dances without having had those songs as part of the soundtrack. Inner City served as my introduction to true dance music, beginning a lifelong love affair.

Now, after a 15-year break, producer Kevin Saunderson and vocalist/lyricist Paris Grey have reconvened as Inner City. Ann Saunderson (née Ann Nanton, Kevin’s wife), who previously co-wrote and sang background on several tracks, has also been made a full-fledged member this time around. The trio recorded four tracks, Saunderson told Beatport, and selected “Future” to announce Inner City’s return to the scene.

“We chose ‘Future’ because it had that kind of time-stamp of experience, and about life. It’s also about life, and learning from life, and moving on. At the same time, it’s years later for us. So we just thought, it’s a great track that we love, and we thought it was the right track to release.”

It’s only natural to be cautiously optimistic when such reunions surface (or outright worried that a legacy will be tarnished), but Inner City really has recaptured the magic of the early days with “Future.” Updated a bit, as sounds should be, but still absolutely uplifting.

Last year, Britney Spears’ producers Shellback and Max Martin paid homage to Inner City’s pioneering techno/house sound, sampling “Good Life” for the Femme Fatale bonus track, “Up n’ Down.”

Purchase Kevin Saunderson feat. Inner City – “Future” (Deep See Sound System Mix) via iTunes, Amazon MP3.