Thanks To Julie on D.

loving this..

XOLondon on Will Young’s collaboration with Groove Armada.

Will Young is one of the few out, gay male pop success stories, that much is true. But his music is often a bit…neutered. While he’s done suggestive videos like Switch It On, he’s never really cut loose vocally. It’s a great irony, since a large number of his fans want nothing more than to hit it hard with Will. He’s already told the press his next album will be a big gay – my words, not his – dance record. Remixes over the years, like Fred Falke’s reinvention of Grace, suggest his diva vocals are just right for the bump and grind of the dancefloor. Will’s new collaboration with Groove Armada, History, is further proof. It has a balls out vocal (filtered through effects) that suggests something Will rarely serves up: the desire to have sex with you NOW. The track closes Armada’s new Black Light album, out March 1, and makes us sweaty and tingling for more.

And thanks to the other Julie too!

In the studio working on Mens AW11/12 colours listening 2 the new Groove Armada album & inspired on all fronts; last track is a killer!

:cheer:

Thanks for bringing over those great comments SWF.

Thanks SWF - loving all the feedback. :dance:

Review posted by Julie (Will for me) on D

Groove Armada – “Black Light” – Album Preview

 

 

 

A lot has been said and written about the forthcoming new – Groove Armada – album – “Black Light” – which officially hit the racks on 2nd. March!

 

It’s certainly been a long time coming considering first single – “I Won’t Kneel” – surfaced towards the tail end of Summer 2009. Since then a string of juicy bits from the album have filtered through to keep the hordes happy – “Paper Romance” (their current single!) – and the Bryan Ferry collaboration – “Shameless”, which have both previously featured here on Space Dust.

 

Today the album landed on my desk, and I’ve spent the day in its company – letting it wash over me as they say! So what’s it like ?

 

Like most albums – things take time, and in reality I wasn’t particularly impressed this morning, but on third listen it clicked in, and there are some real golden moments included. Of course you also get your average US-geared, stadium-aimed rawk stuff, which should see some punching in the air. Nevermind!

 

Considering I’ve previously featured the Bryan Ferry collaboration I decided to highlight two tracks which sticks out – “Just For Tonight” – and closing opus – “History” – which both appear to come from the drawer of atmospheric Indie-Pop as the Ferry collaboration. Especially – “Just For Tonight” – seem destined for a third or fourth single (you read it here first!), whereas – “History” – has an appealing Nu-Disco’ish, 80’s Boogie vibe to it with a topnotch vocal to boot!

Let these tickle your tastebuds, and couple it with the singles, and you should have a fairly good picture!

:cheer: i think it's from the US too..have asked Julie for the info.

Loving all the positive feedback this track is geting. :D Thanks for bringing it across Bev.

Thanks to Sandra.

 

Tuesday, 16 February 2010

Groove Armada feat. Will Young - History

Black Light, the new album from Groove Armada due out next week, is a hefty slice of eighties electronica married to rock guitars featuring the likes of Bryan Ferry (Roxy Music) and Nick Littlemore from Empire of the Sun. One of the album highlights is the collaboration with Will Young which closes proceedings, a brilliant track called History. Swathes of synthesizers and cold electronic beats underpin Young's filtered voice with wonderfully high falsettos on the chorus, borrowing very heavily from Bronski Beat/Jimmy Somerville's Small Town Boy both in terms of synth chords and vocal performance. It is the first fruit of Young's collaborations with Groove Armada and bodes very well for a rumoured all 'dance-pop' album scheduled for later this year. I have always thought his voice would be well-suited to an edgier electronic sound, especially after the superb Fred Falke remixes of his promo single Tell me The Worst from last year's Let It Go album and History feels like further vindication. Whether it will appear on this future album is anyone's guess, though I hope to hear it remixed as a future single. Will Young is also said to be working with Superbass and Gregg Alexander (New Radicals).

 

 

http://pviktor.co.uk/p_viktor_/2010/02/gro...ng-history.html

Thanks to Julie(will4me) on Devoted for finding this - nice little mention of Will: http://www.virgin.com/music/red-room/groov...are-really-like

 

Thanks to Julie(will4me) on Devoted for finding this - nice little mention of Will: http://www.virgin.com/music/red-room/groov...are-really-like

 

Thanks munchkin.

 

Here's another great find by Julie.

 

BBC Review.

 

Groove Armada emerged from the dance explosion of the early 90s to find themselves soundtracking a thousand adverts. Since the ubiquity of At the River though, they have chosen to move away from the coffee table and towards the club with tracks such as the reggae-inflected Superstylin’. Black Light, their sixth album, finds them enlarging their repertoire to relax into wider influences. In the absence of a frontman they are aging well.

 

With the dance genre competing with late 90s RnB for the largest phone bill for guest artists, this album is predictably a collaborative effort. Influences this time include Italo-disco, and notably The Human League on Cards to Your Heart: the sound of machines happily entertaining themselves. This album understands dance music is as much about the getting ready and the come-down as it is the club, and its slightly chaotic first half echoes the sound of home drinking, shared hairdryers and waiting mini-cabs.

