Worlds collide on Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa’s 90s house homage, ‘One Kiss’
Once upon a time, Calvin Harris created disco.
At least that’s what the Scottish DJ told us with the name of his kitschy debut album, I Created Disco, back in 2007. Save from disrespecting the pioneers and fringe communities that came before him, Harris paid dues to the halcyon era of dance’s grand promiscuity with a bubbly disposition one couldn’t help but bump. By the mid-2000’s, Harris was it. His LCD Soundsystem meets four-on-the-floor beats, ample eighth notes, and syncopated electric bassline style coincided with an era of dance music, eventually EDM, that will forever live on.
In his earliest music nostalgia ran rampant, and though the artist moved into a progressive house style in 2012, his free-flowing ingenuity and reinvention continued to yield compelling classics. With a chameleon-like tendency, Calvin Harris became ubiquitous with dance music and airways alike, defining a generation of the US’ radio play while tapping the hottest collaborators along the way. He’s made tracks with Rihanna, Florence Welch, Ellie Goulding, Gwen Stefani, Big Sean, the list goes on.
Today, he’s the highest paid DJ in the world, and though he’s made a few missteps, he’s back. Similar to some of his earlier music — see “Merrymaking,” “Acceptable in the ’80’s,” “The Rain,” or even the delightful air of “We Found Love” — Harris’ new collaboration with one of the world’s rising stars, Dua Lipa, is a bubbling crossover. A tender embrace of 90s house music, Harris departs from the pervasive pop music that drove Funk Wav and plunges deep into the depths of danceability.
With two recent singles out now, it’s possible that Harris is even working toward a full-length album, though this is just speculation, and he has mentioned ditching the album format altogether in the past. This “One Kiss” might even just be a taste of the bygone Harris-era we once knew. Regardless, it ought to do the trick, for now at least.
Categories: Music