Chromeo

Canadian electro-funk musical duo

Chromeo

Chromeo performing at the North Coast Music Fest in 2015. From left: David Macklovitch, Patrick Gemayel

Background information
Origin| Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Genres|

* Electro-funk[1]
* nu-disco[1]
* synth-pop[2]
* dance-rock[3]

Works| Chromeo discography
Years active| 2002 (2002)–present
Labels|

* Juliet Records
* Turbo
* Vice
* Back Yard
* V2
* Modular
* Last Gang
* Big Beat
* Atlantic
* Parlophone

Members|

* David Macklovitch (Dave 1)
* Patrick Gemayel (P-Thugg)

Website| chromeo.net
Signature

Chromeo is a Canadian electro-funk duo from Montreal, formed in 2002 by musicians David "Dave 1" Macklovitch and Patrick "P-Thugg" Gemayel. Their sound draws from soul music, dance music, rock, synth-pop, disco and funk.[4]

As of 2024, the band has released six studio albums, with three of them hitting the Billboard 200 charts.[5] In 2018, Chromeo received their first Grammy Award nomination for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical for their album Head over Heels.[6]

## History

[edit]

The duo met in the mid-1990s at Collège Stanislas in Montreal. Speaking on their different ethnic backgrounds, the two jokingly describe themselves as "the only successful Arab/Jewish partnership since the dawn of human culture."[7]

Around the time when they were both 15, Macklovitch joined Gemayel's band.[8][9] During this time, Macklovitch's younger brother A-Trak (of Duck Sauce) started winning the Disco Mix Club Championships, becoming World Champion in 1997.[10] After the band, Dave 1 and P-Thugg started to produce hip hop music together. Also at this time, Tiga was working with Dave 1 at a record store and asked Dave 1 to work on a project for his label, Turbo.[9] Dave 1 and P-Thugg signed as Chromeo and started creating music together.

Reviews of their 2004 debut album, She's in Control, were mostly favorable. Critics compared the sound to 1980s groups Hall & Oates,[11][12] Zapp,[13] Prince,[13] Klymaxx and Sylvester.[14] "Needy Girl" became a worldwide club hit.[15] According to Dave 1, "She's in Control didn't blow up. But we had "Needy Girl", and "Needy Girl" was like a musical passport. That song went all around the world and DJs played it everywhere". The song "You're So Gangsta" was featured as the theme tune for the PC game Space Colony.

In 2005, Chromeo released a mix CD of funky dance tracks on Eskimo Belgium records entitled Un Joli Mix Pour Toi (French for: A Nice Mix for You). In 2006, the group was featured in DJ Mehdi's song "I Am Somebody". During early 2007, Chromeo supported indie rock group Bloc Party on their British tour.[15]

Chromeo at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in 2008

After a three-year break, they released a second album, Fancy Footwork, which also received positive reviews.[16][17] In 2008, Chromeo performed with Daryl Hall as a part of his online series Live from Daryl's House.[18] They also performed with Hall at the 2010 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, TN.[19] On a 2009 episode of Yo Gabba Gabba!, Chromeo appeared performing original song "Nice 'N Clean".[20]

Chromeo released their third studio album, Business Casual, on September 14, 2010.[21] As of 2025, the music video for the album's single "Night by Night" had received over 6.1 million views on YouTube.[22] The band has appeared on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic,[23] been on the cover of Future Magazine,[24] and sold out The Forum in London.[25]

At the beginning of March 2011, Chromeo sent out notice that they had recorded the "world's smallest album", entitled Drive Time, which consists of 55 songs in only 183 seconds.[26] About a week later, it was revealed that Drive Time is actually a free musical Nokia Own Voice satellite navigation pack for Ovi Maps, made for usage with Nokia's compatible cell phones.[27] A red vinyl 5" single consisting of regular, instrumental and a cappella versions of "Turn Left" and "Follow" was released to promote it, with a sticker on the shrink wrap saying that it was a numbered limited edition of 40 copies.

In September 2013, the group announced their fourth studio album White Women with a trailer video featuring the track "Over Your Shoulder".[28] It was released May 9, 2014, in Ireland and May 12 elsewhere.

Chromeo performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival[29] in April 2014.

