A surprise find. That's what this is/was. And after I had actually found it I was quite surprised to find out who was actually involved. Because it turns out that White Water isn't actually an established act, it kinda has only just been created - just for this one song, you could say. One song for the moment anyway.
Who is involved, then? Well, a Paris-based band that I wrote about a while ago called Bot'Ox (and their song 'Basement Love') and also an Australian guy called Sidwho (yeah as in, "sid who?") are the two parties involved in White Water and this particular song 'Daylight'. Well there's nothing like a good collaboration is there? And I believe, if I have it right, Sidwho provided the vocals whilst Bot'Ox recorded the music.
And what's more they recorded it live. Yep. It's like a classic disco song, before computers and stuff. To its credit it certainly does have an analogue quality, something hazy and old school, like looking at a sunburnt photo from years ago. Despite that, it has a fresh sound that has a modern soul. Of course, with years of music behind them, the force that is White Water can only be wholly modern. Anyway here is 'Daylight'.
With a firm foot in the door between disco and synthpop, the guys manage to create a song that funks along in almost every single element that has gone into its creation. From the bouncy bass that hops with attitude to the multifaceted beat and which slides and plucks with a fresh-from-the-amp sound, to the funk guitar waves that vividly punctuate the movement as if practising a musical body-pop, it is a very danceable number indeed. And the vocals, smooth yet husky, layered very nicely to give a rich sound, top the music with a whole case of cherries. There's even some atmospheric 70s style strings weaving in and out, like the ambience of a smoke machine against the bold gaudiness of a light-up dancefloor.
A great sound throughout is the synth, in places completely virtuoso, bending and gliding with glistening fun or spiky and saw-wavy, and sometimes played in chords - an almost jarring sound that is satisfying nonetheless and provides an extra sparkle to the sound, definitely beefing up the song's second half immensely. There is a zany vibe to this that croons a very simple message: fun! That's all there is to it; it's just been done very well, that's the key.
Listen to the remixes of 'Daylight' from the Daylight EP here.
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