Why West Nile Rules by John Pritchard (2016)
West Nile
West Nile caught my attention about a year ago when my friend, Jordan Pearson (Halcyon, Motoko, Political Séance), showed me some of their music and suggested them as a local London act for my band STÜKA to play with. I’m not sure I ever got in touch with them but their music caught my attention and I’ve been following West Nile ever since.
Rising out of a an exuberant and thriving electronic music scene in none other than London, Ontario, West Nile carve their own unique and prolific sound into everything they put out. Reminiscent of an era long past, West Nile use pounding drum samples, gleaming synths, groovy bass lines to return electronic music to its place, the 1980’s. They make electronic dance music, but not in any sense that could be classified as modern day “EDM”. If I were to classify them into one genre, I’d likely call it “Futuristic Nostlagia Music”. Each single the group puts out seems so crafted and thought-out to evoke that sense of nostalgia, down to the graphics used for their logo and single artwork.
The group has honed such a perfect sound, the classic synth-pop anthem seems like no small task to attain but West Nile have certainly reached and exceeded that goal in all of the singles they’ve put out. Catchy, yet ethereal. Dancy, yet, somehow… you just completely understand that you were meant to dance to it by yourself. If you’ve ever felt in tune with John Cusack holding a radio over his head in “Say Anything”, or if your friends are constantly telling you take off your sunglasses inside… I’d say West Nile is probably for you.
West Nile rules because they make emotional, honest music that doesn’t feel forced or fake and yet is still so fun and accessible. Some of their best singles lie somewhere in between Eddie Murphy’s “Party All The Time” and Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” on the immediate-need-for-dancing scale. Having only just played their debut performance this past January at The Silver Dollar, I see only bright things in their future. This sound can be accessed and channelled into so many different outlets, it’s exciting to see and hear everything that they’re creating and know you are a part of this incredibly unique and special resurgence that is happening in London, Ontario.
John Pritchard is a musician (and member of 2015 Kazoo! Fest act, STÜKA) and one of the founding forces that got Incline/Decline off the ground.
NSFW
