Moloko’s song, “Sing It Back”, was massive the summer of ’99. But it was the context of my hearing it for the first time that sticks with me. It was a couple days later that I began to understood just how big it was.
I was with Christian McD in Prague. Us and a couple other friends went to a fantastic club one Saturday night. All 3 of the DJs playing that night played the song, and it just sounded better and better, with people reacting increasingly stronger each time it was spun.
At the afterparty that morning, everybody was lounging on sofas and decompressing. Suddenly, around 8am, the song re-entered the room. The dancefloor at the afters was tiny, but immediately everyone crammed onto it and floated through the song. Magical.
This was my first exposure to a disco leitmotif. Via Wikipedia, “a leitmotif or Leitmotiv is a ‘short, recurring musical phrase’ associated with a particular person, place, or idea.” Magic layered.
A few days later we were in a cab from the train station in Budapest to our hostel. The driver had a dance music station playing on the radio. And right on cue, Sing It Back. And we did.
So yea, the song was huge. And overplayed. And while it’s a classic, it isn’t a classic that can be played into eternity. It’s shelf life was short. Thankfully, Herbert has resurrected it here, and he contributed the unique attention to it that only he could.
So the song resurfaces. In yet again another context. And in it’s so doing transports me back in time, allowing me to take you to a bit of that night and hint at a series of formative experiences in my life.
The playlist embedded above is my spin. Just one of many. It heavily influenced the warmly lit lounges I created via Midjourney for use as the cover image.
If anti Spotify:
