Today is the birthday of one of my biggest musical influences Nile Rodgers. When a Chic record comes on you can’t help but smile. I could even go as far as to say to say you’re going to dance. When I need to get my day started right, “Let’s Dance” by David Bowie has to be cranked up to full, and I’m talking about the album version. “Le Freak” reminds me of my childhood, and in looking for this record later in life it’s helped me to discover old friends and unlock core memories. Which leads me on to this track.
This is apparently Nile’s favourite track he wrote on the daft punk album Random Access Memories and I can hear why. Let’s break it down.
It starts off with a bassline that’s low and rumbles courtesy of Nathan East, you can really feel it in your belly. Under that you’ve got one hell of a groove from John Robinson on drums, which is then joined by THAT guitar lick! You get Pharrell’s falsetto coming in and it sits all so perfectly. But my favourite bit comes in at 1:14 with the toms pumping. Wow! What a build! It’s more effective than a drum fill, it makes me want to air drum.
One other thing I want to point out is when Pharrell has this bit where he sings lose yourself to dance (and guitar) and whenever I sing along to this I always throw that in- albeit in the wrong place but it’s in there! Finally the vocoder part is so much fun to listen to! I hear that Daft Punk have vintage vocoders and listening to this again makes me want to start using one.
This is a fun track to listen to and guaranteed to put a bounce in your step.
This song came out as part of Daft Punk’s “Random Access Memories” album, which was released in 2013. This album is certifiably my favourite album of the 21st century, and you can quote me on that.
Happy birthday Nile. I’m going to be playing this full blast.
