Tag: Crystal Waters

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Lyon, France’s Da Break Releases a Cinematic Visual for Hook-Driven and Funky New Single

Da Break is a Lyon, France-based funk and pop project centered around its core trio, producer Bruno “Patchworks” Hovart, vocalist Jen “Hawa”  Zonou and drummer Remy Kaprielan. The act’s 2018 self-titled full-length debut established the act’s swaggering and soulful aesthetic and sound — one that drew heavily from 90s hip-hop, hip-hop soul and R&B. 

Building upon the attention their full-length debut received, the Lyon-based funk and pop act released, their full-length debut’s highly-anticipated follow-up Burning EP. Burning EP found the members of Da Break expanding upon their sound, incorporating elements of jazz, reggae, G-funk and disco — while the act’s Jen “Hawa” Zonou boldly stepped forward as a powerhouse frontperson. 

Da Break begins 2020 with the sultry, hook-driven funk bop “Miss Rosa.” Centered around shimmering synth arpeggios, a sinuous bass line, some Nile Rodgers-like funk guitar, Zonou’s self-assured and soulful vocals and a propulsive drumming, the track may arguably be the most ambitious and radio friendly they have released to date, while broaching more serious subjects in a way that brings  Crystal Waters smash-hit “Gypsy Woman,” to mind.

Directed by Arnaud Ly Van Manh, the cinematically shot video for “Miss Rosa” stars Lego Adilo, Nadine Charvolin, Nicolas Mondon, Bruno Patchwork, Julien Espinoza, Pierre Vadon and Antonin El Camino. Starting in media res, we follow a Black man being chased through the countryside by a Ku Klux Klan-like trio. The titular Miss Rosa, nervously waits for her boy to come home but we also see her make a cup of tea, pull out a shotgun and then shoot two of her boy’s tormentors. Not only is she a badass, but there’s something about racist idiots getting their comeuppance that’s entertaining to me. The video ends with an ironic yet well-deserved twist. 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

If you’ve been frequenting this site over the past few years, you’ve likely come across Brooklyn-based indie dance pop act Body Language. Currently comprised of founding members Matthew Young and Grant Wheeler, along with Ian Chang and vocalist Angelica Bess, the Brooklyn-based act can trace its origins to when its founding duo had began crafting their own mixes and relies at a weekly party they curated and DJ’d while they were both living in Hartford, CT. And as the story goes, shortly after they had started their party, they met and recruited Angelica Bees, with whom they began writing their own original material, material that wound up comprising their debut effort Speaks. 

Interestingly, once the trio of Young, Wheeler and Bees began working on their sophomore EP Social Studies, they had hooked up with Theophilus London on an album — and during those sessions, they met the band’s fourth member Ian Chang who contributes to the band’s latest effort, 2016’s Mythos.  Now, if you had stumbled across JOVM during the course of last year, you might have come across a post on “Addicted,” the first single off Mythos — and the single revealed that the quartet went through a subtle change of sonic direction as the single found the act drawing from New Jack Swing and classic house.

Recently, the Brooklyn-based dance act shared Mythos‘ closing track, “Free,” a sensual and shimmering, classic house-inspired track featuring arpeggio synths, Bees’ sultry vocals a chopped up vocal sample and propulsive drum programming to create a song that sounds as though it drew influence from Crystal Waters‘ house music classic “Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless).” But along with “Free,” the dance pop act released previously unreleased remixes of “Free” by Wrestlers and the album’s lead single “Addicted,” by Memoryy.

The Wrestlers remix of “Free,” begins with an introduction reminiscent of the introduction of Chaka Khan and Rufus‘ “Ain’t Nobody” before pairing Bees’ sultry vocals with a slick production that balances a retro-futuristic vibe with hyper contemporary recording techniques as it featuring wobbling and distorted arpeggio synths and chopped up vocal sample — and while still retaining the dance floor vibe of the original, the remix manages to push the song in a contemporary direction.

Closing out the singles package is Memoryy’s remix of “Addicted” pushes the song towards goth and industrial-leaning electronica  as tense and wobbling, arpeggio synths are paired with cowbell-led percussion and tweeter and woofer rocking beats. And in some way the remix manages to put an accessible spin on an industrial-like production, retaining the dance floor-friendliness and infectious hooks of the original.