Darkdancer

Darkdancer
Studio album by Les Rythmes Digitales
Released	24 May 1999
Genre	Electroclash, synthpop, hip hop, trip hop, post-disco[1]
Length	53:43
Label	Wall of Sound
Producer	Jacques Lu Cont
Les Rythmes Digitales chronology
Libération (1996) Darkdancer (1999)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
Q	[3]

Darkdancer is the second studio album released by Les Rythmes Digitales. It was first released in May 1999 but received little critical acclaim, albeit more than the band's first release, Libération. After British electronic musician Stuart Price, the sole member of Les Rythmes Digitales, began to gain attention for his collaboration with artists such as Madonna, Darkdancer was re-released on 5 September 2005 in the UK as a dual CD/DVD set that included some unreleased songs, song remixes, and the videos for "(Hey You) What's That Sound?" and "Sometimes". In a 2005 review of the album's rerelease, the BBC called it "ahead of its time", and credits the album for launching much of the electro-pop vogue of the 2000s.^[4]

Legacy

The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.^[5]

Track listing

1. "Dreamin'" – 3:33
2. "Music Makes You Lose Control" – 3:46
3. "Soft Machine" – 3:36
4. "Hypnotise" – 4:52
5. "(Hey You) What's That Sound?" – 4:12
6. "Take A Little Time" (featuring Shannon) – 3:29
7. "From: Disco To: Disco" – 3:51
8. "Brothers" – 4:08
9. "Jacques Your Body (Make Me Sweat)" – 3:30
10. "About Funk" – 5:42
11. "Sometimes" (featuring Nik Kershaw) – 4:57
12. "Damaged People" – 6:39

The U.S. edition, released on Astralwerks in October 1999, also contains the track "MDC Vendredi" as track #9.

Expanded edition

The 2005 re-release contains the videos for "(Hey You) What's That Sound?" and "Sometimes", as well as the following additional tracks on the DVD:

1. "Jacques Your Body (Make Me Sweat) (Club Mix)'"
2. "Music Makes You Lose Control (LRD Mix)"
3. "Steps Ahead"
4. "(Hey You) What's That Sound? (LRD Remix)"
5. "Energy"
6. "Sometimes (Junior Sanchez Remix)"
7. "Nancy Jamaica"
8. "Jacques Your Body (Cassius Remix Edit)"

Singles

• "Jacques Your Body (Make Me Sweat)" (21 July 1997)
• "Music Makes You Lose Control" (13 April 1998)
• "(Hey You) What's That Sound?" (24 May 1999)
• "Sometimes" (26 July 1999)
• "Jacques Your Body (Make Me Sweat)" (2nd release) (18 October 1999)
• "Jacques Your Body (Make Me Sweat)" (3rd release) (29 August 2005)

Allusions and references

References to other works

• The song "Jacques Your Body" pays homage to a song by Steve "Silk" Hurley entitled "Jack Your Body", and takes its vocal riff from Sly & the Family Stone's "Loose Booty". "This was never intended to be an '80s-sounding record," Price recalled. "It's just that I think the production style of the '80s is one of the most futuristic attitudes in production there's ever been in music. If you put on Dare by The Human League, it could have been made today. I remember playing this track at Glastonbury '98, leaping onto these Technics decks with my guitar on. I turned the turntable on and started to spin round! Amazingly, they didn't break. They're tough things."^[6]
• The song "Music Makes You Lose Control" contains a sample from Hot Streak's 1983 hit "Body Work". The same sample is used in Missy Elliott's 2005 song "Lose Control" which Price would later remix.
• The song "(Hey You) What's That Sound?" contains a sample from Skee-Lo's 1995 hit "I Wish".
• The song "From: Disco To: Disco" contains a sample from a song by Whirlpool Productions of the same name.

References in other works

• The song "Jacques Your Body (Make Me Sweat)" has featured in TV advertisements for Sunny Delight (1999) and the Citroën C4 (2005).

References

1. Paoletta, Michael (1999). Billboard Magazine: Reviews & Previews: Spotlight (Les Rythmes Digitales - Darkdancer): "[about funky and British synth-pop] two musical styles steeped in the post-disco/electro scene of New York in the early '80s". p. 30. ISSN 0006-2510
2. Allmusic review
3. Aston, Martin. "Review: Les Rythmes Digitales - Darkdancer". Q. EMAP Metro Ltd (July 1999): 122.
4. "Les Rythmes Digitales Darkdancer Review". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-05-17.
5. Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (23 March 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
6. Q, May 2001