The Rapture 'Tapes'
Keen connoisseurs of house music, hip-hop and electronica, The Rapture have recorded with DFA Soundsystem, Dangermouse and Timbaland and toured with Daft Punk, The Cure and The Killers. At the dawn of the new millennium, this impeccably cool four-piece helped pioneer the dance-punk scenes and No Wave renaissance that soon conquered the global club scene.
Their new mix album “Tapes” is a treasure trove of rare grooves and cult classics spanning three decades, from the late 1970s to 2008. One key thread running through the mix is the evergreen sound of the New York underground, epitomised by classic tunes like Vaughan Mason & Crew’s 1980 disco-rap milestone “Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll” and the irresistible beat-pop ditty “I’m An Indian Too,” recorded in 1979 by East Harlem’s Don Armando and his Second Avenue Rumba Band. NYC’s latest clubland stars also make their mark, from neo-disco supergroup Arcade Lover to hip-hop DJ Frog’s dazzling robo-funk alter ego, Dances With White Girls.
“Tapes” features household names and underground cult heroes. Southern soul legends The Bar-Kays, Otis Redding’s former backing band, are on here. So is the revered 1960s folk singer Richie Havens, performing an amazing funky-house version of the classic Odyssey hit “Back To My Roots”. But alongside tracks by A-list DJ Armand Van Helden and hip-hop superstar Ghostface Killah, “Tapes” contains cutting-edge electronica from the rising stars of today.
