"Minimal" is a song by English

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

duo

Pet Shop Boys The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo i ...

from their ninth studio album, ''

Fundamental Fundamental may refer to: * Foundation of reality * Fundamental frequency, as in music or phonetics, often referred to as simply a "fundamental" * Fundamentalism, the belief in, and usually the strict adherence to, the simple or "fundamental" idea ...

'' (2006). It was released on 24 July 2006 as the album's second single, reaching at number 19 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and becoming the duo's 37th top-20 entry in the United Kingdom. The B-side "In Private" (Stuart Crichton 7″ Mix) is a new version of a song originally written for

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop music, p ...

, this time recorded as a duet between

Neil Tennant Neil Francis Tennant (born 10 July 1954) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and music journalist, and co-founder of the synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, which he formed with Chris Lowe in 1981. He was a journalist for ''Smash Hits'', and a ...

and

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

Background

The lyrics, built around a chant of "M-I-N-I-M-A-L", are an abstract description of expressions of

minimalism In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Don ...

, such as "more is less" and "an empty box, an open space". This is contradicted by the upbeat, busy instrumentation and production. Originally planned as the first single from ''Fundamental'', it was subsequently moved down the release schedule when " I'm with Stupid" was chosen instead.

Music video

The music video for "Minimal" was directed by

Dan Cameron Dan Cameron (born February 12, 1956 in Utica, New York) is an American contemporary art curator. He has served as senior curator for Next Wave Visual Art at Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), an annual exhibition of emerging Brooklyn-based artists ...

and filmed in Paris. It features a pair of dancers (Keir and Thailai Knight) manoeuvering to form the letters of the chorus, while Tennant and Lowe perform in front of a light display.

Track listings

*UK CD single (CDR 6708) #"Minimal" (radio edit) – 3:38 #"In Private" (7-inch mix) – 4:13 *UK CD maxi single (CDRS 6708) #"Minimal" (radio edit) – 3:38 #"Minimal" (

Tocadisco Roman Böer (born 9 June 1974), better known as DJ Tocadisco, formerly Tocadisco (; Spanish for "turntable"), is a German DJ and record producer. Biography Born in Berlin, but grew up as the son of the photographer and media designer Gerry Böe ...

's Sunday at Space Remix) – 8:00 #"Minimal" (M Factor Remix) – 8:45 #"Minimal" (U-MYX software) *UK DVD single (DVDR 6708) #"Minimal" (

Telex The telex network is a station-to-station switched network of teleprinters similar to a Public switched telephone network, telephone network, using telegraph-grade connecting circuits for two-way text-based messages. Telex was a major method of ...

Hell mix) – 6:18 #"Blue on Blue" – 3:13 #"No Time for Tears" (7-inch mix) – 3:38 #"Minimal" (music video) *UK 7-inch single (R 6708)' :A. "Minimal" (radio edit) – 3:38 :B. "In Private" (7-inch mix) – 4:13 *UK promotional CD maxi single (00946 371144 2 1) #"Minimal" (radio edit) – 3:40 #"Minimal" (Tocadisco's Sunday at Space Mix) – 8:04 #"Minimal" (M Factor mix) – 8:49 #"Minimal" (M Factor dub) – 7:44 #"Minimal" ( Tiga's M-I-N-I-M-A-L remix) – 5:38 #"Minimal" (Tiga's M-I-N-I-M-A-L dub) – 5:38 #"Minimal" (

Superchumbo Tom Stephan (born June 6, 1970) is an American house music, producer, DJ and film director. He was born in New York, United States. He is also known as Superchumbo. Biography In 1990, Stephan relocated to London, England and studied film at t ...

's Light & Shade dub) – 8:28 #"Minimal" (Telex Hell remix) – 6:19 #"Minimal" (Telex Heaven remix) – 4:29 #"In Private" (Tomcraft 7-inch mix) – 3:51 Another remix of "Minimal" by Lobe appears on the limited edition bonus CD of ''Fundamental'', ''Fundamentalism''. The Tiga remix was included on the Japanese release. Another remix of "Minimal" by Radio Slave appears on the B-side of a promotional 12-inch with two remixes of "Psychological" on the A-side by

Ewan Pearson Ewan Pearson (born 1 April 1972) is an English electronic music producer/remixer who works under various aliases including Maas, Sulky Pup, Villa America, World of Apples, and Dirtbox. He is also in Partial Arts with Al Usher. He has remixed ...

. These are part of the " Numb" promotion. In addition, it was the first Pet Shop Boys single release to feature the

U-MYX U-MYX was a music format launched in 2004 which allowed a user to arrange and create their own mix of songs by known music artists. The U-MYX Software is available on CDs (usually on the artist's single release as an Enhanced Section on the CD) a ...

software on the maxi-CD which allows people to create their own version of the single. On 25 July,

Chris Lowe Christopher Sean Lowe (born 4 October 1959) is an English musician, singer and songwriter, and co-founder of the synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, which he formed with Neil Tennant in 1981. Biography Lowe attended Arnold School, an independent ...

himself created a new version of the track using the software and uploaded it onto the U-MYX website.

Charts

References

External links

PSB U-Myx microsite
{{authority control 2006 singles 2006 songs Parlophone singles Pet Shop Boys songs Song recordings produced by Trevor Horn Songs written by Chris Lowe Songs written by Neil Tennant