Darkdancer

Amazon.com
If you're one of those lucky souls blessed with the gift of synesthesia, you may not feel so lucky when listening to this album. What you'll picture in your mind's eye when you hear Darkdancer is the worst music video you've ever seen: feather-haired folks in red leather jackets with a surfeit of diagonal zippers wandering through a landscape of fluorescent geometric shapes. At the climax, everything moves in slow motion. Welcome back to the '80s. Les Rhythmes Digitales, a.k.a. Jacques Lu Cont (an Englishman despite the name), digs that woebegone decade enough to make up for everyone else's lack of enthusiasm. On what is for all intents and purposes his debut, he's aimed his arsenal of vintage analog synths at your nostalgia and pleasure zones. The result is a smooth tour of Eurythmic bass lines, vocoderizations, and a guest appearance from Canadian big-in-the-U.K. '80s singer Nik Kershaw. Considering how gimmicky the conception is, it's a surprisingly amenable listen from start to finish, though only on the astonishing single "Jacques Your Body (Make Me Sweat)" does he tweak his source material enough to make clear he's capable of keeping some distance from his silliest indulgences. --Jeff Salamon

Product Description
Every club-oriented stylistic speed-bump of the decade is right here, including the era of female dance-pop before Madonna. 13 tracks in all featuring 'Jaques Your Body', 'Sometimes' & '(Hey You) What's That Sound?'.

Tracks:

Dreamin'
Music Makes You Lose Control
Soft Machine
Hypnotise
(Hey You) What's That Sound
Take A Little Time
From: Disco To: Disco
Brothers
MDC Vendredi
Jacques Your Body (Make Me Sweat)
About Funk
Sometimes
Damaged People

Amazon.com

If you're one of those lucky souls blessed with the gift of synesthesia, you may not feel so lucky when listening to this album. What you'll picture in your mind's eye when you hear Darkdancer is the worst music video you've ever seen: feather-haired folks in red leather jackets with a surfeit of diagonal zippers wandering through a landscape of fluorescent geometric shapes. At the climax, everything moves in slow motion. Welcome back to the '80s. Les Rhythmes Digitales, a.k.a. Jacques Lu Cont (an Englishman despite the name), digs that woebegone decade enough to make up for everyone else's lack of enthusiasm. On what is for all intents and purposes his debut, he's aimed his arsenal of vintage analog synths at your nostalgia and pleasure zones. The result is a smooth tour of Eurythmic bass lines, vocoderizations, and a guest appearance from Canadian big-in-the-U.K. '80s singer Nik Kershaw. Considering how gimmicky the conception is, it's a surprisingly amenable listen from start to finish, though only on the astonishing single "Jacques Your Body (Make Me Sweat)" does he tweak his source material enough to make clear he's capable of keeping some distance from his silliest indulgences. --Jeff Salamon

Album Description

Every club-oriented stylistic speed-bump of the decade is right here, including the era of female dance-pop before Madonna. 13 tracks in all featuring 'Jaques Your Body', 'Sometimes' & '(Hey You) What's That Sound?'.

Customer Reviews:

Retro 80s Dance with Plenty to Offer.......2006-08-30

This albums spans alot of 80s synth-dance-funk stylings with updated rhythms and sounds. If you're into really high high-hats and handclaps with plenty of varied vocalists, go for it. Stand out tracks include "Music Makes You Lose Control" with its infectious multiphonic bass guitar melodies and "Sometimes" as the end-all handclap slow-groove dance anthem of 1999.

Takes me back to the 1980's.......2006-01-12

It was only obvious for me to do a review of Les Rhythmes Digitales Darkdancer album right after Madonna's Confessions On A Dance Floor album.

Les Rythmes Digitales's Darkdancer album was way ahead of it's time so people didn't know what to do with this excellent release from 1999 when it came out. Most anyone who was into electronica back when this was released they were either dancing to the euphoric beats of trance or chilling to a downbeat track in the backroom of a club.

As I listen to this album today it still sounds very fresh. Every track is very nicely produced by Stuart Price aka Les Rhy. He even brings on Shannon of Let The Musi Play fame and the Wouldn't It Be Good musician Nik Kershaw on a couple of the tracks. The album sounds like the early 1980s dance music with the added electronic elements of today. None of these tracks sound tired at all. And when you listen Take A Little Time with Shannon on vocals it takes you back not to 1999 but to 1984 when Shannon had the big hit with Let The Music Play. Or the Nik Kershaw sung track Sometimes sounds like New Wave all over again.

