let me take you dancing

As another year comes to a close, the music market settles down for a brief period of time which allows for a few new releases to gain some maximum impact before the new year kicks in. It's an old marketing trick from way back.

This year's smash hit hopeful is "Tonight In Babylon" by Loverush UK! featuring Bryan Adams. It's not scheduled for a full release until February. So, it's being given an upfront promo push in order to capitalize on the quiet space in the calendar.



Oh yes, the gravel voiced, Canadian rocker is back, back, back! And he's no stranger to the dance and trance crowd. Cast your minds back to the summer of 1999 when Bryan teamed up with Chicane for "Don't Give Up", a bonafide dance classic. I believe the technical terms is "choon".



Please pass the poppers!

I supposed Mr. Adams is looking for a bit of a resurgence. If his new, room booming dance anthem is anything to go by, perhaps his next album should feature a more synth and rhythm combo. It's something he hasn't really attempted on a full longplayer. What has he got to lose?

middle age, distance dancing

The full video has been lensed and edited for
"Middledistancerunner", the brand new single from Chicane which features everyone's heartland electro emo pixie, Adam Young aka Owl City.

Although the video features neither artist, it does maintain Chicane's fondness for offbeat visuals bathed in an au jus of controversy. Bikini clad girl on a trampoline? Get ready for the jiggle. Here's the vid in its color saturated glory.



Not sure about the title, though. I've seen it listed as one long, unbroken word. Sometimes I've seen it listed more sensibly as "Middle Distance Runner".

Either way you slice it, the single, plucked from Chicane's current longplayer, "Giants", is another dreamy dance number from Mr. Nick Bracegirdle. Drenched in melancholy and plonky piano figures, "Middledistancerunner" is sure to please the faithful.

running with the owl

Are you ready for a dreamy, breezy summer tune for those hazy, lazy days at the beach? Get the margarita machine ready.

Chicane, the nom de plume of the enigmatic Nick Bracegirdle, returns with Adam Young, the mayor of Owl City, for "Middledistancerunner". The single is from Chicane's forthcoming longplayer, "Giants". Here's a little preview.

In fact, this album has had a longer gestation period than Sophie Ellis-Bextor's long anticipated elpee. After three singles including "Come Back", "Hiding All The Stars" and the top 10 hit, "Poppiholla", the album still remains unreleased.

"Poppiholla" was even tacked on to the end of "The Best Of Chicane: 1996 - 2008" a full year after the greatest hits collection was released.

Pull your finger out, Nick!

back to the future

Chicane returns with the follow up to "Hiding All The Stars" with "Come Back". The single, chock full of rubbery synths and a dirty, filtered loop, is scheduled to be released on April 12.

Where "HATS" incorporated the synth hook from Gary Numan's "Cars", "Come Back" samples another, 80s, classic jam in the shape of "Come Back And Stay", Paul Young's hit from 1983. Nick Bracegirdle, the man behind the Chicane name, lifts the chorus lock, stock and barrel. It even retains the background, vocal replies by The Fabulous Wealthy Tarts which made the original so unique.

As with the video clips for the previous, two singles - "Poppiholla" (an instrumental reworking of "Hoppípolla" by Sigur Rós) and "HATS" - the one which accompanies "Come Back" has a few, eyebrow raising moments. Case in point, the "French tickler" around the 1.48 mark.

Do you suppose a revival of the running man is in order?

No entry would be complete without a look back at the original videos that launch Paul Young's cheekbones into stardom.

Here's the rare, original music clip which has a couple of slightly disturbing moments. It's all a little too serious and dramatic for a Paul Young video. No wonder a second, more pleasing and somewhat wistful one was shot.

Here's the more popular, "seaside" version.

"Come Back" is taken from Chicane's forthcoming longplayer, "Giants". Paul Young's original hit features on his debut album, "No Parlez".

boxing clever

Chicane are certainly back on form. After the golden days of 1999 with massive hits like "Saltwater" and "Don't Give Up", it seems Nick Bracegirdle is on track with forthcoming single, "Hiding All The Stars", the follow up to the #7 UK single, "Poppiholla".



Natasha Andrews' beautifully haunting vocal floats over the top of the more mellow passages and then kicks into an unexpected, slightly more aggressive section featuring a replayed version of the signature, synth line from Gary Numan's "Cars". The interplay between the two disparate sections is quite astonishing.

The video and single sleeve for "Hiding All The Stars" has cause quite a bit of controversy. People thought that a woman with a black eye must be the subject of abuse. The video has ignited heated discussions in which some people are incensed by the sexist idea of the last bastion of maleness in the sport world being infiltrated.

As with the video for Chicane's previous single, "Poppiholla", first glances and assumptions should not be relied upon until the full story has unfolded. It's nice to see a bit of thought and meaning being put into music videos for a change. I, for one, am tired of the endless parade of vacuous clips.

Side note, fact fans! Did you know a chicane is an artificial feature which creates extra turns in a roadway? Apparently, they are used in motor racing and on city streets to slow cars down.

I wonder if there is a new Chicane album in the works or if they are going to strip "Hiding All The Stars" on the current, greatest hits collection. If they add the song to the existing tracklisting, it would be the third edition of "The Best Of Chicane: 1996-2009" to be released this year.