Nowadays Pride heavily leans on the shoulders of Baccara’s Yes Sir, I Can Boogie. With moderate success, and massive charm.
Baccara was a highly influential, Spanish vocal duo that spoke very little English. They released their one, timeless hit, ‘Yes Sir, I Can Boogie’, back in 1977. It ended up being an essential Euro Disco classic that lives on until this very day. It has terrible English, and very rough pronunciation, but an endless supply of quirkiness and groove, which is very close to what Chamad Shango attempts.
The Parisian duo Chamad Shango is extremely creative. Nowadays Pride’s words have a profound meaning, far below the surface, and it struggles to make it through. The video is charming but the graphics are humorous at best, and confusing at worst. So, essentially, to find the goodies, we need to look past the unclear lyrics and the bizarre video. And there are a lot of goodies to be found.
Nowadays Pride’s music is fragmented and arranged thoroughly. Not a cut-paste job. The vocals are orchestrated and precise, with Geraude Ayeva Derman’s warm and approachable vocal delivery, and the charming backing from Guillame de Sacrafame is attention-grabbing when it’s there, non-obtrusive, and adds a lot of value. The synth sounds are colorful, and the palette is a little too intense. Not a subtle selection of sounds, which adds to the bonkers element of the whole song.
Nowadays Pride is a strange song that struggles under its own weight. But as we let ourselves peel away the outer layers, we find beneath: a charming tune, with a strong message, and clear musicianship, but most of all, an infectious personality.