3121 - “The Dance”

In my previous thread on Te Amo Corazon I framed 3121 as:

1. P’s Latin Era
2. Lifestyle Brand

I also said TAC reflected P’s maturity, as does The Dance which is a beautiful, deep & poetic song about self-restraint!

#PrinceTwitterThread
#3121album

The Dance is another Latin tinged number to add to P’s 3121 Latin Era.

Last time we went to Panama/Brazil, this time we go to Argentina/Uruguay.

P’s Manager during the 3121 era @ruthlesdva reinforced my view that the Latin presence around Prince was strong around this time.

It wasn’t the 1st version of this song. Previously it appeared on The Chocolate Invasion aka Trax from the NPG Music Club Vol 1.

@PrinceVault assumes recording between 1999-2001 or 2004 nearer the time of the download release.

Choc version here:

However, now even this may be in dispute because @MrMorrisHayes claims The Dance was originally intended for KamaSutra which would date it back to the 90’s.

He disclosed this in an interview with The Current in 2018.

Mr Hayes said:

“....of course P was so good at re-appropriating tracks - he had done this song on the KamaSutra record called "The Dance." And then he had put it on this record (3121) and that's one of my favorite pieces on that record. It's just like it's incredible....”

Maybe Morris meant “The Chocolate Invasion” & mistakenly called it KamaSutra or maybe he was talking about another track & said Dance in error?

The only other track from KamaSutra that had appeared on another album was ‘The Plan’ (in edited form) which had been on Emancipation.

But Morris said The Dance & KamaSutra which would mean it is 10 yrs or more older than it had been assumed.

Further versions might yet exist in the vault.

After all, it’s not inconceivable, we only recently found out about a 1979 version of ICNTTPOYM.

The Chocolate Invasion version has a Middle Eastern sound & so I’ll call this the ‘Arabic version’.

It has a chill out vibe, which as I mentioned in my earlier thread on “Te Amo Corazon”, was in vogue at around this time with the popular lifestyle branded compilations.

An instrumental version of this would have been a perfect fit for a Buddha Bar/Cafe Del Mar compilation.

The production on the Arabic version is murkier than the one on 3121, hence why Prince probably re-recorded it.

The production is far superior on the later 3121 version.

P might be using Santoor samples/presets (or even a hammered dulcimer) on the Arabic version.

This sample sound was pretty much in vogue & could be heard in a lot of the Arabic chill out tracks of that era.

Here’s what the ‘classical’ Santoor sounds like w/o manipulation:

Or it could have been a hammered dulcimer sample as P was also fond of this instrument.

I can’t really make out which one it is for certain on this Arabic version of The Dance.

I really liked this version but it never felt complete or fully realised & P understood this too. https://twitter.com/natalyamusiq/status/1154151546709401600

In addition to the Santoor/Dulcimer there’s synthetic sounding wind chimes, flutes & a harp. These are supplemented with the bass, synths, guitar & crashing cymbals.

In 2015 Tidal re-released the album but My Medallion replaced this Arabic version of The Dance.

The definitive version of “The Dance” was released on 3121 & it’s all P with no band.

This was the 1st time Prince had included a song on 2 studio albums.

The 2nd time with “U’re Gonna C Me” - ONA & & MPLSoUND.

Listen to the 3121 version:

The 3121 version sounds more realised & the production is on ‘POINT’- as it is on the whole 3121 album.

The 3121 version strips away the Arabic atmospherics & replaces it with a Tango inflection.

This was the first time that Prince had delved into Tango.

Yes, I said Tango!

In their threads @ehphd & @arrthurr framed P as an “Educator” referencing American music greats like Aretha, Hendrix & Ike Turner.

I will 2 but my musical references are far more left field.

But please persevere w me - I’ll eventually return to P.

Music = broadening horizons!

Tango emerged in the 1880s in the border between Argentina & Uruguay - the Río de la Plata.

It’s a partner & social led dance & it comprises of a mix of different musical styles - African riddims, Italian song, Hispanic dance steps, Milonga & Gaucho guitar.

It was banned!

From the slums it progressed 2 the brothels & eventually in the 1900’s it gained commercial traction into the posher clubs & dance halls making it one of the hottest dances in the world.

