The last time we featured Red Cell, nine months ago now, it was a sample track from an EP of covers. Now they are back on home territory with a new single, called ‘White Sharks’, which they describe as being a “Miami Vice Dark Pop” track, and “a tad different than how you might usually know us.”
Hmm, Don Johnson in that trademark black T shirt and crisp white suit that always looked as if it had just come back from the dry cleaners even when he’s spent most of the episode in close combat with merciless drug dealers.
But that isn’t the image that comes to mind with this song. Rather it’s the whole stylishness of the programme, which manifested itself in many other ways apart from fashion sense, including the music, which was mainly new wave pop and rock and almost always original artist work, rather than written for the programme.
And Michael Mann’s musical influences on his direction followed him into his film work. Who can forget the gripping music in ‘Manhunter’ (‘Graham’s theme’) at the moment Detective Will Graham makes the connection between the serial killer the Tooth Fairy, and the home videos?
I’ve rambled on about that subject because the question that comes to mind is could Red Cell write the music for Miami Vice if it was resurrected with a latter-day Crockett and Tubbs? Miami Vice’s theme tune and other sound bites came courtesy of the great Jan Hammer after all.
After giving it deep and lengthy thought (three minutes and 20 seconds, the length of the song), I conclude that they definitely could.
They captured the spirit of 1980s South Florida perfectly here while also managing to fit in a memorable early and late melody that sounds like it’s been lifted straight out of something by Toto (it does have that rich yacht rock feel to it), then a snatch of British new wave of the era, and also a contrasting one and associated heavy vocal that smack of symphonic metal.
I’ve tried to unravel Jimmy Skeppstedt’s lyrics but without success. The white sharks could refer metaphorically to a cheater or swindler, or to a sexually predatory male. Ultimately it doesn’t really matter but it would be worth knowing to help explain his clever change of pitch and key as if he’s two different characters.
I’ve said it before and I’ll repeat it, these two guys are very good at what they do and in the absence of many (hardly any actually) comparable contemporary artists in the UK I think they should make a serious shot at getting some recognition here.
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