French producer Sebastian Tellier’s recent third album ‘Sexuality’ was notable in that it was the first record where Tellier had decided to work with an outside producer, in this case Daft Punk’s Guy-Man de Homem-Christo, someone who certainly shares his love for all things retro-disco. This third single to be lifted from the album ‘Kilometer’ sees all the Tellier trademarks from preceding albums like ‘Politics’ firmly intact, offering up a retrofied slice of electro-cabaret pop that’s all bright analogue synths, clicking drum machines and phased eighties-styled vocals, complete with knowingly cheesy chorus hook packed in (“She’s touching my body”). Like Jimi Tenor, it’s a little hard to tell just how sincere or facetious Tellier’s trying to be here, but either way, it’s certainly well-arranged stuff that soon works its way into your subconscious against your greater will.
As for the remixes, scratch prodigy turned Kanye West associate A-Trak shifts things towards disco-house complete with orchestral flourishes, dropping in some crisp Chicago house snares whilst delaying out the original vocal, before Aeroplane opt for a shimmering Italo-house trajectory on their remix, applying judicious levels of vocoder as they send the synth stabs rippling out against distorted funk riffs. Both certainly offer fairly solid dancefloor fuel, but in this case I have to confess that my favourite remix here comes from Arpanet, who strip things right back, sending sparse, jittering rhythms and porn moans echoing out over the sort of dark, icy synth atmospheres you might hear on a Dario Argento soundtrack. Indeed, it’s worth the price of entry here alone.
Chris Downton
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