In polite society it was 1 way 2 get physically close 2 a partner you felt attracted 2.

It’s Golden Age was in the 40 year period between 1900-1940 when it was booming in Argentina & France & one of its first superstars was Toulouse native Carlos Gardel.

Post Golden Age, Tango went into a a decline with the moral changes in society.

In the 1950’s it returned with a vengeance with the emergence of a rebellious new innovation - ‘Nuevo Tango’ spearheaded by Astor Piazzolla.

Piazzolla inspired a new generation of Tango hipsters by defying convention & ripping up & rewriting the rulebook.

@AstorPiazzolla1

Piazzolla’s influence was so deep that he in turn inspired yet a further rebellion in the early 00’s - ‘Electro-Tango’ - a movement pioneered by the likes of Gotan Project & BFTC.

@GotanProjectOff
@Bajofondo

Electro-Tango tracks were heavily featured on the lifestyle comps.

I vividly remember the first time ever I heard Tango. I was in my teens, at home & watching BBC2, a channel I rarely watched.

I saw this old guy on there with what I thought was an accordion (turned out to be a bandoneon). He started playing with his band - a Tango Sextet.

They started playing this deep melancholic instrumental (Milonga De Angel) - my jaw just dropped & I was mesmerised.

I couldn’t take my eyes off the TV - the world just stopped - the only thing that existed was this music!

That old guy was the Maestro - Señor Astor Piazzolla.

Milonga de Angel & Mumuki were 2 tracks that stood out for me.

The BBC show is actually available on CD & I would highly recommend it.

Here’s a clip of the show that left me in complete wonderment - listen to the Piano lines with The Dance in mind:

This led to an exploration of his catalogue & although I tried to listen to other Tango artists too, they just didn’t hit that ‘special’ Astor P spot.

But my earliest recollection of Tango before Astor was the amazing & haunting ‘Libertango’ by Grace Jones in the early 80’s.

Libertango had always blown my mind but I never realised it was a derivative of Tango & I never knew it was a Piazzolla cover until I discovered his music.

Here’s a remarkable Tango-Progressive Rock version by Astor which blew my mind all over again:

It wasn’t until early 2000’s, more than 10 years later when Tango would pique my interest again with the arrival of ‘Electro-Tango’ & The Gotan Project’s cover version of “Vuelvo Al Sur”- another Astor Piazzolla track.

Once again, I was reinvested in Tango after hearing this.

Indeed at around the same time I started DJ’aying & took the name UMB after a Gotan Project track - “Una Musica Brutal” meaning “One Raw Sound”.

I subsequently abridged the name to UMB as the original title was a bit of a mouthful.

Here’s the UMB track

I promise you we’re going to get back to P, but before that, there was one other noteworthy Tango incident in my life.

It was Bertolucci’s Last Tango in Paris. A movie that I only watched because of Brando but it left me with an immense love for its soundtrack by Gato Barbieri.

This movie led to an explosion of soft core porn movies in the 70’s.

It’s still a very controversial movie for amongst other things, Brando’s love of butter!

That’s all I’ll say about that!

The whole soundtrack is scintillating & sublime. Here’s my fave cut - pure seduction:

And oh btw those infamous Tango head snaps that many of you will be familiar with & will associate with Tango are foreign to Argentine & Uruguayan Tango.

The head snaps were a European creation emerging from the Ballroom Tango craze.

So Tango is dramatic, it’s about passion, longing, sexuality, seduction, melancholy, misery, nostalgia, hope & pain.

P’s Dance embodies all of this - it takes 2 to Tango - it reflects this interplay.

This is P coming into fully fledged maestro mode - a la Astor Piazzolla

Sometimes P was even dressing like a Tango Don around this time. In pinstriped suits & hats just like the Tango guys Carlos Gardel & Gotan Project.

P might have been channeling some of the Tango vibes with this dress code & this track or maybe it was just coincidental.

"The Dance" is a dark, atmospheric, sophisticated & melancholic Tango inspired track.

P is lamenting a lost opportunity at love with passion, regret, nostalgia & melancholy.

