Bandwagon-jumping always makes my nose wrinkle up in distaste. When disco reached saturation point in the late seventies, bands and celebrities of all stripes made a grab for a slice of the mirror-covered pie, mostly to the disgust of fans. I would have thought Montreal duo Chromeo were too smart to dabble in the booming disco-du-jour nu-rave, but ‘Fancy Footwork Remixes’ is evidence that the allure has been too strong to avoid. The EP rounds up well-blogged teenage sensation Surkin, Tomas Barfod of Tomboy/WhoMadeWho and Turbo Recordings artist D.I.M. to rough up the Chromeo’s cheeky new single, but it’s to mostly predictable ends.
Though D.I.M.'s remix retains much of the original – albeit diced up and staggered – his is the most stereotypically nu-rave offering here, relying on the genre’s hallmark tactics: Overdriven synth riffs zip up and down the scale alongside clattering ‘Waters of Nazareth’ percussion and glitch that ensnares Dave 1's vocals into stuttering fits. Tomas Barfod's take is more nuanced and even further from the original's hopeful tone. Rippling, squelchy synths titty-twist their way into the upper octaves, recasting the tune as an acid house burner which never fully ignites. Fannypacks, however, will be kept shaking throughout. Institubes prodigy Surkin closes out the proceedings with an entirely new track focusing on the original's brief police siren sample. This remix fails to demonstrate the arranging skills he’s exerted elsewhere, and the barrage of cut-up vocals, squeaky toy vamps and scrappy drums will tire most listeners (diehards, on the other hand, will flip their shit and sound off airhorns at its ferocity). Chromeo were wise to recruit others to dip their toes into nu-rave, because as forgettable as this single may be, if your name isn’t in the brackets, you’re not to blame, are you?
Tracklist: Chromeo - Fancy Footwork Remixes
A Fancy Footwork (D.I.M. Remix)
B1 Fancy Footwork (Tomas Barfod Remix)
B2 Fancy Footwork (Surkin Rogue Teens Remix)
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