Here’s a total novelty record made for us all geeks out there.? Two hormonally-charged robots describing their courtship and fornication using computer terms (hard drive, cache, etc.) over an electro beat.? The results are humorous, and on first play in mix show, messages came pouring in.? With the right video and animated characters, this could cross over in a tech-obsessed world. Searching online, I found Chris Sammarco’s mix- which goes tribal and adds a bit of aggression with a good result.?? Release is apparently coming in September, so while you wait check out the “Cheekah Bow Bow” from the Vengaboys, a similarly themed robot love track featuring the only known appearance of DJ Bill Gates.
Not sure which trend to put this record in because it fits so many. EDM people take themselves so seriously that a good bit of satire (see Ylvis and Scandinavian Techno Dance Society) is often called for. The producers Danski and Delmundo, who also created Alice Deejay, spawned The Vengaboys in the late ’90s- initially as an underground act which quickly became a commercial pop success on the level of 2 Unlimited. Critics scoffed as records like “We Like to Party,” “Boom Boom Boom,” and “Up and Down” became chart and club hits around the world. After a five-year run, the group disbanded, and aside from “Rocket to Uranus,” a novelty record with Pete Burns (Dead or Alive) and Perez Hilton in 2010, they’ve been been quiet with releases as various incarnations of the live acts toured. Digging up the party classic “Hot Hot Hot” by Arrow (and most famously covered by Buster Poindexter) is a genius move. Thrown over the dirty dutch production (similar to RLP and Barbara Tucker’s take on “Respect”) with their trademark bouncy energy, it is pretty much a no-brainer. Adding in the cliches like the Spanish-flavored rap (like a discount Pitbull) and “if you didn’t come to party” refrain makes it even more fun. This is basically the exact opposite of Funkerman’s recent remix of Laidback “White Horse” – the Venga Boys have no aspiration of being cool and they know their place as cartoon characters and are in on the joke. This clearly comes through in the video, where the bus is back with original members (Kim, Denise and Robin) and later addition Donny frolicking on a tropical island paradise. There’s something for everyone – Brazilian girls booty bouncing and getting low, sexy Power Rangers, spoofs of retro-Madonna and Lady Gaga, as well as expertly-deployed metallic codpieces on both genders. Setting themselves up as Europe’s #1 Party Crew might be a bit of a stretch, but like everything else in their repertoire, it’s all meant as humorous fun for everyone.
Korean rodeo electro pop – you’ve just gotta love cultural fusion. PSY, born Park Jae-Sang, is a South Korean popstar who blends music, comedy, and drag in his eccentric performances. Named for the southeastern affluent district of Seoul, “Gangnam Style” is a frenetic electro-pop confection with the energy of a Vengaboys track, modernized with the big rooms sounds of today. Sung mostly in Korean, the song is about his quest to find a girl that can be both proper and dignified in some situations while getting wild and free when the time is right (or basically a lady in the streets, but a freak in the sheets). The video featuring PSY bringing his Hi-NRG vibrant rodeo style choreography to various locales is quickly becoming an internet sensation, logging 15 million hits in less than three weeks. It’s easy to see why as the track is so infectious, and as soon as you watch it, you will want to share it with all of your friends. Why do I have a feeling that either Flo Rida or Pitbull are going to be featured on the US version of this track when the major label picks it up?