It’s a lost opportunity that he has continually returned to thru the years with different versions.

It’s a seduction directed to a woman with whom he can’t entertain friendship as their desires towards each other are plainly carnal.

P is determined to refute the possibility of this relationship - o/w he’ll go in too deep - he’ll be completely intoxicated by this love.

On the other hand he is contemplating life without this love interest.

He presents himself with 2 choices:

1. He either goes in too deep
Or
2. He’ll have no relationship at all - not even a friendship because the potency of their carnal desires would overwhelm it.

If the depth of his desire is entertained, then the love interest is bound to reciprocate it & she too will find it inescapable.

P isn’t going 2 dance w/ her, he will dance alone.

The Dance is a metaphor for self-restraint & avoiding the entrapment of this carnal desire.

Dance has a Tango foundation.

P is saying he will have a lonely dance.

Tango is a partner lead dance & so it can’t be danced to alone - it takes 2 to Tango.

So The Dance is about this conflict going on inside of him - commitment - an issue that often plagued his personal life

Its classically tinged & cinematic baroque opening is reminiscent of a movie score for an erotic film noir - a la Polanski!

It exudes a passion & a tension.

The Dance has a Tango inflection but there is no bandoneon & the Tango inspiration filters through on the Piano lines.

Those majestic Tango inspired piano lines in E flat minor sound similar 2 the eerie piano lines in the coda of “Temptation” & set the mood 4 the track.

A slow instrumental version would have been right at home on Twin Peaks - with it’s haunting, surreal Badalamenti-esque vibes.

Let me take you back to “Last Tango in Paris” because I mentioned it for more than just its title.

In parts it is reminiscent to the start of The Dance with the same atmospheric sweeping string orchestrations (Midi in P’s case) & the slow melodic piano lines.

Take a listen:

The Dance starts as a slow Tango but midway it evolves dramatically with handclaps that hark back to Q of U.

A passionate guitar solo then envelops the track.

Dramatic screams & handclaps combine with the piano runs creating a potent mix that bring P’s carnal desires to life

P is influenced by P - tantrums & trademark screams of passion reverberate & echo with hues of The Beautiful Ones (TBO).

Incredible, heart achingly beautiful, mesmerising & hypnotic - capturing the essence of Tango passion.

22 yrs later - capturing the same intensity as TBO’s.

The coda is a potent mix of heartfelt anguish & sexual rage.

He has tasted the fruits but if he continues to do so, the fruits will in the end consume him.

He is frustrated by her ambivalence.

“Whoa baby
R U gonna really just stand there & act like U don't want this?”

P tries to convince himself that she is not unique:

”I could find another just like U anywhere, Oh baby,”

Paradoxically, at the same time he is contradicting what he says above & displays doubt:

“They might not have ur hips, girl, and all that pretty hair”.

P finishes with an uncontainable rage about a lost opportunity:

“It’s not fey-eh! It’s not fay-ehhh!!!”

Tears!

The midi strings on the coda of The Dance remind me of Fania’s ‘Prepara’ which featured on the 3121 Radio Show & which Common sampled on ‘Stolen Moments III.

I can draw comparisons with yet another song - G M’s “Careless Whisper”.

It has the same kind of lovelorn potency - lyrically & atmospherically - not musically.

“I'm never gonna dance again
Guilty feet have got no rhythm”

They don’t sound alike but they could be siblings.

The Dance is my fave cut from 3121 & one of his most intense, poetic, potent & underrated tracks.

It’s stylish too & like TAC, it occupies a unique space in his catalogue

The backing vocal is likely to be Tamar.

Liza is 'guest’ performer but according to @ruthlesdva

As “Educator” - P didn’t just lend from American musical greats but (also perhaps unwittingly) from a myriad of Transnational influences on this incl himself:

Argentina - Tango/Jazz Astor & Gato

Latin America - Fania All

UK/Greece - G Michael

Italy - Angelo B

& 80’s P!

Who could this song be about.

Arabic version assumed recording - 1999 or early 2004 - P separated from Mayte & eventually divorced her. Started relationship & eventual marriage to Manuela.

Was it about Mayte or Manuela, hence the Arabic inflections?

