One of my favorite things to do is to share my favorite music artists with friends. It’s a surprisingly insightful way to learn about other people through their musical tastes. Services like Last.fm have transformed the way we share music, especially with their musical compatibility score, but you can’t replace the tangible feeling of experiencing music with friends.
My Dear Disco is a band with a unique, lasting effect. Although they fuse eclectic musical elements from electronica, pop, and techno, their music is neither overproduced nor trite. Hailing from Ann Arbor, Michigan, My Dear Disco is a seven-piece ensemble with members named Play, Stop, Eject, Rewind, Fast-Forward, Pause, and Record.
I’m a sucker for electronica fused with other random genres, so it isn’t a surprise that I love “dancethink,” My Dear Disco’s fusion of electro-pop, funk, rock, and techno. Their eclectic style is a reflection of their musical training at the University of Michigan, where they experimented with mixing instruments like bagpipes as the lead and an underlying bass techno beat. In the words of bagpipe player, songwriter and founding member Tyler Duncan,
Dancethink music to us would be, I guess in the shortest way, about having music that’s as good on the dance floor as it is in headphones, and striving to find that balance of music that’s going to make you want to get up and it’s also going to want to make you take that album home and enjoy it just as much when you’re sitting down and really just taking in all the various subtleties and nuances.
Their latest release Dancethink LP opens with “White Lies,” my favorite of the set. The beginning guitar riffs lead into Michelle Chamuel (a.k.a “Stop”)’s silky smooth yet powerful vocals and an underlying techno dance beat. The driving beat and melodic lines go straight to the hips, and pretty soon I find myself dancing, or at least bobbing my head. The song seamlessly transitions into “For Your Love,” which features some nostalgic 8-bit sound before transitioning into a Daft Punk-esque synth effect. The track also features talk boxes to mimic the Daft Punk style. But it is misleading to compare My Dear Disco to Daft Punk, because My Dear Disco brings so much more to the table in musical creativity.
Listening to their music on high quality headphones is a joy. They don’t skimp on production, and you can really hear the intricacies of their music. The tracks are also satisfyingly long, averaging 5-6 minutes. I often like to set a good song on repeat, but Dancethink LP spares me the effort. I’m looking forward to their next effort, a full album produced by Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum engineer and producer, Mark Saunders, with release date to be determined.
Top Tracks: White Lies, For Your Love, All I Do
Similar Artists: Daft Punk, Ratatat, The Postal Service, Cut Copy