Darkdancer still sounds good today and it has many excellent tracks like Hypnotise, Dreamin', (Hey You) What's That Sound?, Brothers, Jacques Your Body (Make Me Sweat), Music Makes You Lose Control and About Funk. So get it if you don't have it already as it's a masterpiece.

SJ
www.beatzblog.com

Good stuff.......2005-10-08

I'm a big house fan and this is a pretty cool cd. I think it will take a few more listens to sink in though. "Sometimes" is an immediate standout however and an overall great track. What you get on this cd is a mix of house music with 80s music thrown in for something unexpected.

Nu-Disco to the max!.......2004-10-24

If you're man enough to embrace your love of the 80's and combine it with your (very possibly secret) love of bumpin' house music, then you will absolutely LOVE Darkdancer. This CD is fantastic! I have no idea how I stumbled across it, because no radio station in its right mind would play this stuff, but nonetheless, this CD gets you moving! Money back guarantee right there. Pop this in at a party and watch people start to jam. Either that, or get your ass kicked, but you'll have fun regardless.

One of a Kind.......2004-05-19

I hated the 80's with a passion (See the Human Leauge for Further Details) However, this album is unbelievably amazing!!!Im a DJ and Im into electronica, Ive progressed through various stages, starting off with Fatboy Slim and ending up with Aphex Twin. Darkdancer is a very welcome addition to the collection, it is an example of what 80's music should have been. The synths are retro and the feeling generally upbeat. My favourite track has to be "Hypnotise", that 80's diso bassline sounds great out of a pair of 18inch subs!!! Forget anything else from the 80's, buy this album!!!

Average customer rating:

Darkdancer
Les Rythmes Digitales
Manufacturer: Wall of Sound
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Big Beat | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Trip-Hop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Dance & DJ | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000AZ78RS
Release Date: 2005-11-28

Tracks:

Dreamin'
Music Makes You Lose Control
Soft Machine
Hypnotise
(Hey You) What's That Sound?
Take a Little Time
From: Disco To: Disco
Brothers
MDC Vendredi
Jacques Your Body (Make Me Sweat)
About Funk
Sometimes
Damaged People

Album Description

Limited Edition features a bonus DVD (PAL/Region 0). While his debut album ran with the Wall of Sound crowd to the detriment of some interesting ideas, Jacques Lu Cont came into his own with the second Les Rhythms Digitales album. Consider Darkdancer as Lu Cont's senior thesis in the major course of study: History of Dance Music: The Early to Mid-'80s. And give him straight A's because he's obviously done his homework and actually studied the texts, without resorting to rote memorization and subsequent regurgitation come test time. Every club-oriented stylistic speed-bump of the decade is right here, including the era of female dance-pop before Madonna (yes, it did exist) with 'Take a Little Time', an earnest little electro-groover that earns Lu Cont bonus points for utilizing the crucial '80s diva Shannon. 'Hypnotise' is a nice little electro-paranoia track to fit in with Bambaataa's 'Planet Rock' and 'Brothers' takes on streamlined dance intellectualism a la New Order (with a straining pseudo-bassline to match). The house era is probably best represented, with nods to Chicago jacking house -- complete with stuttered vocal tags -- on the standouts 'Jacques Your Body (Make Me Sweat)' and 'Music Makes You Lose Control'. Even when he strays into territory last inhabited by Level 42, as on "Sometimes" (with Nik Kershaw on vocals), a great song and a great production rescue Lu Cont from anything potentially cringe-worthy. That's the secret of Darkdancer; well-written songs and excellent production skills -- plus a sense of fun that takes no prisoners -- make artistic originality nothing more than an academician's game. The DVD features the 10 tracks including remixes of 'Jacques Your Body (Make Me Sweat)' (club mix), 'Music Makes You Lose Control' (LRD remix), 'Hey You What's That Sound' (LRD remix), 'Sometimes' (Junior Sanchez remix), 'Jacques Your Body (Make Me Sweat)' (Cassius remix edit) plus 'Steps Ahead', 'Energy', 'Nancy Jamaica' and the videos for 'Hey You What's That Sound' & 'Sometimes'. 2005.

