Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s featured selection, chosen by Midday Show host Cheryl Waters, is “One Day” by The Juan MacLean from their 2009 album, The Future Will Come, available on DFA.
It’s an interesting relationship that spawned DFA’s new act The Juan MacLean: lead singer John MacLean started his musical career in Rhode Island band Six Fingered Satellite. DFA head and LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy joined the band late in its existence as a sound engineer. Eventually, though, the members of Six Fingered Satellite went their separate ways. MacLean got a degree in sound engineering and Murphy moved to New York, but their friendship continued. After Murphy started his label, DFA, and his own band, LCD Soundsystem, he urged MacLean to step back into the music spotlight as well. Thus The Juan MacLean was born. However, the process wasn’t so easy. The Future Will Come is only his second album since his 2005 debut, Less Than Human, as he spent the last four years performing live with a band, including LCD Soundsystem keyboardist/vocalist Nancy Whang, and DJ’ed whenever he could. Ultimately, though, he claims The Future Will Come is the best album he’s ever worked on. When you listen to “One Day,” you’ll get a taste of the DFA dance-punk aesthetic lingering on the edges the song, a sort of up-tempo push that’ll get your feet moving. At its core though, the song is a more traditional bit of electronica, a pulsing low-key bit of dance music you might find blasting from the speakers of a dance club.
If you didn’t catch The Juan MacLean when they were at Nectar in Seattle last week, you really missed out! They’re wrapping up their North American tour this week -- Webster Hall this Saturday for all you New Yorkers -- before they head over to Europe for a bit. Follow their tour blog on their MySpace page and hold your breath ‘til they come back again. For now, here’s the video for today’s Song of the Day:
