Strobelite

Album: Humanz (2017)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • A strobe is a device used to produce regular flashes of light. They are used in clubs to give an illusion of slow motion.

    When your private life is dreamin' (when your private)
    You livin' the strobe light (livin' the strobe light
    )

    The vocalist, Chicago R&B funk singer Peven Everett, croons on this song about how 21st century tech obsession and our busy lifestyles has isolated us. Rather than being caught up in our own worlds, we need to slow down, look up, see what's around us and interact with our fellow humans. In other words, we need to live in "the strobe light."
  • Albarn told The Sun regarding the strobe in question: "It was given to me by my dad and he'd had it since he helped do the light show for Pink Floyd at the UFO Club in the Sixties. Almost the first proper rave.
    So I had this strobe and I had my first synthesizer, a Transcendent 2000, and I had my mirror and I used to jam along to 12-inches by people like The Human League."

    "Thank goodness I wasn't epileptic because I was really strobing," he added. "I don't know what it did to my brain. There were no drugs back then, just my strobe light, and I probably hadn't even had a drink by then."
  • The trippy animated video takes place in a London neon-lit night club in which Peven Everett is performing. We see the Gorillaz' 2D and Noodle hit the dance floor while their bandmate Murdoc mingles with some humanz. Several other of the album's collaborators are also sprinkled into the scene, including Vince Staples, De La Soul's Posdnuos and, Savages' Jehnny Beth. The clip was directed by the pseudonymous "Raoul Skinbeck," who apparently is a friend of Murdoc.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

How The Beatles Crafted Killer Choruses

How The Beatles Crafted Killer ChorusesSong Writing

The author of Help! 100 Songwriting, Recording And Career Tips Used By The Beatles, explains how the group crafted their choruses so effectively.

Lace the Music: How LSD Changed Popular Music

Lace the Music: How LSD Changed Popular MusicSong Writing

Starting in Virginia City, Nevada and rippling out to the Haight-Ashbury, LSD reshaped popular music.

Steely Dan

Steely DanFact or Fiction

Did they really trade their guitarist to The Doobie Brothers? Are they named after something naughty? And what's up with the band name?

Millie Jackson

Millie JacksonSongwriter Interviews

Outrageously gifted and just plain outrageous, Millie is an R&B and Rap innovator.

Harry Wayne Casey of KC and The Sunshine Band

Harry Wayne Casey of KC and The Sunshine BandSongwriter Interviews

Harry Wayne Casey tells the stories behind KC and The Sunshine Band hits like "Get Down Tonight," "That's The Way (I Like It)," and "Give It Up."

Francis Rossi of Status Quo

Francis Rossi of Status QuoSongwriter Interviews

Doubt led to drive for Francis, who still isn't sure why one of Status Quo's biggest hits is so beloved.