The Tango version assumed recording date is 2004/2005 - P was allegedly with Tamar/Liza (Coco)/Bria!

Was it inspired by Coco/Bria or ? - hence the Latin influence?

KamaSutra version recording date unknown?

So was it about someone entirely different in the 80’s or even 90’s ?

We just don’t know when he wrote it & what Morris claims might throw everything into doubt about it’s origins.

It’s conceivable that he updated it every so often when he was inspired by someone new.

The Dance may not be about a specific person but more about a set of carnal desires & emotions.

Thus, making it relatable to different people during different periods & thus giving it a neutral but transformative & adaptable quality.

Does it even matter who it is about - not at all - it’s such a great song.

I love it even more if it isn’t about a specific person & rather more about the arousal of a certain set of feelings, emotions & desires which gives it room to evolve just like Tango has evolved.

Going back to the Tango - one of its distinctive features is the bandoneon which is commonly found in many tracks & which is often used to distinguish it.

However, it didn’t feature at all on The Dance.

But P has previously used something similar to it, the Accordion.

The 1st time he used an accordion was on Sheila E’s “Next time wipe the lipstick” in 84’ & the accordionist was Nick DeCaro.

Interestingly, Brenda (Vanity 6) Bennett’s mother played accordion & she is of French descent which takes us to Parade - P used it on ‘Do U Lie’.

On the Parade track, Frank Marocco was the accordionist & he also played it on “Violet Blue” from the Jill Jones album.

The accordion was also used on “When She Comes” from HitnRun Phase 2, one of my favourite tracks from that album.

In addition to the P versions of The Dance there’s also an ‘unofficial’ remix by respected House producer Osunlade that is definitely worth checking out.

This was a limited 10" pressing with a Stevie Wonder remix on the flip side.

Osunlade had previously done an awesome cover of “Crazy You” from Prince’s debut album “For You”.

Osunlade’s exceptional cover featured on a Prince tribute album called “Controversy” released in or about 2008.

3121 Radio Show

I introduced the background to this during my TAC thread.

In the show, @DJRASHIDA played & chose The Dance as her favourite song from the 3121 album - it’s @ruthlesdva’s favourite track & mine too!

Listen

In the same Radio show she conducted an interview with Moroccan born filmmaker Sanaa Hamri who was involved in the 3121 movie.

Listen in as @DJRASHIDA asks her what it was like working with Prince & feeling freedom!

According to @ruthlesdva (P’s Manager during this time) Sanaa Hamri co-wrote & co-directed the 3121 movie with P.

Apparently, the movie is terrible & although it wasn’t finished P was going to release it around Lotusflow3r.

However, because the movie heavily referenced 3121, P decided against its release.

@ruthlesdva says that there are several different cuts of the movie. Sanaa has a copy but wasn’t supposed to have a copy & immediately after 4/21 she was trying to find a distributor.

@ruthlesdva - The movie was a collection of videos for ‘3121’, ‘The Word’, (acoustic) ‘Love’, ‘Incense & Candles’, ‘Morning After’ & ‘The Dance’ & a sequence for Lolita & Streets of Panama which Afshin shot.

Wonder what sort of narrative P had conjured up for The Dance video.

Live Performances

The Dance was played on a handful of occasions, twice in instrumental form in 2007 & 2009 - why didn’t he sing the lyrics? Too raw?

On a final occasion it was revived during the second show of the solo Piano And A Microphone Gala Event on 21st January 2016.

During the Gala Event, The Dance formed part of this very emotional passage of songs:

Look at Me, Look at U
The Question Of U
1000 X's & O's
U're Gonna C Me
Call My Name
Purple Rain
Speech
The Dance
TACorazon
A Million Days
N C 2 U
How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore

During the Purple Rain segment, Prince became very emotional & left the stage for a moment and it has been said he could be seen wiping his eye (tears).

He came back out and the next passage of the show began with The Dance but was prefaced with this short speech:

“This is the first time I have done a concert alone.... and you are here the first night, so congratulations...
huh...to both of us....

I forgot that ..huh...music sometimes is emotional & I may have picked the wrong line of the songs here but I’ll get through it”.

