DatA is an electronic artist from Paris, France, on the Ekleroshock label. He’s put out his first album, Skywriter, to positive reviews accompanied with great artwork and music videos, done in the 70s/80s sci-fi neon style. “Rapture” is a track that got him known before the album and features vocals from Sebastien Grainger of the now defunct dance punk band, Death From Above 1979.
.DatA – “Rapture”
“Rapture” is a sleek electro track with light synthesizers, airy lifts and a great jazzy rock guitar that solos and flies through portions of the track. Grainger croons with a spit in his mouth about a lying, cheating, no good woman. The song features solid hits on percussion for some body moving.
.Edwin Van Cleef Remix
Mr. Van Cleef starts with ominous tones here; deep presses on a piano, slow drum hits, but then moves his mix on the sunny side of life. The track’s slowed down, the vocals preciously kept the same. The mix changes DatA’s song to something for the younger generation, a melody you might have heard at a concert in the mall. Besides the breaks on the tempo and the starry tunes for some glitter, Cleef’s remix isn’t a far cry from the original.
.Marc Ustari Remix
The track starts off in a pure rock aesthetic. Just hits on a drum eventually followed by some scratching distortion, then Grainger’s vocals “I’ve been walking in the rain again,” before blowing into a heavy, grinding techno track. Ustari’s mix is made to hit hard and it does incredibly well by the ebbs and waves the song takes, trying on different styles. This is a dance track made for those dance floors with a lot of green lights churning on and off, driving everyone a little wild.
.Bestrack Remix
A track I love because it has a bunch of disco thrown in. Think early days of Daft Punk. Actually it sounds like Bestrack could’ve sampled “Around Da World.” A calm, mid tempo version of the track, filled with heavy pours of thick disco and funk, the music slightly hides Grainger’s pissed off vocals.
.Julien Milan Remix
Diverse from the others as it works itself away from the original, save for the vocals. It’s fast, with buzzing tones and dials going in all sorts of directions, cut up vocals, an abundance of drum machines and pull backs on the turntable.
Photo: C. Yoann Lemoine
