Dumbfounded. Overwhelmed. Completely obsessed. These may be words needed to excuse and explain the imminent gawking every listener will most likely experience during “We Are Ready.” It’s not a song: It’s a dedication to a genre-less world, where Britney Spears, Claude Debussy, Hot Chip, and Ludacris can all be the best of friends.
It is our pleasure to introduce you to Dancefloor Diplomacy. The experimental duo, which strongly supports creative inclusion and a frequent band member turnover, turned into a 20 person band for the purpose of “We Are Ready.” No man out. No instrument left behind. The track was recorded completely live (no sampling), and touches upon 38 different songs often featuring well over 10 instruments simultaneously, including a small choir of voices.
The 38 songs heard within “We Are Ready” are (video below):
Aphex Twin “Jynweythek Ylow” • Blur “Song 2” • Britney Spears “Toxic” • Broken Social Scene “Pacific Theme” • Claude Debussy “Clair de Lune” • Deerhunter “Desire Lines” • DMX “What’s My Name” • Dr. Dre “Kush” & “What’s the Difference” • DJ Shadow “Building Steam With a Grain of Salt” • Fabolous “Breathe” • Flying Lotus “Massage Situation” • Franz Schubert “Der Doppelganger” • Fugees “Ready or Not” • Girl Talk “Hold Up” • Holy Other “Touch” • Hot Chip “Ready for the Floor” • Joanna Newsom “Peach Plum Pear” • Julee Cruise “Falling” • King Harvest “Dancing in the Moonlight” • Lady GaGa “Telephone” • Lee Erwin “Thief of Baghdad” • Ludacris “Move” • Massive Attack “Teardrop” • Mount Kimbie “Maybes” • Nas “Represent” • Otis Redding “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” • P. Diddy “Bad Boys For Life” • Ratatat “Seventeen Years” • RJD2 “1976” • The Bloody Beetroots “Butter” • TV on the Radio “Staring at the Sun (EP Version)” • White Stripes “Seven Nation Army” • Yasunori Mitsuda “Wind Scene”
As if testing where the ice breaks, the team begins with Joanna Newsom’s delicate “Peach, Plum, Pear,” letting it glide into a horn-carried version of Dr. Dre’s “What’s the Difference.” Then, we get a familiar taste of Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” around the 3 minute mark, leading into a first tease of “Seven Nation Army” somewhere around 5:20, only becoming fully recognizable a minute later. Subjectively speaking, it is the arrival and classical effect of “Clair de Lune” that clinches this project’s beauty. At its debut at Manhattan’s Lower East Side’s Anthology Film Archives, early last March, the song and video accompaniment (see above) received critical acclaim. What they call it?: “Collage music.” What we call it? Our new favorite band.
Alas, the group has left us to wonder when their debut single will drop, but we desperately hope it is in the very near future. For now, happy listening!
www.dancefloordiplomacy.com
