Monday 28 March 2011

Groove Armada 'Superstylin'

Chart Peak: 12

YouTube
Groove Armada are known to have a few well-known fans - but none more famous than Madonna (for whom Groove Armada have just remixed a track) and Sir Elton John (who invited them to play at a celeb-studded magazine birtday party he was hosting)... 'Superstylin' is the first single to be released from the band's third album.

If you're taking notes (and there's no reason you should be) that's the second reference in these sleeve notes to Elton John being a fan of somebody. And it's another example of a note where the actual track featured here seems something of an afterthought.

I really really hated this record at the time. I mean I genuinely couldn't bear to hear it, and when that clanking into and the sampled bass turned up, I had a physical impulse to get away from it. I don't know why that happened, maybe some repressed memory from early life or something, but thatever it is I seem to have got over it now.

The track was something of a shift in mood from the chill-out material they were previously best known for (hence the album title Goodbye Country, Hello Nightclub) with its abrupt start and reggae toasting by MC M.A.D., who possibly should have got a mention in place of Sir Elton. Probably the most distinctive feature is the deep thumping bass, which is obviously emphasised in the video. It's the reason why, like a lot of the dance tracks on this album, it's served better through proper speakers or headphones, even if it's only an online video. It's not the sort of track I go out of my way to listen to but I don't mind it now and I can see how it would work well in a club setting. I'm sort of glad this isn't the full six-minute version though.

Also appearing on: Now 44, 67, 68
Available on: Greatest Hits

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