“The wrong line of the songs” - presumably P had a sequence of songs mapped out to play & on this night he played this sequence.

He only ever performed this sequence of songs on this one night.

Perhaps because he found this sequence as one of the most emotionally exhausting!

P then went on to perform a simply gorgeous & emotional new rendition of The Dance with a mix of Classical & Jazz influences reminiscent of the gorgeous work of Keith Jarrett.

This beautiful piece is from his infamous & highly regarded “Paris Concert”. https://open.spotify.com/track/3EXbdyVX1GTWrbF69bvqbG?si=SKa7F7mfTPaELNme0k-uOg

This new rendition of The Dance lasted for around 3 minutes. It then segued into Te Amo Corazon & then A Million Days - all songs from around the same era!

Here’s a short audio clip of that new rendition of The Dance making it the 3rd known version.

During that same passage of songs, he finished playing NC2U & then again there was a momentary pause & he said:

“One more, one more sad song & I can get her out of my system”.

Then he finished the emotional segment of songs with ‘How Come You Don’t Call Me Anymore’.

So who was he playing these sad songs for?

Who were they about?

Who was he trying to get out of his system?

Were they a tribute to Kim Upsher, his first high school sweetheart who passed away in November 2015 - a few weeks before this show?

According to @jilldjones, he was heartbroken after Kim’s death: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/some-guys-send-you-flower_b_12053212

Jill on Kim:

“ow everybody is like, 'Oh, Denise' but his girlfriend who has been with him, lived in the same house as him, grew up with him, that was his big crush from school. Kim was an unsung hero in my opinion. They stayed friends thru-out. She knew his family, everything”

In show 1 earlier that same evening, he also gave a speech about lucid dreams

Clearly, he was thinking of someone!

Clearly, it was a very emotional time.

Clearly, he had to get something out of his system.

So, perhaps, he was trying to get Kim’s passing out of his system on this very emotional night, so emotional that he was reduced to tears.

How many times before had that happened!

Kim was his first love & had been a constant in his life & now she was gone - he felt pain!

I really can’t wait for the Estate to release these 2 shows on audio & video. Perhaps 2 of the most significant shows of his career.

For the first time P disclosed so much about his personal life, his feelings & emotions.

A totally unique & unprecedented event in his career.

Before we finish let’s look at the 3121 inner sleeve images again.

In my Corazon thread I spoke about how I viewed the rooms representing the themes of the songs - not purposeful but likely to be coincidental.

For me, the Dance image signifies a deliberate separation in space.

The 2 single armchairs at either side of the decorative ledge might represent a barrier.

There’s an enforced distance & a tension pervades the atmosphere- 2 potential lovers keeping each other at bay & resisting Temptation!

Thus, perfectly tying in with ‘it takes 2 to Tango!’.

@ruthlesdva - P’s Manager during 3121 has been following our threads & was responsible for the interior design of the 3121 house.

I’ve been yabbing with her & she’s kindly given me info about the rooms .

Earlier in my thread, she also provided info about the 3121

She informed me that some of the items were photo shopped but then recreated in real life - like the fountain.

She said she had the 3121 fountain created after the photo shopped images.

It was subsequently sold at a yard sale. Somewhere in the world, a fan has the P fountain.

The dining table in “Word” was not owned by P.

@ruthlesdva made the faux etched P symbol w a vinyl decal which made it look real.

The P pillows were real - 1 had 3121 & the other Symbol & the dining table pillows had 3121 embroidered.

The ‘Satisfied‘ pillow was photoshopped

This Circular couch has some importance as W & L (Brits sessions) did an acoustic set w P around it which included “Mountains”.

“They came over a few times & just jammed & the vibe was easy & friendly” - @ruthlesdva

Ruth says, W & L & Sheila came over a few times and just jammed. She had no idea what most of the songs were.

But they were intended 2 be the all girl band pre 3EG & P thought fans would be excited to see a version that included all 3 but they weren’t so he scrapped the idea.

Now about that Purple Carpet in the hilarious clip below:

@ruthlesdva - “The carpet was up those grand steps but not through the damn driveway”.

