Neurotic Drum Band - U Got Me Dancin'

  • Share
  • It's a problem that most music makers would kill to have—how does a producer follow up a world-conquering club hit, particularly one as distinctive "Robotic Hypnotic Adventure?" Do you try to strike gold again by repeating yourself with a facsimile of that track, or do you head in a different direction in the hope that DJs will follow? In the case of NYC veterans John Selway and Elliot "Ulysses" Taub—together known as Neurotic Drum Band—the answer is to split the difference. The 2009 track was one of the signature moments of the ongoing piano-house revival, powered by superhooky (and monstrously huge) keyboard work; it must have been tempting to recreate the tune's magic by simply slamming out another set of Pavlovian chords on the ivories and leaving it at that. But such is not the case on the new "U Got Me Dancin'": The boys haven't forsaken their trademark instrument entirely—but for the song's original mix, they've set their way-back machine to a decade prior to piano house's '90s peak, specifically to the kind of early '80s proto-house that was coming out on labels like Streetwise and 4th and Broadway. A loping electro-boogie beat, killer synth bass pattern, Rockers Revenge-style synths and fabulously party-time vocal work from Great Weekend's Cole Williams, it's the kind of tune that would have done Arthur Baker proud. For those craving some good ol' banging keyboards, there's the aptly named Piano Party Mix, which sees the duo pounding out a set of well-chosen chords over a charging, housed-up beat and stripped-down bass. There are still plenty of '80s references—some of the piano flourishes strongly allude to the era, and you gotta love those ping-ponging hand claps—but this will likely be the mix that gets played by the retro-avoiding crowd. (For those who need things pared yet further, the package features the Piano Free Mix.) Is "U Got Me Dancin'" as ecstatic and immediately grabbing as "Robotic Hypnotic Adventure?" Probably not—what could be? But considered on its own, it sure is fun.
  • Tracklist
      A U Got Me Dancin' (Piano Party Mix) B1 U Got Me Dancin' B2 U Got Me Dancin' (Piano Free Mix)
RA