We mostly know Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle for the immaculate, synth-leaning indie pop they make together under the names Jay Arner and Energy Slime, but it just so turns out that they've been hiding some series Much Video Dance vibes all along. Today, we are thrilled to share "Bongo Dance," the first music video from their stunning Euro-inspired pop group Auto Syndicate.
The impossibly addictive song may feel like a joke at first, but it's also arguably the strongest entry in Canada's 2020 pop canon. There's also a part where Jay Arner raps.
Here's what Delisle had to say about this magical creation:
Back in March our friend Tom Whalen (a.k.a Tommy Tone) was doing Instagram live videos as a '90s dance music DJ character named DJ Scraaatch. He played all the hits — Vengaboys, Prozzäk, etc. — but unfortunately Instagram kept shutting down his streams. He announced that the next set would be all royalty free music. Jay and I decided to make a Eurodance song so he could premiere it on there without triggering the copyright bots. We wrote and recorded the song on Jay's birthday, a few days after everything went into lock down here. DJ Scraaatch's next set wound up being all public domain music: classical, Scott Joplin (who fully rocks), Gregorian chant and 'Bongo Dance.' After that it was played on KEXP, podcast live streams, and was shared widely as an email attachment. We shot the music video in our apartment one night in May and then sat on it for a long time because it felt ridiculous to release something so upbeat. It still feels ridiculous but that's sort of the point.
There is nothing ridiculous about "Bongo Dance." Watch the video below via Mint Records.
The impossibly addictive song may feel like a joke at first, but it's also arguably the strongest entry in Canada's 2020 pop canon. There's also a part where Jay Arner raps.
Here's what Delisle had to say about this magical creation:
Back in March our friend Tom Whalen (a.k.a Tommy Tone) was doing Instagram live videos as a '90s dance music DJ character named DJ Scraaatch. He played all the hits — Vengaboys, Prozzäk, etc. — but unfortunately Instagram kept shutting down his streams. He announced that the next set would be all royalty free music. Jay and I decided to make a Eurodance song so he could premiere it on there without triggering the copyright bots. We wrote and recorded the song on Jay's birthday, a few days after everything went into lock down here. DJ Scraaatch's next set wound up being all public domain music: classical, Scott Joplin (who fully rocks), Gregorian chant and 'Bongo Dance.' After that it was played on KEXP, podcast live streams, and was shared widely as an email attachment. We shot the music video in our apartment one night in May and then sat on it for a long time because it felt ridiculous to release something so upbeat. It still feels ridiculous but that's sort of the point.
There is nothing ridiculous about "Bongo Dance." Watch the video below via Mint Records.
