Darkdancer

Les Rythmes Digitales | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 5, 1999)
• Original Release Date: October 5, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Astralwerks
• ASIN: B0000206B3
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #36,140 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #27 in Music > Dance & DJ > Big Beat

Editorial Reviews

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?'.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Let The Music Play, November 29, 1999

By 

culturecritic (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Darkdancer (Audio CD)

This album is a great throw back to the 80's electro-funk sound. Rather than messing with the style, this album is a continuous mix of thumpin' basslines and catchy riffs that sound like the best of the mid 80's. If you are wondering what kind of music must have inspired the sound of this album, consider the appearance of 80's electro-funk diva Shannon (of "Let The Music Play" fame) on the record. She co-wrote her song on the album "Takes A Little Time" and it sounds like it could have been plucked from one of her earlier recordings. Bliss.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 80s CHEESE AIMED TO PLEASE, June 7, 2001

By 

bowery boy (seattle) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Darkdancer (Audio CD)

I played this CD once for my friend eric and he hated it saying that it sounds like really bad 80s music, well obviously he didn't "get it". That's the whole point to this CD, it's a retro 80s sound that harkens back to a more innocent time of electronic music when it was wasn't called 'electronica' but rather 'techno'.

I got into this CD after seeing the video to '(hey you)what's that sound'. picture a parachute pant, Michael Jackson leather jacket wearing Jacques be-boping his way through the streets of NYC carrying one of those keyboard guitar things followed by a group of 80s fashion disaster clad people (we're talking leg warmers, sweatsuits, terry cloth headbands and that god awful color combination of heather grey and pink)culminating with a breakdance contest and you pretty much get the feeling of this CD.

It's cheese but it's good cheese and much fun to listen to. If nothing else buy this CD for the excellent song 'sometimes'. It's a dead ringer for soft cell and if you didn't know that it was les rhythmes you definitely would think that it was soft cell even down to the male vocalist who sounds remarkably like mark almond (although i don't think it's him).Definitely my favorite track that has been set on 'repeat' on my stereo.

Buy this only if you can look back on 80s music fondly. If you hate the 80s and everything about it, then steer clear of this release.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Get out your roller skates!, December 5, 1999

By 

"derrickclevenger" (Cincinnati, OH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Darkdancer (Audio CD)

This is one of my favorite CDs that I've heard in the last year. If you don't end up loving it, you're at least guaranteed to think it's pretty funny.

This is just one of those records you can't really intellectualize. You hear it, you love it or you hate it. It's all about fun fun fun and, for me, took no work at all to enjoy or "get into".

For the late 90's, this was a very bold album to produce. So much pressure is put on electronic artists to sound absolutely new and completely groundbreaking, and this record isn't only tinged with 80's influences-- it often sounds like it was made IN the 80's.

Most of these tracks are wonderful, I only find two to be unlistenable "Soft Machine" and "From: Disco To: Disco". The second to last, "Sometimes" is one of the most-played songs in my apartment.

Get this CD!