"Galvanize" is a song by British
electronic music duo
the Chemical Brothers featuring vocals by American rapper
Q-Tip. It was released on 22 November 2004 as the first single from their fifth studio album, Push the Button (2005).
The song peaked at
No. 3 on the
UK Singles Chart on 23 January 2005. It was the Chemical Brothers' highest-charting single in their native United Kingdom since "
Hey Boy Hey Girl", which had also reached No. 3 in 1999. The song peaked at No. 1 in Greece and Spain. In Australia, it was ranked No. 65 on
Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2004.[5]
Composition
The track features a distinct
MoroccanChaabi music string sample from
Najat Aatabou's 1992 song "Hadi Kedba Bayna" ("This Lie is Obvious" in
Moroccan Arabic).[6][7] The main hook of the song is in 6 4time signature, while the rest is in 4 4. The track also features rapping by
Q-Tip (member of
A Tribe Called Quest). In part of the song, it is played a sample from the duo's first single "
Leave Home", released in 1995.
Critical reception
Pitchfork Media's Scott Plagenhoef stated the song along with "The Boxer" "harks back to the duo's early B-Boy/techno days" but missed "the ferocity and sub-bass rattlings of their earlier cousins, and here play second fiddle to unremarkable verses and nasally vocals".[8]
The music video was shot in
Málaga,
Spain, and directed by
Adam Smith. It involves three North African boys wearing clown face paint, who secretly go out but are blocked while walking in the porch by a group of boys slightly older than them, towards whom at one moment one of the three boys shows a vulgar hand gesture, after which all three run away being chased by the group but they keep themselves safe by going up into a bus, mocking the older boys from inside the mean of transport, which the group did not take. After going out from the bus and made some walking in the city the three enter covertly into a club named "Lyceo" during a
krumping dance battle. One of the boys starts dancing in the battle, but all three are caught and taken away by the
police afterwards. The name of one of these boys is "Bilal", according to his father's line at the beginning of the video (بِلالْ! اطفأ النورْ ونامْ, literally "Bilal! Turn off the light and go to sleep"). Except for the scenes in the club, the entire video is shot in black-and-white.
^Galvanize (UK CD1 liner notes). The Chemical Brothers. Freestyle Dust, Virgin Records. 2005. CHEMSD21, 0724387659124.{{
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^Galvanize (UK CD2 liner notes). The Chemical Brothers. Freestyle Dust, Virgin Records. 2005. CHEMSDX21, 0724387659100.{{
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^Galvanize (UK 12-inch single sleeve). The Chemical Brothers. Freestyle Dust, Virgin Records. 2005. CHEMST21, 7243 8 76591 6 2.{{
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^Galvanize (US 12-inch single sleeve). The Chemical Brothers. Freestyle Dust,
Astralwerks. 2005. ASW 76599, 7243 8 76599 1 9.{{
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^Galvanize (Australian CD single liner notes). The Chemical Brothers. Freestyle Dust, Virgin Records. 2005. 724387659629.{{
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link)
^Galvanize (US CD single liner notes). The Chemical Brothers. Freestyle Dust, Astralwerks. 2005. ASW 76599, 7243 876599 2 6.{{
cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)
^Galvanize (Japanese CD EP liner notes). The Chemical Brothers. Freestyle Dust, Astralwerks. 2005. VJCP-12183, 0724387659629.{{
cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)