 

However, it settles halfway through, with the band wisely presenting the best song to their most illustrious collaborator, Bryan Ferry. The perpetual lothario effortlessly inhabits the midnight ache of Shameless, sharpening his seduction across a slow electro burn. Fall Silent, featuring as it does Nick Littlemore, beautifully echoes the shining soft-rock sweep of Empire of the Sun. However, some ideas thrown at the wall to see if they stick actually crash right through. The brutal beats of Not Forgotten are reminiscent of, though less eloquent than, former contemporaries Leftfield.

 

Groove Armada's weaknesses remain, with some ideas failing to stretch across entire songs. Warsaw says little for the 40 songs not making the cut, although the elegant New York indie of Just for Tonight easily compensates. It’s a shame this set only finds its groove halfway through, and that in places the production feels rushed. The closing lullaby, the Bronski Beat-esque History, which features a gorgeous and preconception-busting vocal from Will Young, best demonstrates the way forward: less is more.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/b8rj?ut..._medium=twitter

 

Also great to see Will listed first as a guest vocalist.

 

http://www.groovearmada.com/#news--article...d-signed-albums

Edited February 17, 201015 yr by truly talented

Thanks TT - was just about to post that -

Edited February 17, 201015 yr by munchkin

Great feedback from non Will fans on DS.

 

In terms of a 1st time listen thats one of the best dancefloor tracks i've ever heard this decade.

I've only just discovered this track and I absolutely LOVE it. Gotta say, I was pretty shocked to learn it's Will Young doing the vocals . I ain't no Will Young fan but he sounds awesome on this.

 

I don't own any Will Young albums however if this is the direction he's going in then i'll be first in line to buy his next release. Absolutely fantastic! His voice is incredible on this. I've been getting friends to listen to it and they too have been raving about it and they're not fans either.

 

:dance:

Great feedback from non Will fans on DS.

:dance:

Loving those comments TT....DS you say? :huh: ..blimey :lol:

Loving those comments TT....DS you say? :huh: ..blimey :lol:

 

Yes :o & here's another

 

It definitely does that for me. The falsetto in the chorus is gorgeous - really makes the whole track stand out.

Brilliant TT...surprising from there though :lol: still..stranger things have happend..this from a post on PJ. :huh:

Groove Armada feat. Will Young - History.

 

Track of the year so far.

:lol:

Edited February 18, 201015 yr by Sweetwilliamfan

Thanks Bev. Don't think I can top that one. :P

Thanks to Sandra on Devoted.

 

There's a review of Black Light in the Sun today and it gets 4.5 out of 5

They've only singled out 3 tracks, here's what they say about History ,

 

'The wonky eighties synth-pop of History, featuring Will Young, sounds like the greatest track Depeche Mode never wrote.'

Thanks TT -

Thanks TT, I'm amazed and very pleased at how nearly every reviewer has picked out History as one of the highlights on Black Light. :D

Thanks to cocopop on Devoted for this :D

 

Big 2 page spread on GA in my local paper last night, with a mention and a piccy of his nibs.

 

In the middle of the article , where it's talking about the singers who collaborated, it says

 

'most people may have done a double take at seeing WY's name on that list. WY, the product of reality tv, best know for churning out soulful pop, appearing on a Groove Armada record? But Tom (Findlay) believes he fits perfectly. Basically, Andy's done some writing with him. The two of them had a few nights out partying in Ibiza and he's really like one of us - a nice guy who was really up for it, and at the point in his career where he wanted to do something a bit different.He was really helpful in making sure we got clearance for his vocals'

 

It goes on to say that Will won't be joining them on tour.

 

He didn't want another problem like the Dreamkatchers had I expect :P

Thanks munchkin. I expect the label were quite keen in allowing an introduction to Wil's new sound though I doubt the material on album 6 will be quite so radical.

 

I think Will realised he needed to do something different when working on his 4th album (given the mixed messages we received about it's content) but for some reason the label decided to play it safe.

Thanks munchkin. I expect the label were quite keen in allowing an introduction to Wil's new sound though I doubt the material on album 6 will be quite so radical.

 

I think Will realised he needed to do something different when working on his 4th album (given the mixed messages we received about it's content) but for some reason the label decided to play it safe.

 

 

I agree. I have to say I wasn't expecting anything very far from his roots with #4 but was a bit taken aback when those "old skool" songs didn't materialize. He has said that #6 will still be "pop" though so, again, I'm not expecting it to all sound like History because he's been writing with other musicians apart from GA. I just hope those who love History won't be disappointed if there isn't very much more of the same, but he did say that he had been writing for some time and the songs weren't the sort he'd put on a "Will Young" album i.e. imo mainstream. He's called #6 his "niche" album so I'm really looking forward to hearing what he's been squirrelling away for the past four years :P

 

P.S. I just hope that people will remember that Black Light is a GA album not a WY album and, by it's very nature, Will 's will have a totally different feel.

Edited February 19, 201015 yr by munchkin