Major Lazer is the new project from Dave Taylor and Thomas Wesley Pentz, AKA dance music demi-gods Switch and Diplo. To say that they've got the hype machine buzzing is something of an understatement. All loosely in the genre of dancehall (with some more dancey and world influences), they've been working with people including Elephant Man, Mr Vegas, Amanda Blank, Crookers, Turbulence, Ms. Thing and Vybz Kartel. On friday evening the UK's very own Annie Mac had the worldwide exclusive play of the first single Drop The Line.
Drop The Line features Mr Lexx (dancehall legend) and Sanitgold (still continuing with her very unnecessary name change) on vocals, and a 'surf rock ragga thingamajig' instrumental, in the words of Diplo himself. What this means in slightly more detailed terms is that they've taken Dick Dale's Misirlou, probably the most famous surf guitar song ever, chopped and screwed it to a fragment of it's original form, then raped it with some devastating dance hall beats and sounds of vibrating mobile phones. I'd never claim to be very knowledgable about dancehall, beyond really enjoying the handful of tracks I'm familiar with, but this is the kind of stuff I can get very excited about. With it's slick production, clever sampling and the presence of Santigold on vocals it's likely to be bothering dancefloors worldwide this summer.
Diplo's giving the track away for free (along with accapella and insturmental versions for all you bedroom DJS) over at the essential Mad Decent blog HERE, so make sure you head on over to collect it for yourself. Major Lazer are touring their live show internationally this summer, including to Bestival where I'll be in the front row dutty windin' like the best of them. If footage of their recent show at SXSW is anything to go by (check that HERE), it's going to be quite a spectacle.
One thing to remember troops, GUNS DON'T KILL PEOPLE, LAZERS DO!
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