Mirwais

Disco Science

"Disco Science" is the first single released in 1999 by the French singer/songwriter and producer Mirwais Ahmadzai, better known as Mirwais. The song was the lead single from his second album, Production, released by Naive records on April 21, 2000.

Reception

"Disco Science" received critical acclaim from music critics worldwide. Remixes by Giorgio Moroder, Joey Negro, and Thin White Duke completed the release.

Music video

The music video for "Disco Science" was directed by Stephane Sednaoui. It was inspired by the 1970s Nagima Oshima film, In the Realm of Senses. MTV banned the video for its explicit sexual content.

Background

Mirwais composed the song in the late 1990s after observing the dance floors in disco clubs, which he compared to a science experiment because of its reproducibility. A sample from Breeders's "Cannonball" was included later to add a more rock vibe.

In popular culture

"Disco Science" has been used on many commercials and movies including the chase scene from Guy Ritchie's Snatch.

ADD SUV

"ADD SUV" is a song by the electronic artist Uffie. It is her second and lead single from her debut album Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans, it was released in France on May 17, 2010, May 31, 2010 in most European and Asian countries, June 7, 2010 in The UK and Ireland and June 8, 2010 in the US. "ADD SUV" was written by Uffie and produced by acclaimed electro artist Mirwais, who worked with Uffie a lot on her debut album and features Pharrell Williams performing guest vocals.

Release

On April 15, 2010 Uffie's latest single, "ADD SUV" featuring Pharrell Williams premiered on BBC Radio 1. Uffie describes "ADD SUV" as "poking fun at the rap fraternity's obsession with possessions, particularly their cars...", but was more seriously influenced by the 1966 classic novel "Valley of the Dolls", which Uffie was reading at the time she wrote the song. Uffie's lyrical content in the track also deals with darker subjects such as materialism, illegal and prescription drug abuse, and mental disorders, including schizophrenia, manic depression, attention deficit disorder and even the confinement of psychiatric hospitals.

Stéphane Sednaoui

Stéphane Sednaoui is a French director, photographer, producer and actor.

Over the years Sednaoui has redefined his artistic approach to focus on his fine-art and cinematographic projects. New and existing work have been exhibited recently at the MoMA, New York (2015)– the National September 11 Memorial & Museum (2013-2015), New York – the Brooklyn Museum, New York (2013 – the (Barbican Center, London (2014) – Le Grand Palais, Paris (2015)– the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (2014) and in a solo exhibition at the Sam Art Projects Foundation, Paris (2013).

Stéphane Sednaoui career started 30 years ago exploring various film and photographic territories. He covered with success the genres of music video, photojournalism, portrait photography and pop culture. As a music video director, he made "Give It Away" (Red Hot Chili Peppers), "Sly" (Massive Attack), "Mysterious Ways" (U2), "Big Time Sensuality" (Björk), "Fever" (Madonna) and Kylie Minogue. As a photojournalist he covered such events as the Romanian Revolution of 1989 and the 2001 September 11 attack of the World Trade Center. He has also been a regular contributor to Vogue Italia, Vogue China, Vanity Fair, The New York Times Magazine, Interview and Visionaire as a fashion and portrait photographer.

Mirwais Ahmadzaï

Mirwais Ahmadzaï (born 23 October 1960), more commonly known as Mirwais, is a Paris-based record producer and songwriter. He was born in Switzerland to an Afghan father and an Italian mother. He is a leader in the French style of progressive electronic dance music and progressive electronica. A former member of the defunct 1980s group Taxi Girl, he was re-discovered by Madonna in the late 1990s, when he submitted a demo to her then record label, Maverick Records.

Career

Taxi Girl and Juliette et les independents

Known in France for the better part of two decades, Mirwais was a guitarist in the punk group Taxi Girl for eight years, before forming the acoustic outfit Juliette et les Independents with his girlfriend Juliette. Taxi Girl's first EP, "(S.O.S Mannequin)", was released in early 1980 on Pathé Marconi/EMI.

"For a teenager, the late 70s were a strange mixture of disco music and punk, and it was okay to like them all," he says. Taxi Girl captured the punk rock power of The Stooges, the techno futurism of Kraftwerk and the disco euphoria of Giorgio Moroder and molded the diametrically opposed styles into an electrifying new-wave sound that entertained and inspired a generation of listeners bored by the complacency of 80s French pop. Even the current darlings of the French electronic music scene, such as Daft Punk and Air, continue to namecheck Taxi Girl as a major influence on their artistic directions.