TELEX
how do you dance? (CD)
EMI Music Belgium [2006]



1.   on the road again [Alan Wilson / Floyd Jones]
In 1980, we released a single in French called "En route vers de nouvelles aventures".
It referred both to the world of comic strips and to the famous Canned Heat classic "On the road again", the 60s boogie anthem.
We decided to drop "On the road again", which we'd started working on,
having had too many cover songs in our repertoire already.
So we brought it up from the cellar, where it had been maturing like a good wine, we hope. And we completed it.



2.   how do you dance ? [Marc Moulin]
To us, who do not always deal well with English (and some other foreign languages);
some common expressions remain a puzzle - as they might to perfect English speakers.
A good example of this is, "How do you do ?".
We sort of feel that one might expect a fuller answer to this question than "OK" or. . . "How do you do ?".
Such as "let me describe to you in detail how we are doing things in our (miserable, happy, tough etc.) lives,
to make sure it all works properly.
So, "How do you dance ?" seemed to us to be the appropriate equivalent for dancers. Like "How do you do ?" for normal people.

3.  this is your song [Michel Moers]
One love song every 25 years is not too much, is it ? (the previous one was "More than distance").

4.  #1 song in heaven [Ronald Mael, Russel Mael & Giorgio Moroder]
Sparks, i. e. the brothers Ron and Russel Mael,
are personal musical heroes for the three of us (plus family and friends and many others).
They are among the best songwriters of all time, and they are also amazing at concepts, pictures, sleeves, videos, etc.
Oh yes, and humour, I almost forgot.
They are a major influence on hundreds of pop groups that would rather die than give due recognition to their masters.
But we do, and hope they'll be happy with this dark rendition of one among hundreds of songs of theirs we'd love to cover
if ever one day we turn into a Sparks cover band.

5.  j'aime la vie [Jean-Paul Furnemont & Angelo Crisci / Marino Atria]
Sandra Kim (http://www.sandra-kim.com) is a National Living Treasure in Belgium.
She restored her nation's honour by giving the Belgian people their only #1 at the Eurovision Song Contest back in 1986 - the very year Telex stopped releasing albums for 20 years.
In 1987, Belgium's Public broadcaster, as the winner, had to organize that year's Eurovision Song Contest.
Because of that, it went almost bankrupt.

6.  white noise [Telex]
Not a single tone was used to perform this track, only noises (pink, white) from the Moogs.
And speaking of Moog, we'd like to salute the late Bob Moog, inventor of the machine, who died while we were finishing the album.
Also, this song is an opportunity for a statement about show business,
which refers to a surprising quotation by Belgium's King Leopold II, back to 1909 ("La musique est un bruit qui coûte cher".)

7.  move ! [Telex]
If you had to write something about this song, what would you come up with ? Not much, we suppose.
And maybe no more than we do.
This is about a horse who doesn't want to move, something donkeys are famous for being good at.
We suppose this is the first song on the subject, although you can never be 100% sure.

8.  jailhouse rock [Jerry Leiber / Mike Stoller]
Another example, along with "La bamba", of a fast tune taken apart and slowed down.
Another advantage of slowing the speed is that it allows us to catch the lyrics a little better.
Well, in principle - maybe not with us. Understanding the lyrics better is not always a bonus.
In this one, the gay connotation of parts of those lyrics might be a surprise to many people,
especially to those who've known or heard about the 50s.

9.  do worry [Michel Moers]
Bobby McFerrin, after his provocative song "Don't worry, be happy", deserved a retort that we're glad to provide.
It's time to say that we'd better worry about what's goin'on out there all over.

10.  la bamba [traditional]
This one only existed in our brains since 1984, and we did it from the scratch during these 2005 sessions.
From the very beginning of Telex, we've always loved the challenge of covering uptempo hits from the past at the slowest possible groove, like we did for "Rock around the clock", "Twist á St Tropez" and  "Ça plane pour moi".
In that respect, "La bamba", THE all-time and universal dance piece, is a logical choice for Telex.
There's this choreography to "La bamba" that you might have heard about:
everybody forms a circle, and the person in the centre has to pick a partner by kissing him or her.
Our slow tempo allows you to think twice before kissing and choosing.
Remember: it might be for ever.

+  "on the road again" video
Concept, art direction & production; BaseMOTION / Animation & post-production; Pikaboo Pixels illustrations; Quick Honey.


Produced by TELEX