Tag: Dilba

Dilba – Running Up That Hill

“You come at Kate Bush, you’d better not miss…”

Tim: You come at Kate Bush, you’d better not miss…

Tim: …and I don’t think she really does.

Tom: Okay, so I realise this is a big hole in my musical knowledge, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard the original of this. So to me, this sounds like a slightly-odd chilled-out dance track, and, well, we both know how I feel about that genre.

Tim: True. For those that have heard the original, though, the nice thing is that Dilba (Swedish, btw, been going 20-odd years now) has a fairly similar voice anyway, so if you weren’t really paying attention you could almost dismiss it as a remix. But it’d be a good remix, because it’s sounding all modern and everything, and a fair bit dancey but still the same gentle laid back loopiness of all the best Kate Bush songs.

Tom: Despite my dislike of the genre, there is a lot to like here. The synths that appear over the final chorus are great, in a sort of video-game-soundtrack kind of way. Yes, it is a good chorus. I went back and listened to the original, and, frankly, I prefer the modern version — but that’s because those weird keyboard sounds haven’t dated well.

Tim: Just a shame there’s no video, really, because oh boy, did Kate Bush do good videos.

Saturday Flashback: Dilba – Try Again

I remember why we didn’t do it as a Saturday Reject.

Tom: “This song was in Melodifestivalen last year,” writes reader Plupp. “It was the first song on the entire festival last year,” they continue; “…it was placed LAST but was played on loop the entire year on the radio later.”

Tim: I remember this from last year. I also remember why we didn’t do it as a Saturday Reject.

Tom: I’ll say this much, Tim; these are some ridiculous outfits.

Tom: If this placed last, then I’ve got to agree: either it’s an injustice, or there were some incredible other tracks in that heat. Aside from a slightly dodgy middle eight, this sounds like it could come off any Clubland CD. Hmm. I meant that as a compliment, but it didn’t sound like it.

Tim: Well, however complimentary that may have been, I agree with you. And that’s the issue. It’s standard, bang in the middle of the road club music, as opposed to something representative of Sweden. Any Eurovision song should carry a message of ‘this is the music we do’, and this is just a bit too generic for that.

Tom: Whoa, whoa, hold on. And we brought the ‘Dinck?* No wonder we didn’t win.

What I mean is this: it’s a proper CLUB BANGER, and perhaps that makes me like it more that I should. I want to dance to this. Maybe it’s because the backing reminds me of Caravan Palace’s superb Clash, or maybe it’s just a damn good track.

*It’s a classier nickname than “The Humper”.

Tim: Oh, it is a damn good track, and a deserved radio mainstay. It’s just not a Eurovision entry. (And FYI, the official nickname is ‘The Hump’, but we’ve already discussed that more than is necessary.)

Tom: Either way, it shouldn’t have been last.

Tim: Probably not. But it’s right that it didn’t win.

Deejay Jay vs. Dilba – I’m Sorry

Ah, Ibiza. The sun, the sea, the sand, the sexually transmitted infections.

Tim: Bored of winter? In that case, close your eyes, lie back, listen to this and be whisked off to a beach on Ibiza.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTtVHeabvvA

Tom: Ah, Ibiza. The sun, the sea, the sand, the sexually transmitted infections.

Tim: A 1996 track, redone to sound like the summer of 2003 and released in the winter of 2010, it does go on a bit without really doing anything.

Tom: It’s pleasant enough, I suppose, but it’s very much “early night in a nearly-empty club”. Floor-filler it ain’t.

Tim: Well, for that we have the source material to blame – but I like it. It’s very peaceful, it’s very relaxing, and even if you don’t like that there’s a slightly (very slightly) heavier remix for you instead (which entirely fails to kick in at 1:33).

Tom: That 1:33 moment might be the worst stall I’ve ever heard. Mind you, it’s very difficult to count as ‘heavy’ at that plodding BPM.

Tim: But I think that’s all it’s meant for – it’s never going to get anyone raving, but it will fit nicely on a few chill out compilations.

Tom: I’ve never really liked or understood ‘chillout’ dance. That’s what other genres of music are for, surely?