This week we read the very sad news upon their Facebook page, that Electric Lady Lab were no more. The Danish duo wrote the following message on their social media accounts;
“Announcement!
Electric Lady Lab has closed down for good now. Thank you all for your support. It’s been 8 years of total dedication. Ups and downs. Mostly ups. Thank you all for your love and support. Now time has come to explore new things for the both of us.
See you out there!
Love,
Stine and Martin”
Gutted.
Since the release of their debut album in 2011, they never put out anything less than sublime. Their 10 singles equated to 10 brilliant songs – regardless of whichever style, tempo, or genre they adapted each release to. They made their name through clever sampling, but in most cases the sample – however famous – took second billing to the new production that Electric Lady Lab married it into. And listening to their back catalogue play out, it’s apparent – somewhat ironically given the technique they were most famous for – that they possessed true creativity and showcased incredible innovation through what they produced. Most songs they sampled, we’ll never hear in the same way again. And there’s a lot of testament to Electric Lady Lab in that.
And visually, on the performance side, it wasn’t difficult to fall in love with them when THIS was what they proved they were capable of;
They’ll be missed (but individually there are already new plans – more on that at the bottom of this post), but they’ve left behind them a pretty phenomenal burst of stellar singles. We’ve put together a ranking of the Top 10 of these releases. But in terms of quality, there’s really not much between each of them – such was their defiant inability to ever dip below a proper nine-out-of-ten moment. So it’s more of a celebration really. A celebration of what we’re all here for. Pop music that’s done exceptionally.
Electric Lady Lab – thank you for the tunes. (which have all been compiled into a handy Spotify playlist for you)
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10: BROKEN DOORS
The mellowest and moodiest of their singles, this was the farthest they stepped outside of the sound that they crafted for themselves in their eight years together. “And this is where the chorus goes“;
09: WONDERING
The hint of a satisfied smile on Stine’s face as she opens this video with the line “I made you suffer…..I caused you pain” was one of the first times we realised just how brilliant Electric Lady Lab were. Like….WOW.
08: HURTS
The Danish pair looked to a legendary Swedish duo for inspiration here, and found a remarkable way to breathe new life into a subtle sample of their old work. This track was arguably their most inspired usage of someone else’s music. The sample is there, but it still sounds like a completely new piece of work.
07: TOUCH ME
A stunning use of a sample from another of ELL’s infamous Scandi contemporaries from yesteryear.
06: IT’S OVER NOW
Ironically, it’s their first ever single that most sums up where they are now. Not just the obvious lyric – but the video in which we see the duo’s partnership implode, and then spectacularly explode into a grisly finish. “The town feels empty and grey when you’re not around“.
05: YOU & ME
Their most famous track, and what introduced most people to them. This one will go down as their big legacy – taking a sample and doing something not just clever with it, but pretty damn genius thank you very much.
04: TAKING OFF
One of their more pop orientated dancepop gems – this is unashamed, blissed out, clubbed up abandon. It’s the sound of them quite literally taking off.
03: OPEN DOORS
While the video to this was an obvious homage to Robyn’s ‘Call Your Girlfriend’, the song itself was a more subtle tribute to the genre that Robyn does best – tears-on-the-dancefloor, heartbreaking pop music with a devastatingly sad melody and a euphoric production.
02: ALIVE
The bangingest of all their bangers, in terms of it being an all-out rave-up. And they got it spot on when they wrote “I know that you like me all fucked up and crazy“. And here they are once again being amazing popstars live on stage.
01: LOVE IS WAR
If this does indeed prove to be their final single EVER, then at least Martin and Stine can say that they went out while they were at the top of the game. ‘Love Is War’ arrived earlier this year (along with an also brilliant alternative version) and excitedly heralded a new era of the duo. It’s – to us- their best song ever. But sadly, as the opening lyric hinted at, that extra mile couldn’t be embarked upon….
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As for the future, Martin has already formed and launched a new duo – GHETTOBLASTER – with fellow Copenhagen dweller Tiger Sennewald. And while there’s no news yet from Stine on her plans, we hope that she takes the most likely route of resuming her solo break from 2014.
We’ll be listening anyway. Listening out for the future, and enjoying what they gave us in the past;