Album Details

Special Edition of the 1999 Sophomore Album from Faux Frenchman (He's Actually British) Jacques Le Cont that is a Textbook Exercise in Great House Music. Includes "Sometimes" with Veteran Nik Kershaw on Vocals (Who also Co-wrote the Song). Filled with Some of the Best Songwriting in Dance Music, this Classic Album Has Been Augemented a Bonus Disc of Remixes of Some of Les Rythmes Digitales Best Tracks, featuring Mixes by Junior Sanchez and Cassius. Capping off the Whole Package Are the Enhanced Videos of "(Hey You) What's that Sound" and "Sometimes".

Average customer rating:

middling, but "sometimes" is a winner

Darkdancer
Les Rythmes Digitales
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Big Beat | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Trip-Hop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Dance & DJ | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00000JOJ2
Release Date: 1999-05-21

Tracks:

Dreamin'
Music Makes You Lose Control
Soft Machine
Hypnotise
(Hey You) What's That Sound?
Take a Little Time
From: Disco To: Disco
Brothers
Jacques Your Body (Make Me Sweat)
MDC Vendredi
About Funk
Sometimes
Damaged People

Album Description

1999 album for the Wall Of Sound label (Propellerheads) from French act recognized for their remixes of top modern rock, electronic & dance acts in the late '90s. 12 tracks. Comes packaged in a limited edition four panel fold out digipack. 1999 release.

Customer Reviews:

middling, but "sometimes" is a winner.......2002-09-12

"sometimes" is deliciously overwrought and insidiously catchy. "i'm caught in the back of my own throat / i'm lost in the void between the instinct and the execution..." the rest of "dark dancer" is hit or miss-- retro 80's sounds with some funky aspect, but if you're looking for daft punk keep looking.

Average customer rating:

Darkdancer
Les Rythmes Digitales
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Big Beat | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Trip-Hop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Dance & DJ | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00000K417
Release Date: 1999-10-25

Tracks:

Dreamin'
Music Makes You Lose Control
Soft Machine
Hypnotise
(Hey You) What's That Sound?
Take a Little Time
From: Disco To: Disco
Brothers
Jacques Your Body (Make Me Sweat)
MDC Vendredi
About Funk
Sometimes
Damaged People

Album Description

Limited edition pressing of the 1999 album for the Wall Of Sound label (Propellerheads) from French act recognized for their remixes of top modern rock, electronic & dance acts in the late '90s. 12 tracks. 1999 release.

Album Details

Features Remixes of Tracks Form the Bands Debut Album by Groove Armada, Kruder and Dorfmeister, Ian O'brien, Les Rythmes Digitales, and More.

Average customer rating:

Darkdancer
Les Rythmes Digitales
Manufacturer: Wall of Sound
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Big Beat | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Trip-Hop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Dance & DJ | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00004WVZ0
Release Date: 2005-09-05

Tracks:

Dreamin'
Music Makes You Lose Control
Soft Machine
Hypnotise
(Hey You) What's That Sound?
Take a Little Time
From: Disco To: Disco
Brothers
MDC Vendredi
Jacques Your Body (Make Me Sweat)
About Funk
Sometimes
Damaged People

Album Details

Re-release of the Seminal Album `darkdancer' Including the Smash Single `jacques Your Body' from the Citroen Advert. Now Includes Bonus Dvd Disc with Remixes and Videos.

Average customer rating:

Crisp Clear Clean

Darkdancer
Les Rythmes Digitales
Manufacturer: Wall of Sound
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Big Beat | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Trip-Hop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Dance & DJ | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00000JO87

Album Details

Japanese Version featuring Bonus Tracks.

Customer Reviews:

Crisp Clear Clean.......2000-05-26

I was intrigued the at the first listen of Dark Dancer, I am unaware of Digitals Background but this CD is a real stunner. The Beats have a quik power to them, and after a few listens I was hooked to there Stereo movements and 80's brand of electronica. I Love it more than ever. The Sound has a certain clarity and overwealms me with amazement, the music Is not dance but jus chillin music. Although the Music is not Justified as just background music but more music to listen to with a very intrigued state of mind. I cannot pick a Fav song cause there all complex.