"Magic Carpet Ride" is a song by British duo Mighty Dub Katz, which consisted of DJ, musician and record producer

Norman Cook Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known by his stage name Fatboy Slim, is an English musician, DJ, and record producer who helped to popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. In the 1980s, Cook was the bassist f ...

and his former flatmate Gareth Hansome (a.k.a. GMoney). It was first released in 1995 and is their biggest hit to date, peaking within the top 10 in Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland. The song contains a sample of Chakachas' recording "Yo Soy Cubano" from 1970, and Sandee's recording " Notice Me" from 1988. The male vocals are based on

Laid Back Laid Back is a Danish electronic music duo group from Copenhagen, formed in 1979. The duo consists of John Guldberg (vocals, guitar, bass) and Tim Stahl (vocals, keyboards, drums, bass). They are best known for the hits " Sunshine Reggae" and ...

's "

White Horse A white horse is born predominantly white and stays white throughout its life. A white horse has mostly pink skin under its hair coat, and may have brown, blue, or hazel eyes. "True white" horses, especially those that carry one of the dominant ...

". A black-and-white

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was shot to accompany the song.

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' wrote that this "kitchen-sink instrumental from the ever-experimental mind of producer

combines elements 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 ...

and merengue-with the occasional splash

electro-pop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...

. The end result is a quirky, but endearing jam that will enjoy a nice run on the turntables of adventurous DJs." He also concluded, "File this one under "happy

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

" and twirl on, children." Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' described the song as a "

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

house trinket". On the 1997 re-release, Daisy & Havoc from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

s ''RM'' Dance Update gave it five out of five, adding, "This brilliant unusual track should be a surprise to very few people – it's been around for years. ..Presumably they're after a summer hit with this one and it's well deserved – nothing else sounds like it or lasts like it."

Chart performance

"Magic Carpet Ride" enjoyed massive success in both clubs and on the chart all over the world. It peaked at number-one on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Dance/Urban chart in Canada in January 1996, with one week at the top. In Europe, the single charted within the top 10 in Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland. In Norway and Austria, it reached the top 20, while it was a top 30 hit in Iceland, Sweden and the UK, where it peaked at number 24 in 1997. On the

Eurochart Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

, the song reached its highest position as number 33 in March 1996.

Impact and legacy

Tomorrowland Tomorrowland is one of the many themed lands featured at all of the Magic Kingdom styled Disney theme parks around the world owned or licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Each version of the land is different and features numerous attractions t ...

voted "Magic Carpet Ride" number 97 in their official list of "The Ibiza 500" in 2020.

Track listing

* 12" single, Germany (1995) #"Magic Carpet Ride" (Ulti-Mix) – 6:02 #"Magic Carpet Ride" (Son of Wilmot Mix) – 7:29 * CD single, Europe (1995) #"Magic Carpet Ride" (No Comprende Edit) – 3:50 #"Magic Carpet Ride" (Ulti-Edit) – 3:58 #"Magic Carpet Ride" (Ulti-Mix) – 6:02 #"Magic Carpet Ride" (Son of Wilmot Mix) – 7:29 #"Magic Carpet Ride" (Original Version) – 8:06 * CD maxi, Netherlands (1995) #"Magic Carpet Ride" (Radio Edit) – 3:52 #"Magic Carpet Ride" (Son of Wilmot Mix) – 7:33 #"Magic Carpet Ride" (Work Remix) – 6:03 #"Magic Carpet Ride" (Original Version) – 8:08 * CD maxi, France (1995) #"Magic Carpet Ride" (Radio Edit) – 4:30 #"Magic Carpet Ride" (Vocoder Club Mix) – 8:13 #"Son of Wilmot" (No Comprende Mix) – 7:29

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 1995 songs 1995 singles Eurodance songs Latin house songs English house music songs Black-and-white music videos