French Horn Rebellion are an outfit whose name surfaced on my radar as a result of CMJ 2010, although, I didn’t get a chance to see them until afterward. As far as I have gathered, they are djs, producers, and a live act that tread largely in blood-rushing thump-thump dance party vein of indie rock. Appealing to the inner dance demon in the indie rock scene is nothing new since electro-clash and DFA have long made it safe to move the feets while enjoying an independent band.
A major gripe of mine with indie dance music is certainly not with the quality of the bands, but with the general quality of the recorded output. Many keyboard-based bands that sound absolutely killer live turn thin and uninspiring on record. By and large, indie production has not suited indie electro keyboard/dance bands well. Hopefully that is going under revision with recent output from FHR. FHR have clearly payed due attention to Georgio Moroder, Quincy Jones, as well as House Music/electronic production in processing instruments and vocals for separation, depth, as well as using House music tropes to add drama and well-executed wallop (when needed) to a recording. FHR‘s “Beaches and Friends” features so many turntable and production tricks it would be a mess if in less skilled hands. I very much recommend that you search out FHR‘s “Beaches and Friends” single as well as the FHR remix of Savoir Adore‘s “Bodies”.
Here is a FHR performing live at a recent show in Brooklyn. All of the dance tropes are there – the rolling bass, the hand-raising synth washes, the angelic female backing vocals, and, in this case, the busting out a sweet french horn solo for some analog zing.
Download: French Horn Rebellion – Beaches and Friends (Live)
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