Gala - You & Me (Tareq Rework)

A few months ago, Gala had asked me to upload a remix of her song You & Me to youtube after kindly sending it to me. I have chosen to include a montage of 4 different music videos from the same era in which it came from (Faraway, I Am The World The World Is Me, You & Me itself and Tough Love) to accommodate the extended intro and outros, with the original video itself staying the same. The song was originally recorded for her 2009 record Tough Love and always stood out to me as something of a disco ballad tinged with punk undertones, and a quiet but stirring remix had lay unreleased ever since. Until now. Gala's strident romance collides with an eloquent disco ballad groove (as reworked by Tareq). Her unforgettably striking and androgynous posturing brings the poignancy, desire and euphoric anguish to life. A song highlighted by an urge to express itself; a hybrid of sexual rejoice and political rebellion.

In other Gala news, the song Lose Yourself In Me is gearing up for a French release (the singer enjoyed two number ones in this territory in the 90s, so this is a huge step).

Gala: Dance Diva Reborn

I am pinching myself - the new Gala song released to youtube (far below) You & Me is a bit of a sentimental love anthem. Those cooing 'doo-doo-doo-doo's are going to be my life support machine this summer - like all healthy relationships, it just stabs you in the heart making it impossible to live without its devastating control. With her gorgeous whispers, I never expected something so gushing from Gala but it has lit a flame inside me that I know is not going to burn out. Because her androgynous image is something I marvel at endlessly (scroll right to see her in the Diva Incarnate banner above), it makes me wonder who gave her the inspiration: they must be the most gorgeous girl/boy on the planet.

Below: Gala on the set of her self-financed Tough Love video. I shall suggest nothing about her Prisoner Cell Block H fantacies!
As it finishes (around the 2 minute mark), Gala yelps beyond her wildest dreams just when the track sounds like Hong Kong Garden by Siouxsie & The Banshees as well as those rusty-sounding vintage New Order disco fiascos. Fireworks explode outside her lights-out New York apartment and this track makes the metaphor a shared experience - her visceral performance in the video is utterly transfixing as she revels in her romantic euphoria.

Above: who wouldn't look this smug with cheekbones Madonna would trade a surplus African orphan for?

I never saw this coming from her: I was secretly disappointed by the rawness of the song Tough Love and really had to analyse it in order to appreciate its good points, but with You & Me she makes it as easy as Freed From Desire with a track that wounds you with its beauty and brings you to your knees with it's romantic impact and sheer sincerity.


Above: her 2.40 nourishing yelp makes the 12 year wait for Gala's re-surfacing worth every second. In the video, her movement shadows a striking resemblence to her iconic animation in the Freed From Desire video, a song which has sold 6 million copies worldwide to date (more than fucking Cher's Believe).

Tough Love EP available June 1st (French iTunes only) and full album September 6th. Expect a 57 page review any day whenever I get my hands on the files!