Charli XCX returns to her Raver routes with the new single 'Von Dutch' taken from the forthcoming album Brat.
The track comes as the first taste of her 6th Studio Album 'Brat', a departure in sorts from previous efforts of 2022's Crash and the hyperpop bedroom style of 2020's How I'm Feeling Now. The track feels somewhere between the Debut True Romance and A.G. Cooke helmed moody Electronica of 2017's Pop 2.
The lyrics of the track deal with Charli's own perception of her status in the music industry, fashion industry and as a 21st century superstar. The short lived luxury fashion brand Von Dutch was adored by fellow superstars in the 90s. It's trucker hats could be found exclusively on the heads of the Y2K fashion era stars. She states :
'It's okay to just admit that you're jealous of me
You're obsessing, just confess it 'cause it's obvious
I'm your number one'
It's no secret that Charli's style has had influence on plenty of artists, not only as a nutorious songwriter, but her image and sonic choice can be seen as nothing short of impactful on pop music in todays era.
Very few popstars have leaned so shamelessly into Dance/Electronic music as Charli XCX, right from her debut mixtape Heartbreaks and Earthquakes, Charli has been one step ahead in her left of field Dance Pop world.
Pre-signing a major label days were spent at Rave clubs around the UK as a child with her parents, this sonic feeling has carried through her career but as she stated on X (FKA Twitter) :
i was born to make dance music.. i came from the clubs.. xcx6 is the album i’ve always wanted to make.
Prehaps what is most intriguing about the track is the use of the sample of a cult UK Electro House track, 'Yeah Yeah' by the Bodyrox & Luciana :
The detuned Oscilator of producer D Ramirez found in Yeah Yeah is found throughout the EASYFUN produced track. The similarities between the tracks are also found within the lyrcial content. Luciana exclaims 'I can teach you a thing or two...' as she helmed the clubs back in 2007 with an impressive feature run.
The track peaked as number 2 on the UK singles Chart, at the time of University Clubbing and Motorola phones, something fairly reminiscent of Skins. The Clubland era of raving has found itself more and more at the forefront of Pop samples today, as the BPM of music is pushed forward more and more, exploring more club heavy synth's. If Von Dutch is anything to go by, Brat is set to be a cocky swing at one of Pop music's most exciting inovators, with collaborations with A.G. Cooke, Easyfun, Gesaffelstein and Hudson Mohawke. It is set to be released in summer of 2024.
Listen here :