On November 2, 2017, Chromeo announced a new album called Head Over Heels. The first single "Juice" was released on November 7, 2017.[30] In December of 2018, Chromeo received their first Grammy nomination for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical in the 61st Grammy Awards for the album.[citation needed]

On May 4, 2020, Chromeo announced the launch of its own record label, "Juliet Records" via Facebook.[31]

On June 12, 2020, the band released "Quarantine Casanova," an EP of five new tracks written and recorded under lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic. 100% of the proceeds from digital downloads, physical sales, and merch will be donated to Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp COVID-19 Relief Fund. [32]

On June 12, 2021, the live album Date Night: Chromeo Live! was announced for release on June 25, alongside the release of the single "Don’t Sleep (Live in Washington D.C.)". Tracks were recorded during a 2019 North America concert tour, where Chromeo performed live with a full band for the first time.[33]

Chromeo performed at the 22nd Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April 2023.[34]

## Members

[edit]

David "Dave 1" Macklovitch in June 2024

* Dave 1 (real name David Macklovitch, born June 7, 1978)[35] on guitar and lead vocals.[36] Macklovitch was a Ph.D. candidate in French literature at Columbia University in New York and taught French at Barnard College, but suspended his studies due to the success of the band.[37][38][39]

* P-Thugg (real name Patrick Gemayel, born in Lebanon on July 31, 1977) on keyboards, synthesizers, bass guitar, and talk box. He moved to Canada at the age of eight.

## Discography

[edit]

Main article: Chromeo discography

* She's in Control (2004)
* Fancy Footwork (2007)
* Business Casual (2010)
* White Women (2014)
* Head over Heels (2018)
* Quarantine Casanova (2020)
* Adult Contemporary (2024)

## Awards and nominations

[edit]

