Tribal Dance

"Tribal Dance" is a song by Belgian/Dutch Eurodance band 2 Unlimited. It was released in April 1993, by labels Byte, Zyx and PWL, as the second single from the band's second album, '' No Limits!'' (1993). The UK release omits the main rap but leaves in more vocals from band member Ray Slijngaard than any of their previous releases. The single experienced chart success in several countries, topping the charts in Finland, Israel, Portugal and Spain. In North America, the song reached number one on the Canadian ''RPM'' Dance/Urban chart, while peaking at number seven on the US ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play chart. The single's music video was directed by Nick Burgess-Jones and filmed in London, depicting the band performing in a jungle setting with tribal dancers.

In 1994, the song received an award in the category for Best Techno 12-inch at the WMC International Dance Music Awards in the US. In 2004, a new version of the song, titled "Tribal Dance 2.4" was released. It charted in both Austria and Germany, peaking at numbers 58 and 78.

Composition

The track is written by Phil Wilde, Ray Slijngaard, Xavier Clayton and Filip Martens, and was produced by Wilde with Jean-Paul De Coster. It features a trumpet riff and different kinds of drums throughout the song and the "''Say that again''" lyric at the start of the track was sampled from the 1985 film ''Back to the Future''.

Critical reception

Alan Jones from ''Music Week'' gave the song a score of four out of five, writing, "This is the usual high-octane, careering dance contender in rave/techno mould. It could hardly be as big as ' No Limit', and is probably a little too similar, albeit with some ethnic sounding wailing, presumably to justify the title." He added, "Instant smash, of course". Wendi Cermak from ''The Network Forty'' noted that here, 2 Unlimited "hits the dance floor with another tribal trancer". A reviewer from '' Newcastle Evening Chronicle'' named it a "brash, action packed pounder". Gail Heritage of '' Port Lincoln Times'' described it as "a mix of rhythmic beat, almost changing at every eight bars, centring around the harmonic voice of Anita, before looming into a jungle of rap by Ray." She added, "'Tribal Dance' was one of my favourites on the album — those jungle drums just seem to be calling me to the dance floor." James Hamilton from the ''Record Mirror'' Dance Update named it a "jungle drummed simple chanting galloper" in his weekly dance column. Toby Anstis, reviewing songs for ''Smash Hits'', stated that the song is "a nice bit of pop". ''Smash Hits'' editor Leesa Daniels gave it two out of five, adding that it will "probably be number one for weeks." Australian student newspaper '' Woroni'' called it a "thumping, driven dance track", naming it an "obvious highlight" of the '' No Limits!'' album.

Chart performance

In Europe, "Tribal Dance" peaked at number one in Finland, Portugal and Spain,"Tribal Dance" spent 6 weeks at number one on the Finnish singles chart in May, June and July 1993.
* Week 1:
* Week 2:
* Week 3:
* Week 4:
* Week 5:
* Week 6: as well as on both the Eurochart Hot 100 and the European Dance Radio Chart in June 1993. On the Eurochart Hot 100, "Tribal Dance" debuted at number 10 on 15 May, after charting in Belgium, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK. It topped the chart four weeks later and spent one week at the top position. The song peaked at number two in Belgium (Flanders), Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. Additionally, "Tribal Dance" was a top-10 hit in Austria, Denmark, France, Italy, Norway and the United Kingdom. In the latter nation, the song debuted and peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart in May 1993 and stayed at that position for two weeks. It spent 11 weeks within the UK top 100 and also peaked at number seven on the ''Music Week'' Dance Singles chart.

In North America, the song topped the Canadian ''RPM'' Dance chart for three weeks, as well as peaking at number seven on the US ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play chart and the Canadian '' The Record'' Retail Singles chart.2 Unlimited singles, ''Billboard'' charts AllMusic.com(Retrieved 15 April 2010) In Africa, "Tribal Dance" peaked at number four in Zimbabwe, while in Oceania, it peaked at numbers seven and 38 in Australia and New Zealand, respectively.* Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. ''Zimbabwe: singles chart book''. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000 "Tribal Dance" was awarded with a gold record in Germany, after 250,000 singles were shipped there. In 1994, the song received an award in the category for Best Techno 12-inch at the WMC International Dance Music Awards in the US.

