Monday 6 August 2012

Rudimental - "Feel the Love"



There are a number of reasons this is my favourite song at the moment.

Firstly, despite being extremely accessible, it has a number of features that make it completely unlike everything else in the charts right now. I mean it's a drum 'n' bass type groove with electronic synth stabs that also features churchy organ, a trumpet solo and a horn section. Up and coming singer John Newman does his best white boy Otis Redding impersonation.
It actually sounds like it has real live people playing instruments on it. Which sounds unremarkable in itself, except that everyone else that is a hit at the moment seems like it is purposefully avoiding sounding remotely organic.

The video is cool, too. The images of inner-city black kids riding horses might seem fanciful, but in fact it depicts the very real Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club, in North Philadelphia. There's a really interesting article about it from a few years ago, here.

Mostly, I just like that a song that feels unique, and real, is somehow a big hit around the world (number 1 in the UK, number 3 in Australia). I first heard this at my gym, which plays Channel V all day and all night, and this song was sandwiched in between an ocean of music that was either mediocre (Maroon 5, Katy Perry, Rihanna) or really f*cking horrible (Flo Rida, Chris Brown, Pitbull, more Flo Rida). Not since Gnarls Barkley's Crazy has something this different and awesome been so high in the charts that I can recall.

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