Calvin Harris – Bounce Ft. Kelis

Almost as difficult as the strange sounds of ‘Humbug’ were for me to swallow as a life-long Arctic Monkeys fanboy was Calvin Harris’ first single off his forthcoming to-be-announced third long-player, ‘Awooga’. According to one strange as hell blog post I read on the track, “His new release is called “Awooga”, I don´t know what the hell this means lol.” While the English might be a little off, the essence of the opinion is spot on. ‘Awooga’ opens to such potential with a memorable synth melody and slowly building beat and then, almost as if Calvo had gotten preoccupied with his Words With Friends game with Kylie Minogue or The Ting Tings or whoever, devolves into the sort of ‘progressive’ (read: dumb as fuck) thumping tune that makes you want to shut your eyes, put your hands over your ears and cry. It’s not for me to reiterate here how 2007′s ‘I Created Disco’ profoundly impacted on my life but suffice to say, ‘Awooga’ was a stain on our relationship, spitting in the eye of that disco-tinged matrimony that I imagined myself and Harris’ two LPs to date to be joined in. It stung.

So thank lord that when he dropped ‘Bounce’ on the Annie Mac show on BBC Radio 1 a couple of weeks back, there was less ‘Awooga’ more ‘potential summer/winter jam of the year’ going on. Where the first, depressing single started out promising but eventually floundered in a hail of repetitive pseudo-sound effects, Kelis engages from the get go on ‘Bounce’ (repaying Harris’ remix favour) and, after introducing a solid vocal hook, the song actually takes off from 30″ onwards. While not as good as the synth melody that leads out ‘Awooga’ and had me quite literally on the edge of my seat in expectation of what was to come (turns out nothing), Harris has a way with hitting a couple of keys in succession, applying just the right amount of distortion and layering on phased hi-hat washes (borrowing on the Deadmau5 tradition around 1’15″). And I’m not just saying that because I’m in love with the guy’s music. But that could have something to do with it.

Either way, it’s hard to deny that ‘Bounce’ has all the makings of a return to form for Harris (if indeed it’s labeled a return after one ill-advised sojourn into Sidney Samson territory). More interestingly, it’s the first official Calvin Harris joint to showcase a vocalist in the starring role that isn’t the amiable Scotsman himself. While both J and I agreed that ‘Ready for the Weekend‘ represented a remarkable leap forward in his vocal abilities compared to ‘I Created Disco’, the truth of the matter is that when faced with heavy competition from the likes of Solveig, Guetta (shudder) and the Mau5 himself, all of whom readily enlist the singing support of others, it seems to be a case of adapt or die. While the purists mightn’t need a Kelly or Kele to sate their superstar appetite, the chameleon factor so essential to enduring commercial success – the distinct ability to produce a slew of tracks each manifestly different from the next – is certainly bolstered by the guest vocalist spot. ‘Bounce’ could well have slotted into Kelis’ May 2010 release ‘Flesh Tone’ alongside Boys Noize and Benny Benassi-penned tracks but I’m pleased it didn’t. Means I can get back to slobbering in anticipation of Calvin’s next outing. Slobber.

Calvin Harris – Bounce Ft. Kelis