Janelle Monáe Sets Up The Weekend
Dance Apocalyptic unleashes the 4 Horsemen of summer funk in a one-woman package.
IT'S BEEN BOOGIE-ing around the internet for a few days, but we couldn't think of a better way to set up a sweltering weekend (in the UK, that is) than Dance Apocalyptic, the latest slice of irresistible upbeat action from Kansas City's Ms Janelle Monáe Robinson. Ukulele, muppets and zombies collide in a having-its-cake-and-eating-it parody of TV PAs and their rent-a-trendoid studio audiences (we like the girls with birdcages on their heads at 0.56).
Typical of Monáe generally, it's eclectic, pop-sensible dance music that appears motivated by passion, invention and not cynicism. In spite of the hi-gloss patina, suspicially knockout looks and painstakingly quirky fash aesthetic there is something about her that always feels authentic. The extraordinary renaissance-progressive talents of collaborators Nate Wonder and Chuck Lightning (who can write a bit, too) can't harm, either.
"Does your food taste like plastic?" asks a speeded-up voice near the end of the song – very much a Prince-referencing gambit, and indeed we are told that Prince guests on Monáe's forthcoming album, September 10's The Electric Lady. Eyepopping visuals and 110% live performance aesthetic allied to genuine muso integrity? Seems like the two are made for each other.