“Lucky” by Gang of Four
Gang of Four will release a new EP, Complicit on 13 April 2018. Their first new material in three years, the release bookends a period since 2015s critically acclaimed album What Happens Next, during which Gang of Four have been championed by artists as diverse as St Vincent, James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem, Pharrell Williams and Frank Ocean, the latter of which sampled the band on Blonde. Gang of Four are trailing news of the EP with the first new track to emerge from the release, Lucky .
The new track captures producer and founding member Andy Gill advancing his writing partnership with frontman John Gaoler Sterry, aided by the production nous of Ben Hillier (Blur, Depeche Mode). The results of the newfound approach are borne out in spades on Lucky, instantly identifiable by Gills serrated guitar work, with Gaolers Gang of Four Everyman protagonist by alternate turns both piteous and self-aggrandising. Freighted by a taut groove from Thomas McNiece and Tobias Humbles rhythm section, Lucky keeps a characteristically analytical eye on the cut & thrust of the modern world, with the other firmly on the dance-floor.
Speaking about Lucky, Andy Gill says; This track itself is a product of chance. Id been watching a serious debate on one of those financial news channels – six white men in suits arguing about the stock markets – and it set me thinking about how limited luck can be. Americas demented ringmaster-clown claims to have bestowed fortune on the markets. He believes himself the master of luck. In reality, they are casinos. A lot of trading is anyway now done by algorithms to try to eliminate the element of chance, but luck isnt capable of fundamentally changing the system. Even if you believe market crashes are the result of bad luck rather than layer upon layer of human and machine error, the system shudders, restarts and goes on as before.
Gang of Four came into being in 1977 and its first phase, incorporating several changes of lineup, lasted until 1984. Their debut album Entertainment! was voted, one That Changed The World by MOJO. Gill and King made two more albums in the 90s and another in 2011,Content. When King left the project, a reinvigorated Gill seized the opportunity to reimagine Gang of Four from the ground up. As guitarist, composer, producer and lyric writer, he was and remains the bands driving force
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