Tags: Playdoe
Playdoe are a duo of techno-savvy hipsters from Johannesburg, South Africa. When I last visited family in South Africa, my cousin raved to me about a band called `Just Jinger` – “huge in SA, absolutely brilliant,” she raved. Sadly, they sucked, as did most of the other `pop music` I heard on the radio, all pale imitations of Keane, U2 or the Backstreet Boys. It was dire.
Thankfully, Playdoe don’t share their peers’ ambition to be MOR, and their debut EP has some brilliant tunes. `Neolectro Afrobot` sounds exactly as you’d hope it would: like a horny dancing robot unleashed in a nightclub full of grinding nymphomaniacs. You see, drinking, dancing and sex (ing) are quite high on Playdoe’s lyrical agenda. To Party Is To Live. Expect nightmarish synths blipping at you like a retro computer game, scratching decks straight from hip-hop shockers, 2 Live Crew, and cascading glissandos hammered out from Casio keyboard-cum-calculators. If that’s not your thing, you’d best put those sneakers back on the shelf and call a taxi home. This is music for cool kids in cool clubs and if you can’t accept that, you probably weren’t invited in the first place.
Frosty detachment aside, Playdoe’s ice-cool exterior hides a wealth of musical ideas and substance. How could you not be seduced by the bouncing groove of `Metro` – with its ominous lyrics about “howling at the moon” – or the euphoric, disco-killing anthem, `It’s That Beat` – a pulsating ode to boomboxes and getting fruity on the dancefloor? This is scary music, full of monsters, red-blooded instinct and furious rapping that manages to surpass most of what’s on offer on the brilliant Ed Banger compilations.
Justice, M.I.A, Dan Le Sac Vs. Scroobius Pip and Simian Mobile Disco have all been at the forefront of making innovative and sexy electro music that rocks as hard as its guitar-driven cousins. It looks like Playdoe have just earned their place on that list. Sorry `Just Jinger`, I’ve just found a new favourite South African band.
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About the Author:
JoeMacAllister spent his childhood earning a crust as a Rod Stewart impersonator, but that life is behind him now. At present, Joe is a budding rockstar, incredibly fond of snazzy footwear, ginger biscuits, and dancing to Aerosmith - though take heed, one should never dance on a full stomach.
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