If M.I.A.'s 'Bird Flu' is the sound of baile-funk gone mad (or as ill, as the name suggests), then this is the deranged party next door that's keeping you awake until 4 a.m. 'Gasolina' is daft, bordering on goofy, but it has a silly party charm that will rock any respectable dancefloor. Whereas 'Bird Flu' has squawks and clucks in the beat, the extended mix of 'Gasolina' has less manic percussion but adds a hefty farting bassline, which more than overcompensates. The lyrics are extremely straightforward and, oddly enough, revolve around rhymes of the word 'Gasolina', although this just adds to the tongue-in-cheek charm.
The Scottie B and King Tutt mix chops up the vocal so it becomes little more than a stab and adds a slow Baltimore club beat, which gives the track more energy and works very well indeed. Sadly, the other mixes aren't really worth bothering with: Radioclit gives it an electrohouse remix which, for me, misses the point, while the Buraka Som Sistema mix is intruiging because it's pretty much booty bass, a previous incarnation of sorts for baile funk, but unlike booty veterans DJ Godfather and DJ Assault, who excel at mindless jacking funk, this is too frenetic and all over the place to hit home.
Bonde Do Role are the first signings to Diplo's 'Mad Decent' and, if this is anything to go by, it's a label to watch. Alas for Diplo, the band's album is out soon on Domino, but the switch shouldn't put you off.
Published /
Tue, 27 Feb 2007
Tracklist: Bonde Do Role - Gasolina
1 Gasolina (Extended Version)
2 Gasolina (Scottie B & King Tutt Remix)
3 Gasolina (Bonus Beats)
4 Gasolina (Buraka Som Sistema Remix)
5 Gasolina (Radioclit Remix) | 