Year  | Award  | Category  | Work  | Result

|
|
|
|

2007  | Bucky Award | Best Sweatin' to the Indies Workout Song  | "Fancy Footwork"  | Won[40]
2008  | Woodie Award | Left Field Woodie  | —  | Won[41]
Juno Award | Dance Recording of the Year  | Fancy Footwork | Nominated[42]
2011  | Business Casual | Nominated[43]
MTV Video Music Award | Best Special Effects | "Don't Turn the Lights On"  | Nominated[44]
2019  | Grammy Awards | Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical  | Head Over Heels | Nominated[45]
2022  | Juno Awards | Producer of the Year | On My Mind" (Anomalie & Chromeo), "Tango" (Onyx Collective) | Nominated[46]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b DeLuca, Dan (August 30, 2014). "Chromeo are lords of neo-disco at Made in America". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
2. ^ O'Donnell, Kevin (September 14, 2010). "Chromeo Team Up With Vampire Weekend". Spin. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
3. ^ Sisario, Ben (October 6, 2010). "Looking to a Sneaker for a Band's Big Break". The New York Times. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
4. ^ Goldberg, Adam (2014-05-14). "Chromeo Talks To HuffPost About The New Album 'White Women'". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-09-16.
5. ^ ""Chromeo Chart History: Billboard 200"". Billboard.
6. ^ "2019 GRAMMY Awards: Complete Nominees And Winners List". Grammy.com. 7 December 2018.
7. ^ "An Arab-Jewish Duo Unites Over Sexy Synth-Pop". 22 September 2010. Retrieved 2016-09-16.
8. ^ Franciscovich, Matt (30 September 2009). "Kicking It With Chromeo". Jambands.com.
9. ^ a b Joseph, Aaron (July 2007). "P-Thugg interview @ The Official Chromeo Make Up Party". MVRemix. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
10. ^ "DMC World Champions". DMC World DJ Championships. Archived from the original on 2012-11-02. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
11. ^ vinnie baggadonuts, changed man (February 2004). "cd review CHROMEO - SHE'S IN CONTROL". tastes like chicken. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
12. ^ Pytlik, Mark (22 February 2004). "Album Review Chromeo She's In Control". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
13. ^ a b "Artist biography: Chromeo". AllMusic.
14. ^ Telling, Gillian (26 February 2004). "Review: She's In Control". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 4 April 2010.
15. ^ a b "Chromeo". ION Magazine. 8 September 2010. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
16. ^ "Review: Fancy Footwork". StarPulse.
17. ^ "Chromeo – Fancy Footwork (Review)". URB.com. 24 July 2007. Archived from the original on 2014-01-08.
18. ^ Byrne, Katie (28 July 2008). "Chromeo And Daryl Hall — Yes, Of Hall & Oates — Team Up For Sure-To-Be-Epic Jam Session". MTV Newsroom. Archived from the original on 30 May 2012. Retrieved 2011-02-21.
19. ^ "Bonnaroo 2010 Lineup". Bonnaroo Music Festival. Archived from the original on 2014-08-08. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
20. ^ Young, Alex (2009-03-02). "Watch: Chromeo brings clean hands to Yo Gabba Gabba!". Consequence. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
21. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXP0KbHaw34 Chromeo YouTube Channel
22. ^ Chromeo - "Night By Night" Video on YouTube
23. ^ "Chromeo". Morning Becomes Eclectic. 30 August 2010. KCRW.
24. ^ "Chromeo – In The Studio With Future Music Magazine". 17 April 2011. Archived from the original on 23 April 2011.
25. ^ "Greenmoney Rinse Mix + Chromeo Afterparty". 23 November 2011.
26. ^ "Chromeo Make "World's Smallest Album"". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
27. ^ "Nokia - Own Voice for Ovi Maps". Nokia. Archived from the original on 14 April 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
28. ^ Chromeo New Album Trailer on YouTube
29. ^ "Coachella 2014 Lineup Announced". Pitchfork Media Inc. 8 January 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
30. ^ "Chromeo Teases New Single, Album in Leggy Trailer". Variance Magazine. 2 November 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
31. ^ "We Announce To You - Juliet Records | A VERY SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT. We're proud and excited to launch our own record label, Juliet Records. We've said this before: after 15 years in the game,... | By Chromeo | Facebook". Retrieved 19 February 2024 – via www.facebook.com.
32. ^ "Bandcamp: Quarantine Casanova". 2024-09-11. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
33. ^ Lavin, Will (2021-06-12). "Chromeo announce 'Date Night: Chromeo Live!' album". NME. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
34. ^ "Coachella 2023: Chromeo joins the five-timer's club, brings out La Roux". The Desert Sun. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
35. ^ "Chromeo Interview". Winnie Cooper. 3 November 2010. Archived from the original on 7 November 2010. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
36. ^ "Chromeo Bio, Music, News & Shows". DJZ.com. Archived from the original on March 29, 2013. Retrieved March 7, 2013.
37. ^ Jackman, Robert (July 25, 2007). "Chromeo Fancy Footwork Review". BBC Music. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
38. ^ Cloudsdale, Leanne (16 November 2021). "Electro-funk and a passion for books". Vitsœ. Medium. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
39. ^ Stern, Claire (2018-06-15). "Chromeo's David Macklovitch Is the Hottest College Professor You Never Had". InStyle. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
40. ^ Lawrence, Grant (December 19, 2007). "The 2007 Bucky Awards". CBC Radio 3. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
41. ^ "mtvU Woodie Awards | 2008". MTV. Viacom. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
42. ^ "Dion leads the Juno pack". Edmonton Journal. Postmedia News. February 6, 2008. Archived from the original on February 19, 2015. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
43. ^ "2011 Juno Award Winners". Tribute. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
44. ^ "Best Special Effects Nominees". MTV. Viacom. Archived from the original on September 25, 2011. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
45. ^ "2019 Chromeo On 'Head Over Heels' And Doing It Analog". Recording Academy. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
46. ^ "Here's the full list of 2022 Juno nominees". CBC/Radio-Canada. Retrieved May 24, 2022.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chromeo.

* Official website

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI

National|

* Germany

Artists|

* MusicBrainz

* v
* t
* e

Chromeo

* Dave 1
* P-Thugg

Studio albums|

* She's in Control
* Fancy Footwork
* Business Casual
* White Women
* Head over Heels
* Adult Contemporary

Mix albums|

* DJ-Kicks: Chromeo

Live albums|

* Date Night: Chromeo Live!

Singles|

* "Jealous (I Ain't with It)"

Related articles|

* Discography

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