It was also photoshopped in part, except for the main entry which was real.

It was P’s “red carpet” feature!

House Clearing:

Before I end just a few House Clearing items that are cluttering my brain about 3121 that no one has mentioned thus far:

3121 wasn’t the first time P had used numbers for an album title -

1999
One Night Alone
20Ten

That same year in March his track with George Clinton “Paradigm” was released on “How Late Do U Have 2 B B4 U R Absent”.

Prince featured as O{+>).

In August 06’, capitalising on 3121’s success, Warners released “Ultimate Prince” which reached No. 61 in the USA & No.6 in the UK

I hope you enjoyed this little journey & the diversions.

You know Prince was all about opening minds & he wanted his fam base to explore all kinds of music.

So I hope you are open to music beyond just P & are wiling 2 explore other genres like Tango - broaden your horizons!

If you would like to hear more Tango, in 2007, I compiled the following 3 releases for one of the UK’s biggest labels (licensing was restricted due to budgeting).

1. Beginners Guide To Tango Lounge - focused on the Electro & Nuevo Tango movements.

https://www.amazon.com/Beginners-Lounge-Compiled-System-VA-2007-06-26/dp/B01GUHBG90

This compilation introduced a wealth of new Tango sounds from Argentina & beyond incorporating hybrid creations with Arabic, Finnish, Chinese & European influences.

It also features a a killer Electro Tango cover of New Order’s seminal Blue Monday:

2. Bar Tango - A low budget one which introduced a swathe of new underground artists from Argentina & beyond.

As with BGTTL a majority of this compilation consisted of previously unreleased & exclusive tracks that would be hard to find anywhere else.

https://www.amazon.com/Bar-Tango-Compiled-UMB-2007-12-21/dp/B01K8MJK50

3. Finally, with a Tango scholar & dancer, I co-compiled this expert guide - re-issued & updated.

This one is used by many Tango beginners classes worldwide & covers the history of the Tango over 3 discs - Genesis to Evolution to Contemporary (mine).

https://www.amazon.com/Beginners-Guide-Tango/dp/B0013B92M2

Some of these compilations will only set you back around $1000!

I mean how did they come up with this insane price!

I compiled them & even I wouldn’t pay that much & so how on earth did this seller imagine someone would.

Stores trying to take advantage of dopey customers.

I had no say in the packaging or design of these comps otherwise they would look a whole lot different - better!

Saying that a couple of years later the packaging & title did catch the eye of Damon Albarn ( @gorillaz) who used it for his other band Blur’s greatest hits.

Some of those comps may now be difficult to get hold of (none are available digitally on streaming platforms) but you can check out some similar sounds via this mix I did about 10 years ago which focuses on the Electro-Tango movement: https://www.mixcloud.com/djumb/nu-electro-tango-2009-dj-umb/

That’s it!

How many are still with me?

What no one!

HUGE HUGE credit to @ruthlesdv for info on the house & contributing - we luv u

Special thanks to my co-host @EdgarKruize.
Not only does he possess serious P knowledge but he’s such a

Also I want to give a big shout out to @polishedsolid as some of our contributors are drawn from her Prince Symposiums.

That’s where we first heard about them & so ‘she’ really has laid down the groundwork for building such a phenomenally talented group of Purple People!

And she’s putting on a great online event on October 10th on SOTT.

Go & Register now: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/peach-black-2-a-virtual-sign-o-the-times-super-deluxe-celebration-tickets-117179572255

Huge thanks to all our contributors without whom it’d just be us 2 guys talking to each other.

And thanks 2 U, our readers

@yan_kry
@darlingnisi
@RichardCole_NOW
@PrincesFriendYT
@CaseyRain
@CasciTRitchie
@ehphd
@arrthurr
@PressRewind75

Check in tomorrow for the ‘Penultimate’ thread on “GOTB” by my co-host @EdgarKruize.

1 final announcement after that!

My Prince threads can be found here:

https://twitter.com/deejayumb/status/1238903262507601927?s=21

AND

#PrinceTwitterThread series is collated & stored here:

https://www.purplepicks.net/2020/06/26/eng-princetwitterthread-series-two-come/