"Electricity" is a song by Australian electronic music group the Avalanches. Produced by group members Robbie Chater and

Darren Seltmann Darren Richard Seltmann is an Australian singer-songwriter, musician and producer. He was a co-founder of Australian electronic music group, the Avalanches, in 1997, and appeared on their debut album, ''Since I Left You'' (2000). He married Sa ...

, it was issued as a single on 13 September 1999 as the group's first release for Modular Recordings. "Electricity" was later remixed and remastered for inclusion on the group's debut album '' Since I Left You'' (2000). The song features prominent

sample Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of s ...

s of "Rapp Dirty" by American musician

Blowfly Blowfly or blow fly may refer to: * Calliphoridae, a family of flies * Blowfly (musician) Clarence Henry Reid (February 14, 1939 – January 17, 2016) was an American musician, songwriter and producer also known by the stage name and altern ...

, as well as guest vocals from Australian singers Sally Russell and

Antoinette Halloran Antoinette Halloran is an Australian operatic soprano. Education Antoinette Halloran grew up in the Melbourne suburbs of Rosanna and Deer Park.disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

sound and likened it to the work of French electronic music duo

Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. Widely regarded as one of the most influential acts in dance music history, they achieved popularity in the late 1990s as p ...

. "Electricity" was later re-released as a single on 3 December 2001, with single releases containing remixes of the song by

DJ Harvey DJ Harvey (born Harvey Bassett) is a DJ born in Cambridge, England. He was an early exponent of the US disco/garage/house sound in the UK. Career Ersatz and transition to DJing (1978–1991) At age 13, he became a drummer for a Cambridge punk ...

and

DJ Sneak Carlos Sosa (born November 5, 1969), known as DJ Sneak, is a Puerto Rican-born American DJ and record producer raised in Chicago, Illinois, United States. He is noted as being one of the second wave of Chicago house producers, (alongside Derrick ...

Background and composition

"Electricity" was the first song from ''Since I Left You'' to be recorded. The song was produced by group members Robbie Chater and Darren Seltmann, with the former describing it as "the first number which really came together for us." It was not originally produced for the album, and was only intended for release as a one-off single. The group later included it on ''Since I Left You'' as a last-minute addition to the album after deciding that the song "still sound dgood." A

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

song with influences of

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

, "Electricity" begins with an opera solo performed by Australian

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

Antoinette Halloran Antoinette Halloran is an Australian operatic soprano. Education Antoinette Halloran grew up in the Melbourne suburbs of Rosanna and Deer Park. Her vocals repeat throughout the song, mixed with the additional vocals of Australian singer Sally Russell. The song's production features samples of "Rapp Dirty" by American rapper

and scratching by Avalanches member James De La Cruz. Also featured are the drums from " Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll" by Vaughan Mason and Crew (a track that is also sampled in "

Da Funk "Da Funk" is an instrumental track by French electronic music duo Daft Punk, initially released as a single in 1995 and later included on their debut album, ''Homework'' (1997). The song and its accompanying music video directed by Spike Jonze ...

" by

)

Critical reception

"Electricity" was met with positive reviews from contemporary music critics. Marc Savlov of the '' Austin Chronicle'' wrote that the song "rediscover the sexy summer soul of pure, funky house-play." Sam Richards of '' The Guardian'' praised Antoinette Hallorann's "Neptunian operatic overture", calling it an "unexpected delight". '' NME''s Christian Ward compared the track to the music of French electronic music duo

, writing that "Electricity" "do sthat sublime filtered disco thing as well as their French counterparts." Likewise, Anthony Bozza of '' Rolling Stone'' called the song "analog-filter disco" and likened it to "Daft Punk without the

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, "power station") is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize the ...

influence."

Release

"Electricity" was issued as a single in

12-inch The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...

format on 13 September 1999, limited to 500 copies. The single was the band's first release under Modular Recordings in Australia, having signed to the label the previous year. In the United Kingdom, Rex Records issued 7-inch singles of "Electricity" with a production run of 1,000 copies. Following the release of the Avalanches' debut album ''Since I Left You'', "Electricity" was re-released by XL Recordings as a double pack featuring a two-part 12-inch EP and an enhanced CD single. The double pack was released on 3 December 2001 in the United Kingdom. Due to the special nature of its release, "Electricity" was disqualified from inclusion on the UK Singles Chart.

Formats and track listings

1999 release

* 12-inch single (Australia) :Side one # "Electricity" # "Information" : Side two # "Let's Cheer" # "I'm Taken" * 7-inch single (United Kingdom) :Side one # "Electricity" : Side two # "Information"

2001 release

* 12-inch EP (United Kingdom – part one) :Side one # "Electricity" (edit) – 3:46 # "Electricity" (Harvey's Nightclub Re-Edit) – 6:30 :Side two # "Electricity" (Dr. Rockit's Dirty Kiss) – 6:51 * 12-inch EP (United Kingdom – part two) :Side one # "Electricity" (

's Electrix Remix) – 8:53 :Side two # "A Different Feeling" (Ernest St. Laurent Remix) – 6:07 * CD single (United Kingdom) # "Electricity" (edit) – 3:46 # "Electricity" (Dr. Rockit's Dirty Kiss) – 6:51 # "A Different Feeling" (Ernest St. Laurent Remix) – 6:07 # "Electricity" (original 7" version) – 3:48 # " Frontier Psychiatrist" (video) – 4:19

Credits and personnel

Credits for "Electricity" adapted from 12-inch EP and ''Since I Left You'' album liner notes. ;Personnel * Robbie Chater –

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

, mixing, production, sampling, songwriting * Willie Clark – songwriting ("Rapp Dirty" sample) * Guy Davie – mastering * James De La Cruz – turntables * Tony Espie – mixing *

Antoinette Halloran Antoinette Halloran is an Australian operatic soprano. Education Antoinette Halloran grew up in the Melbourne suburbs of Rosanna and Deer Park.Clarence Reid – songwriting ("Rapp Dirty" sample) * Sally Russell – vocals *

– arrangement, mixing, production, sampling, songwriting

References

{{authority control 1999 singles The Avalanches songs 1999 songs Modular Recordings singles XL Recordings singles