‘White Horse’ is exactly the kind of track Shazam was made for, one that gets in your head and often favoured by DJs – but you can never recall who penned it. The song originates from Danish duo John Guldberg and Tim Stahl, otherwise known as Laid Back. The pair found success in their native country with their eponymous debut album, before their single ‘Sunshine Reggae’ went on to be a number one hit across Europe. However when the track found its way to the US, buyers were unimpressed with the predictable cod-reggae of the A-side and favoured the B-side ‘White Horse’.
The gulf between the tracks is so large you’d be forgiven for thinking they come from different bands. While ‘Sunshine Reggae’ has faded into obscurity, ‘White Horse’ is often heralded as one of the standout dance tracks of the 80’s. With it’s irresistible bass line and sly drug reference (‘White Horse’ is slang for Heroin) the track quickly became a club hit in the States.
‘White Horse’ has continued to influence electronic acts, with Hot Chip not only adopting Laid Back’s vocal harmony style, but also name checking the band in their 2006 single ‘Over & Over’.
If there’s one party that encapsulates what Ibiza’s about more than any other it’s ‘We Love…’ at Space. After a decade providing every conceivable form of dance music to loved up international crowds, ‘We Love…’ have well and truly made Sunday’s their own on The White Isle.
With its huge outdoor terrace and 14 hour running time, ‘We Love…’ feels more like a mini festival than a club arena. The talent the club attracts also feels about hundred times more epic than most clubs can ever dream of offering. Just a glance at this year’s roster should get club heads week at the knees: 2Many DJ’s, Basement Jaxx Carl Craig, Aphex Twin, Groove Armada, Jeff Mills, Dimitri From Paris, Simian Mobile Disco and Hot Chip all feature among many others.
If you’re already flying to Ibiza, we’ve got the prize for you – free passes to the club on Sunday.
All you have to do to stand a chance of winning is answer this simple question:
Which of these is a traditional Ibiza drink?
A) Hierbas
B) Um Bongo
C) Irn Bru
Simply email your answer to competition@shazamteam.com stating which date you would like entry to the club.
Terms and conditions of competition: 1.Closing date for the competition is 24/06/2010. All entries after this point will be void. 2. All winners will be notified by email on 24/06/2010. 3. All correct answers will enter a prize draw and the winners selected at random. 4. There will be three winners who will each get a guestlist spot at Space on the week of their choice. 5. Guestlist spots are only available for the 2010 Space season. 6. Dates are not transferable. 7. Shazam will not pay for transport or accommodation in Ibiza. 8. There’s no cash alternative to the prize. 6. The decision of Shazam Entertainment is final. 7. Employees of Shazam Entertainment are not eligible to enter this competition
To say Hot Chip’s new music video is pretty off the wall would be something of an understatement. What starts of as a pastiche of boy-band videos – think JLS / Blue / 911 - ends up as a psychedelic battle to the death between a glowing omnipotent deity and a group of male models. Lazer beams are shot from people’s eyes, members of the crowd are vaporised and Hot Chip themselves are even wiped out.
The video is directed by Peter Serafinowicz, British comedian, writer and voice of Darth Maul from Star Wars.
‘I Feel Better’ also includes a remix from pop/dance wizard Richard X who ramps up the hands in the air elements of the original to their full potential. You can listen to a clip exclusively on the Popjustice blog.
Now in its seventh year, Rob Da Bank’s Bestival continues to stand out among the wealth of festivals that take place over the summer. After 2009’s crowd were wowed by German electro pioneers Kraftwerk, expectations were certainly high for this year. Thankfully the Radio 1 DJ has pulled yet another stroke of organisational genius and has come back with a veritable feast of musical goodness. This year’s event takes place on the Isle Of Wight on the 9th to 12th September. Headlining the opening day will be East London’s own Prince of Grime, Dizzee Rascal. Stepping up to the headline slot will surely be no problem for the rapper and no surprise for anyone who witnessed the reaction ‘Bonkers’ received during his Glastonbury set last summer. Also playing will be psychedelic pop masters The Flaming Lips, whose enchanting stage show will no doubt fit in perfectly with the festivals trippy aesthetics.