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Tribal Dance" was directed by British director Nick Burgess-Jones and produced by Spidercom Films. He had previously directed the video for " No Limit". "Tribal Dance" was filmed in Black Island studios in London and is set in a jungle using blue screen in order to create the appearance of members of the band swinging across a jungle backdrop. In the background, tribal dancers perform. A picture-in-picture screen showing a video game is also used. There are two versions; the rap version and the no rap version. "Tribal Dance" received heavy rotation on MTV Europe in June 1993.

Track listings

* 7-inch single (1993)
# "Tribal Dance" (Edit) — 3:43
# "Tribal Dance" (Rap Edit) — 3:41

* 12-inch maxi, Belgium (1993)
# "Tribal Dance" (Extended) — 5:11
# "Tribal Dance" (Extended Rap) — 5:11
# "Tribal Dance" (Automatic African Remix) — 4:35
# "Tribal Dance" (Automatic Breakbeat Remix) — 4:48

* 12-inch maxi, US (1993)
# "Tribal Dance" (Extended Mix) — 5:14
# "Tribal Dance" (Extended Rap Mix) — 5:10
# "Tribal Dance" (Radio Version) — 3:41
# "Tribal Dance" (Automatic African Remix) — 4:35
# "Tribal Dance" (Automatic Breakbeat Remix) — 4:49
# "Tribal Dance" (No No Rap Edit) — 3:45

* CD single, Belgium and Germany (1993)
# "Tribal Dance" (Rap Edit) — 3:41
# "Tribal Dance" (Edit) — 3:41
# "Tribal Dance" (Extended) — 5:11
# "Tribal Dance" (Extended Rap) — 5:11
# "Tribal Dance" (Automatic African Remix) — 4:35
# "Tribal Dance" (Automatic Breakbeat Remix) — 4:48

* CD single, France (1993)
# "Tribal Dance" (Radio Edit) — 3:40
# "Tribal Dance" (Radio Rap Edit) — 3:40

* CD single, UK (1993)
# "Tribal Dance" (Edit) — 3:43
# "Tribal Dance" (Automatic African Remix) — 4:38
# "Tribal Dance" (Extended 12-inch Mix) — 5:13
# "Tribal Dance" (Automatic Breakbeat Mix) — 4:50
# "Tribal Dance" (Extended Rap) — 5:11

* CD maxi, France (1993)
# "Tribal Dance" (Radio Edit) — 3:40
# "Tribal Dance" (Radio Rap Edit) — 3:40
# "Tribal Dance" (Extended) — 5:10
# "Tribal Dance" (Extended Rap) — 5:10

* 12-inch maxi (2004)
# "Tribal Dance" 2.4 (Long Version) — 5:48
# "Tribal Dance" 2.4 (Revil O. Remix) — 7:33
# "Tribal Dance" 2.4 (2 Chains Club Mix) — 5:09
# "Tribal Dance" 2.4 (Original Extended Mix) — 5:11

* CD single (2004)
# "Tribal Dance" 2.4 (Xtreme Sound Radio Edit) — 3:23
# "Tribal Dance" 2.4 (Revil O. Short Mix) — 3:40
# "Tribal Dance" 2.4 (2 Chains Radio Cut) — 3:46
# "Tribal Dance" 2.4 (Original Radio Mix) — 3:42
# "Tribal Dance" 2.4 (Long Version) — 5:51
# "Tribal Dance" 2.4 (Revil O. Remix) — 7:35
# "Tribal Dance" 2.4 (2 Chains Club Mix) — 5:09
# "Tribal Dance" 2.4 (Original Extended Mix) — 5:07

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

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1993 singles
2004 singles
1993 songs
2 Unlimited songs
Byte Records singles
English-language Dutch songs
European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles
Music videos directed by Nick Burgess-Jones
Music videos shot in London
Number-one singles in Finland
Number-one singles in Israel
Number-one singles in Portugal
Number-one singles in Spain
Pete Waterman Entertainment singles
Songs written by Phil Wilde
Songs written by Ray Slijngaard