Cosmo Vitelli’s I’m a Cliché label has long kept the flame burning for the wonkier side of French dance music, with releases that bob nervously in the space between classic house and techno, Italo disco, new wave, EBM, and styles even further afield: A recent EP from Dixlexsix touches on the Slits, Chicago footwork, Daft Punk, and Melt Banana, while somehow managing not to sound like a gâchis chaud. A perverse sense of humor is paramount in the label’s approach, and so is a genuine appreciation for dance music’s castoffs. Drumming on the dustbin of history, the label delights in revitalizing sounds deemed passé.
Now, making good on its debt to the past, the label has launched Edit Service, a series of unreleased edits produced by I’m a Cliché artists and friends; new tracks will arrive every two weeks, and all will be available for free download. The first comes from Bot’Ox, a French group whose insouciant disco leanings epitomize the label’s approach.
The song in question remains unidentified, although from the sound of things, it’s probably Spanish and from the early 1980s. Whatever it is, it’s a corker, with a nervous robo-disco bass line, funky neon synth flourishes reminiscent of Alexander Robotnick’s “Problemes D’Amour” or Tom Tom Club’s “Wordy Rappinghood,” and sinister male/female vocals chanting non sequiturs in Spanish. In the chorus, it sounds like they’re singing, “Dada disco mix,” which might explain why the lyrics don’t make a whole lot of sense. Sign up for the Edit Service newsletter, and join in as they stop making sense on a fortnightly basis.