Making their fifth festival outing at this year’s event will be Hot Chip, whose appearance comes hot on the heels of fourth album, ‘One Life Stand’. If that wasn’t enough, LCD Soundsystem will also be showcasing tracks from their highly anticipated third – and rumoured to be final – album.
As always with Bestival, the headliners are just a small portion of what you will witness over the weekend; with many other bands and DJ’s equally vying for your attention amongst the masses of fancy dressed revellers and unexpected sideshow attractions. The list of acts is already jaw dropping and as the event isn’t until September – it’s only going to get better. For the full line up and ticket info, head to the Bestival website.
Not only is the Shazam Twitter page a great way for us to interact with our users, it also helps us keep up to date with the latest music news. So imagine our delight today when we noticed a conversation between electro pop mastersHot Chip and legendary Garage DJ Todd Edwards. After complimenting the ‘One Life Stand’ authors on their recent album, he was quickly asked about the possibility of a remix. While nothing has been confirmed yet, we’re sure this would be a perfect match – Hot Chip have always talked about their love for old skool garage and hearing one of their tracks matched with a trademark Edwards beat would surely be a winner. Watch this space.
To get you in the mood, reacquaint yourself with Todd’s stone cold classic, ‘Never Far From You’.
Hot Chip’s quirky brand of synth pop has seen them develop into one of Britain’s most in demand acts in the last 5 years. Their latest single ‘One Life Stand’ is the first to be taken from Hot Chip’s new album and is one of their most accomplished singles ever – no mean feat when you consider that the group’s previous hits ‘Over And Over’ and ‘Ready For The Floor’ have been cropping up in many ‘Track Of The Decade’ lists in the past few weeks. Taking its cues from oddball DFA style disco, ‘One Life Stand’ mixes a throbbing techno bassline with distorted falsetto vocals and a smattering of calypso steel drums and is probably the group’s most ambitious work. This introduction of some new musical flavours to the Hot Chip mixing pot probably has a little to do with the group’s extracurricular activities: namely the burgeoning DJ careers of several of Hot Chip’s members and the solo electronic work of Hot Chip’s keyboardist Joe Goddard. And if ‘One Life Stand’ wasn’t enough to get you in the Hot Chip mood, the group have also released the track listings for their new album which is due for release Feb 8th on Parlophone. One Life Stand Tracklisting 01 Thieves in the Night 02 Hand Me Down Your Love 03 I Feel Better 04 One Life Stand 05 Brothers 06 Slush 07 Alley Cats 08 We Have Love 09 Keep Quiet 10 Take It In
While he has also been busy preparing the forthcoming Hot Chip album, Joe Goddard has also produced his first solo effort ‘Harvest Festival’. Released on Greco Roman Records, the label that Joe helps to run and who’ve so far released singles from the likes of Buraka Som Sistema. David E Sugar, Drums Of Death & Grovesnor. Harvest Festival is Goddard’s love letter to dance music, with far less pop leanings than his output with Hot Chip. Vocals are used sparingly in the record, throbbing basslines and warped synth lines are the album’s focal point.
While the album’s title may inspire thoughts of a Neil Young tribute album, this is far from the truth. When collecting together these tracks for the album, some of which were fairly old, Joe Goddard was reminded of the strange collection of tins you’d see at Harvest Festivals – hence titles as varied as ‘Tinned Apricot’, ‘Pear Shaped’ and ‘Mango Chutney’. Arguably the albums finest moment is the opening track ‘Apple Bobbing’. Opening with an ambient keyboard loop that combines with a ’90′s UK garage beat, the songs playful melody clearly echoes the work of his ‘day job’ without simply reproducing it. ‘Harvest Festival’ Released on 23rd November.
