Released 22 November 2004 Label Virgin | Format CD
12" | |
Recorded 2004
The Hit Factory (New York City) Genre Big beat
alternative hip hop
electronica Length 6:33 (album version)
4:28 (UK radio edit)
3:11 (radio edit) | ||
"Galvanize" is a song by British electronic duo The Chemical Brothers and the first single released from their 2005 album Push the Button. It peaked at No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart.
Contents
It was the highest charting single in their native United Kingdom by The Chemical Brothers since "Hey Boy Hey Girl", which had also reached No. 3 in 1999. In Spain, it reached No. 1 and it held the top spot for two weeks. In Australia, the song was ranked No. 65 on Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2004.
Composition
The track features a distinct Moroccan Chaabi string sample from Najat Aatabou's song "Hadi Kedba Bayna (Obvious lie)". The main hook of the song is in 6/4 time signature, while the rest is in 4/4. The track also features rapping by Q-Tip (member of A Tribe Called Quest). In part of the song, a sample from the group’s early single "Leave Home" plays.
Critical reception
Pitchfork Media's Scott Plagenhoef stated the song along with "The Boxer" "harks back to the duo's early B-Boy/techno days" but missed "the ferocity and sub-bass rattlings of their earlier cousins, and here play second fiddle to unremarkable verses and nasally vocals."
It won the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording in February 2006.
Music video
The music video was filmed in Málaga, Spain, and directed by Adam Smith. It involves three boys wearing clown face paint, who sneak into a club during a Krump dance fight. One of the boys starts dancing in the dance-off, but they are caught and taken by the police.
Usage in media
That same month, an Anheuser-Busch television commercial for Budweiser Select featured "Galvanize". The song also started appearing in NBC's Sunday Night Football coverage in 2008. "Galvanize" was used as walk-on music by darts player Kevin Painter, and is currently used heavily during live T20 Cricket, specifically when a video review is taking place. The song was used to start the entrance of the athletes at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and in Need for Speed: Most Wanted. Its most recent usage is as the opening theme of the MLB Network series Hot Stove. It is also used in a commercial for Mike Holmes 2016 television show Holmes Buy it Right.