Summer 91 (Looking Back)

Album: single release only (2021)
Charted: 27
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Songfacts®:

  • 1991 was a landmark year for dance music, with a wave of fresh and exciting styles taking the genre into different directions. The Source with Candi Staton's "You Got The Love," Seal's "Crazy," and Primal Scream's "Higher Than The Sun" were all big hits; The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld album popularized ambient house, and Saint Etienne's "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" was one of several tunes centered between house and trip-hop. Meanwhile, house and rave clubs such as Lakota and Cream were emerging across Britain, while simultaneously illegal events were being held in airplane hangars, warehouses, and in the countryside. This nostalgic song finds Noizu looking back fondly at the glory years of the '90s house music and rave era.
  • Written during the COVID lockdown, the lyrics are a yearning for lost time while Noizu's production incorporates house music elements. "I wanted to capture the nostalgic elements of '90s house but with a modern feel," said the Los Angeles-based producer. "We wrote the lyrics to try and capture how people in the dance community around the world were feeling at the time."
  • Originally released on Noizu's Techne imprint in the summer of 2020, he revamped the song with more vocals and a new mix. This version, made available on RCA Records on January 15, 2021, entered the UK singles chart three months later.

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