song premiere

Hear Escort’s Instant-Classic Disco-House Banger, ‘Body Talk’

Photo: Courtesy of Escort Band

A year before disco officially shimmied back into the mainstream via Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” in 2013, the then-17-piece New York collective Escort made a strong case for the genre’s revival with their critically adored self-titled debut. Three years later, the disco equivalent of hell freezing over (a new Giorgio Moroder album, one from Chic on the way) came to be, house music superseded disco as pop’s influence du jour (thanks, Disclosure), and Escort are finally releasing a sophomore LP (Animal Nature, out October 30). Check out the exclusive premiere of “Body Talk,” Animal Nature’s buoyant banger of an opening number:

Though Escort’s songs will always take the shape of Studio 54’s flared silhouettes, their new material sounds more like dance music in the years following Disco Demolition Night. “When our first album came out, we were playing strictly dusty disco 12-inches and edits. That was the soundtrack to a lot of great parties, but after a while, there was nothing left to uncover,” says band co-founder Eugene Cho. “Over time, people started spinning and making edits of some really questionable stuff. So we had to jump forward in the timeline of dance music to keep it interesting and stay within the spirit of the songs we have been feeling as DJs. Also, dance music has taken such a hold that now you can use much harder drums without immediately losing the interest of a lot of people that would have shied away from it before. ‘Dunch, dunch, dunch, dunch’ isn’t taboo anymore!”

This more electronic-driven sound hits listeners instantly on “Body Talk.” “We sequenced the album with a DJ’s perspective, and ‘Body Talk’ is a good set-starter: a mid-tempo song that sets the tone and eases you into the album,” Cho says. “Like a lot of things, it’s probably not the best idea to go ful on from the start. The song also introduces a few of the themes we hit throughout the album, some Balearic and proto-house elements, nods to ‘90s R&B, and leftist subliminal messages.”

Though they’re exploring a wider array of influences these days, Escort — led by the classic vocals of Adeline Michèle — still feel a twinge of pride over disco’s comeback. “We couldn’t be happier that Giorgio Moroder is becoming a household name,” Cho adds, “and the fact that so many more people will be able to hear our music and be able to openly appreciate it as a part of something current instead of associating it with ancient fashion trends and tacky dance moves.”

Hear Escort’s Disco-House Banger ‘Body Talk’