Kompakt might not be playing their best cards when it comes to straight-ahead dance singles, but their recent long-players have been bursting with pop personality. Iceland's Gus Gus, that quirky, resilient group lauded equally by indie (4AD) and dance (FatCat) circles, then seem the archetypal Kompakt act, and "Add This Song" could be the label's biggest crossover hit yet. Ignore the title's shameless plea to the iTunes generation and succumb, like a giddy Scandinavian teen, to those synths, vast monoliths shuddering like the stadium speaker stacks from which this tune is destined to emanate.
There's more than a touch of power-ballad earnestness to vocalist Daniel Gust's bended-knee delivery, which somehow suits the massive arrangement, as comfortable in heady Ibiza settings as on the Eurovision stage. After a hugely portentous intro the drums kick in, serving house needs, but it's all about those goosebump synthesisers, quaking with pop heartache and trance urgency; the bar is set high for their forthcoming LP 24-7.
The remixers too have a task on their hands, and while none top the original, the results are mostly decent. Lopazz and Zarook seem shy, placing mere snippets of the vocal in a blandly utilitarian mnml structure; Gluteus Maximus are bolder, framing the original around shamelessly populist Boratto hooks. Patrick Chardronnet goes for seduction, drowning the voice in streams of proggy echo, while digital-only Klovn's is arguably the finest, a neon slab of rippling Fehlmann-esque dub techno.
There's more than a touch of power-ballad earnestness to vocalist Daniel Gust's bended-knee delivery, which somehow suits the massive arrangement, as comfortable in heady Ibiza settings as on the Eurovision stage. After a hugely portentous intro the drums kick in, serving house needs, but it's all about those goosebump synthesisers, quaking with pop heartache and trance urgency; the bar is set high for their forthcoming LP 24-7.
The remixers too have a task on their hands, and while none top the original, the results are mostly decent. Lopazz and Zarook seem shy, placing mere snippets of the vocal in a blandly utilitarian mnml structure; Gluteus Maximus are bolder, framing the original around shamelessly populist Boratto hooks. Patrick Chardronnet goes for seduction, drowning the voice in streams of proggy echo, while digital-only Klovn's is arguably the finest, a neon slab of rippling Fehlmann-esque dub techno.
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Published /
Fri / 26 Jun 2009 -
Words /
Joshua Meggitt -
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Tracklist /
A1. Add This Song (Lopazzz & Zarook Mix)
A2. Add This Song (Gluteus Maximus Mix)
B1. Add This Song (Patrick Chardronnet Mix)
B2. Add This Song (Original 12" Edit)
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