B-side "Red Alert" Recorded 1999–2000 | Format Vinyl single Genre Latin
dance | |
Released April 3, 2000 (2000-04-03) Length 5:58 (album version)
3:36 (radio mix) | ||
"Bingo Bango" is a song by English electronic music duo Basement Jaxx. It was released on 3 April 2000 by record label XL as the fourth and final single from their debut studio album Remedy. It reached number 13 in the UK Singles Chart.
Contents
The song was later included on their greatest hits album, The Singles in 2005.
The song was covered by Hot 8 Brass Band.
The song was later appeared on Basement Jaxx vs. Metropole Orkest.
The song received mostly positive reviews from music critics, who praised its dynamic vibe and the Latin-influenced production.
Musical style
"Bingo Bango" is a Latin-samba-influenced dance song, contained a sample from "Merengue" by Bolivar. Michelle Goldberg from MetroActive also noticed the techno influence in the song while Rolling Stone's Barry Walters said it "layers ska on top of salsa." AllMusic's John Bush described the song as "horn-driven" and also having "the NuYoricans' penchant for Latin vibes."
Take ‘Bingo Bango’ which is a Latin influenced dance track, which becomes more like a Waltz and Balkan flavoured track by taking some of the original elements and giving them a twist - I really enjoyed working with them and I’m really pleased with how it turned out. - Felix.
Critical reception
Ben Thornburgh from Sputnikmusic described the song an "explosive Mardi Gras." The Guardian's Alice Fisher called the track "riotous". Matt Hendrickson from Rolling Stone called the song "a alypso romp."
On the other hand, a reviewer from NME was very negative. The review stated: "[...] ‘Bingo Bango’, is no less irritating, though less brutish in its execution and more like the bothersome exhortations of an over-exuberant toddler; the vocal sample is ‘nagging’ like a grandmother disapproving of a new haircut and ‘catchy’ in that same ghastly way that any advert with Michael Winner in is memorable – just because it sticks in the head doesn’t make it good."
The brilliant melding of Latin and techno in "Bingo Bango" proves that the Jaxx have a deep feel for international grooves, weaving together salsa rhythms and four-to-the-floor house beats with gleeful naturalness so that the foreign sounds never sound like superfluous spice.
Take the delicate, sugarplum-fairy re-imagining of "Bingo Bango": based around waltz-time harpsichord and raffishly muted trumpet, it becomes as unashamedly widescreen as a Spielberg film score by John Williams, speeding up as it goes along like a Greek or Cossack dance – just one benefit of its being freed from sequencer rhythms.
Chart performance
“Bingo Bango” (RealAudio excerpt), a vinyl-only double single featuring remixes by David Morales and DJ Funk, reaches #1 in just seven weeks.
Music video and usage in media
The music video for the song was directed by the group and was appeared on The Videos.
The song was appeared on the third episode of Queer as Folk and has been included in the 2001 American teen comedy film Get Over It and also appeared on its soundtrack. The song was a downloadable track for DanceStar Digital.
In an interview of the duo for The Independent, interviewer Fiona Sturges said the song "has accompanied myriad sporting events on the telly." Buxton stated: "[...] I saw a bit of football yesterday and as usual they were playing "Bingo Bango" alongside the commentary. I thought how much it suits it – it was very energetic. I felt very proud."