When Gossip put out their first ever record in 2000, it came with a sleevenote that read as a statement of intent: “no thanks to the kids that don't dance”.
So it's not surprising that the inimitable Beth Ditto's first official side project comes ready-made for the dancefloor. Inspired by her heroines Grace Jones and Aaliyah it's a pounding, pulsating dancefloor filler, boasting four emotional electro anthems-to-be.
Gossip's iconic front woman and international superstar has recorded a collaboration with UK dance duo and production pioneers Simian Mobile Disco. Set for a January release on legendary dance label Deconstruction Records the four track EP will be available on 12" vinyl and digital download, the latter available exclusively from Beatport. A full international release will follow in March 2011.
Beth had already teamed up with Simian Mobile Disco, having provided guest vocals on the track 'Cruel Intentions' for 2009’s 'Temporary Pleasures' album, but working with James Ford and Jas Shaw took their relationship to a whole new level of intimacy. Recorded in the UK in August, SMD both co-wrote and took production duties on the EP, capturing a softer evocative side to Beths powerful vocals.
“Working with Beth honestly couldn't have been any more fun. We basically started where we left off with cruel intentions and went deeper into psychedelic disco territory. We tried to keep it pretty raw and simple, all the while focusing on Beth's brilliant melodies." SMD
Beth doesn't really consider the EP to be a solo project, as such – Gossip are back in the studio working on their fifth album right now – but she knew she had to do it, and likens it to a sanctioned affair. “Imagine you're in a marriage for 12 years, your entire adult life, and then one day, you decide it's alright if you go out and have an affair and everyone's OK with it.”
Kicking off with Do You Need Someone, a laid-back, haunting song about being the other woman the EP moves onto Goodnight Good Morning, a bass-laden tribute to the hazy twilight hours of a night out "where the evening comes undone" and where self-control is highly overrated. It takes a harder twist on I Wrote The Book, about revenge, regret and having seen it all before, which thuds into life with a driving, house melody. And finally, there's Open Heart Surgery, a synth-heavy banger about bracing for the necessary pain of ending a dead relationship. "Just let me know what you are thinking," pleads Beth, taming the gospel holler she brings to the Gossip into a more melodic sound.
It will arrive just over a year after Gossip released their last album and international hit 'Music For Men'. Released in June 2009, Music For Men has shipped a million units worldwide, achieving a 2x Platinum certification in France; 3x Gold status in Germany, Platinum status in Belgium, Switzerland; and Gold status in Australia and Austria. Lead single "Heavy Cross" was the most successful single of all time in Germany according to Media Control and brought the band a string of awards and nominations, from winning Best Pop International at Germany's Bambi Awards 2010 to being nominated for Best International Act for France's NRJ Awards 2011.
Having toured the world with Gossip, gaining critical acclaim and cementing her reputation as one of the most exciting and relevant front women of our generation, Beth will spread her wings further and take this dancefloor filler on the road in 2011.
Beth Ditto is larger than life, forthright, rebel rousing and infectious. She continues to pick up accolades across the globe from topping the NME annual cool list to becoming an unsuspecting fashion icon, challenging the industry's reliance on stick-thin superwaifs by featuring on the cover of the first issue of style bible Love, designing two hit ranges for the UK-based plus-sized line Evans, and as recently as October Beth walked the catwalk for Jean-Paul Gaultier at Paris Fashion Week.
With The EP, Beth Ditto has gone back to her underground roots, pooling her love of dance and dancing with Simian Mobile Disco's command of the dancefloor to create a raw, electrifying record that is sure to be one of the year's standout electro releases. Head of Deconstruction Records, and one of the most important figures in the history of British dance music, Mike Pickering sums it up.
“This record cements Beth back where she belongs – on the dancefloor. She is the Queen of Electro and a true disco diva. I can’t think of a better musical marriage than to Simian Mobile Disco and the songs speak for themselves - in volumes.”
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