Playground Games and Xbox Games Studios' much-anticipated Forza Horizon 5 was released this week, and to celebrate, we're highlighting some of our favourite artists featured on the game's soundtrack.
This week's Forza Featured Track is the frenetic, funky "Cool Up," from L.A.'s De Lux. The band's elastic, punk-influenced disco workouts have always been hard to pin down, and the unpredictable "Cool Up" is an appropriately zig-zagging soundtrack for a game as surprising as Forza Horizon 5.
De Lux first landed in 2014 with their debut record Voyage, a kaleidoscopic swirl of post-punk, disco, and shimmering funk. Since then, they've only grown more adventurous and more adept at translating their weird little corner of the dancefloor, crafting songs that lock into grooves with ease and buck them just when things get too comfortable. 2021's glimmering, three-song Uneven EP manages to find brand new textures in their sound, and shows that seven years in, their horizons are only expanding.
Frontperson Sean Guerin says that they're stoked to be on the soundtrack of the year's biggest racing game, though he says there's at least one person who's more excited than they are.
"My 11 year old nephew loves Forza, so when I told him "Cool Up" would be in it, he freaked out," Guerin says. "Now he wants to race me to my own song."
Racing his nephew on Horizon 5's winding speedways is one thing, but having "Cool Up" on the soundtrack also got Guerin thinking about his favourite real-world drive — and the perfect song to play along the way.
"If I could pick a road destination it would be Weed, CA," he says. "It's a great drive up north the West Coast. Every tour we look forward to it because of a specific BBQ spot. And they got really cheeky t shirts for sale"
And as for the ideal soundtrack to this BBQ excursion?
"'Still You' by Peter Gordon. The whole song is just a conversation over some very melancholy funk, but it sounds and moves like a road trip," Guerin says.
You can check out "Cool Up," plus a playlist of the entire Forza Horizon 5 soundtrack along with the game's trailer below.
You can order Forza Horizon 5 here
This week's Forza Featured Track is the frenetic, funky "Cool Up," from L.A.'s De Lux. The band's elastic, punk-influenced disco workouts have always been hard to pin down, and the unpredictable "Cool Up" is an appropriately zig-zagging soundtrack for a game as surprising as Forza Horizon 5.
De Lux first landed in 2014 with their debut record Voyage, a kaleidoscopic swirl of post-punk, disco, and shimmering funk. Since then, they've only grown more adventurous and more adept at translating their weird little corner of the dancefloor, crafting songs that lock into grooves with ease and buck them just when things get too comfortable. 2021's glimmering, three-song Uneven EP manages to find brand new textures in their sound, and shows that seven years in, their horizons are only expanding.
Frontperson Sean Guerin says that they're stoked to be on the soundtrack of the year's biggest racing game, though he says there's at least one person who's more excited than they are.
"My 11 year old nephew loves Forza, so when I told him "Cool Up" would be in it, he freaked out," Guerin says. "Now he wants to race me to my own song."
Racing his nephew on Horizon 5's winding speedways is one thing, but having "Cool Up" on the soundtrack also got Guerin thinking about his favourite real-world drive — and the perfect song to play along the way.
"If I could pick a road destination it would be Weed, CA," he says. "It's a great drive up north the West Coast. Every tour we look forward to it because of a specific BBQ spot. And they got really cheeky t shirts for sale"
And as for the ideal soundtrack to this BBQ excursion?
"'Still You' by Peter Gordon. The whole song is just a conversation over some very melancholy funk, but it sounds and moves like a road trip," Guerin says.
You can check out "Cool Up," plus a playlist of the entire Forza Horizon 5 soundtrack along with the game's trailer below.
You can order Forza Horizon 5 here
