Sometimes I wonder if bands love or hate Fred Falke. Imagine you write, record, and release a song. A good song. Imagine then, that some swanky French guy takes your song, fiddles with it, a makes it into a bangin’ dance track. You’d hate him a little bit, wouldn’t you? Well, he’s done it again. Fred Falke, known predominantly for his work with French Touch bass god Alan Braxe, dropped his remix of Pompeya’s “90” last week, and it’s damn fine.
Pompeya is a four-piece synth-pop group from Moscow, who recently released their debut LP Tropical on Brooklyn label No Shame. “90″ is a great song to begin with; it’s light yet textural, mellow, and sexy…a bit like The Beegees on opium.
Then Fred Falke dressed it up in his signature disco-robe, and got us all dancing. In a way this remix sums up Falke’s body of work in under 6 minutes. The track starts off with a synth pulse, simultaneously steady and light. In come the keys, drums and a richer, more sinister melodic undertone. The song pauses at 1:06, and right at 1:09 emerge the toned-up, sparkly synths, which sweep in, followed by breathy vocals. Around minute three the robot chorus fleshes out the track: a vocal effect reminiscent of French House giants Daft Punk.
I can’t wait to dance to this live on 12/12 at Le Poisson Rouge. Until then, I’ll have to keep dancing in my chair.
Listen to “90” here, via Soundcloud: