"Surrender Yourself" was the lead single from The Daou's 1992 Columbia Records debut 'Head Music'.
A kaleidoscopic hybrid of funk, rock, jazz and electronic pop laced with jaunty rhythms, sparkling keys, whirling guitars, billowy melodies, moody ambient textures and sinewy dance grooves atop heady evocative lyrics and quixotic breathy vocals, the song was an exhilarating catharsis that struck a chord with the music cognoscenti garnering rave reviews for its musical sophistication and adventurous genre-blurring sound. It put The Daou on the map. And while only a minor hit upon its initial release, the "Surrender Yourself" would soon become the duo's career-defining breakthrough and celebrated magnum opus thanks to groundbreaking remixes by DJ/producer Danny Tenaglia.
Tenaglia radically transformed the shimmery avant-pop original into a sweltry club juggernaut heavily inspired by New York's bustling Black and Latin LGBTQ+ underground Voguing scene and ballroom subculture, and Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder's incandescent electro-disco odyssey "I Feel Love". Working closely with Vanessa and Peter Daou, the trio meticulously assembled a simmering "rhythmscape" mixing Vanessa's newly re-recorded gauzy narcotic vocals and spoken word and Peter's virtuoso rhapsodic keys with Danny's soon-to-be signature deep and spacious "hard, dark and soul" sound.
The resulting, aptly-titled "Ballroom Mix" proved to be an ingenious conception. Clocking in at an astonishing 13+ minutes, the sprawling epic was a lavish, steadily unfolding dancefloor juggernaut brilliantly outfitted with a surging cauldron of thrusting drums, sweeping atmospherics, ominous bass chords, broody synths, thrusting drums, warm pads, shuffling tribal percussion, slinky rhythms and an inescapably funky unrelenting groove.
Hailed as a landmark innovation and visionary tour-de-force, the track ushered in the golden age of classic 90s house and became the rallying cry for New York's gay underground club scene (and global dance community at large) with its inimitable galvanizing mantra: "Work It. Learn It. Serve It. Know It. Be It. Release It. Bring It To The Ball." Thirty years on, it remains a timeless classic and one of house music's most influential and iconic anthems.
Originally issued as a vinyl-only 12" in the US (and CD maxi-single in Europe), "Surrender Yourself" was later licensed and re-released by TRIBAL America, where it propelled to #1 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play Chart and stayed for an impressive 11 weeks!
The 4-track Columbia 12" EP has been long out-of-print and previously unavailable on all digital platforms until now!
www.vanessadaou.com
www.facebook.com/vanessadaoumusic
www.twitter.com/vanessadaou
www.instagram.com/vanessadaou
www.soundcloud.com/vanessadaou
www.daourecords.bandcamp.com
A kaleidoscopic hybrid of funk, rock, jazz and electronic pop laced with jaunty rhythms, sparkling keys, whirling guitars, billowy melodies, moody ambient textures and sinewy dance grooves atop heady evocative lyrics and quixotic breathy vocals, the song was an exhilarating catharsis that struck a chord with the music cognoscenti garnering rave reviews for its musical sophistication and adventurous genre-blurring sound. It put The Daou on the map. And while only a minor hit upon its initial release, the "Surrender Yourself" would soon become the duo's career-defining breakthrough and celebrated magnum opus thanks to groundbreaking remixes by DJ/producer Danny Tenaglia.
Tenaglia radically transformed the shimmery avant-pop original into a sweltry club juggernaut heavily inspired by New York's bustling Black and Latin LGBTQ+ underground Voguing scene and ballroom subculture, and Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder's incandescent electro-disco odyssey "I Feel Love". Working closely with Vanessa and Peter Daou, the trio meticulously assembled a simmering "rhythmscape" mixing Vanessa's newly re-recorded gauzy narcotic vocals and spoken word and Peter's virtuoso rhapsodic keys with Danny's soon-to-be signature deep and spacious "hard, dark and soul" sound.
The resulting, aptly-titled "Ballroom Mix" proved to be an ingenious conception. Clocking in at an astonishing 13+ minutes, the sprawling epic was a lavish, steadily unfolding dancefloor juggernaut brilliantly outfitted with a surging cauldron of thrusting drums, sweeping atmospherics, ominous bass chords, broody synths, thrusting drums, warm pads, shuffling tribal percussion, slinky rhythms and an inescapably funky unrelenting groove.
Hailed as a landmark innovation and visionary tour-de-force, the track ushered in the golden age of classic 90s house and became the rallying cry for New York's gay underground club scene (and global dance community at large) with its inimitable galvanizing mantra: "Work It. Learn It. Serve It. Know It. Be It. Release It. Bring It To The Ball." Thirty years on, it remains a timeless classic and one of house music's most influential and iconic anthems.
Originally issued as a vinyl-only 12" in the US (and CD maxi-single in Europe), "Surrender Yourself" was later licensed and re-released by TRIBAL America, where it propelled to #1 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play Chart and stayed for an impressive 11 weeks!
The 4-track Columbia 12" EP has been long out-of-print and previously unavailable on all digital platforms until now!
www.vanessadaou.com
www.facebook.com/vanessadaoumusic
www.twitter.com/vanessadaou
www.instagram.com/vanessadaou
www.soundcloud.com/vanessadaou
www.daourecords.bandcamp.com
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