Search - Eric Vs Floyd Prydz :: Proper Education

From the Ministry of Sound website:

Alan C. Baird | Mesa Arizona US + Budapest Hungary EU | 03/16/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"[from the record label] Following months of anticipation, Swedish dance legend Eric Prydz returns to Data Records to follow up his immense Number 1 hit `Call On Me', with a blistering track sampling Pink Floyd's `Another Brick In The Wall'.



Out now, this is the first time a Pink Floyd record has ever officially been cleared. Lacing David Gilmour's caliginous vocals with an immense electro bassline, Prydz builds on the epic nature of the original, moulding it into a bouncy slice of crossover brilliance. Using both the original vocal and other musical elements of the 1979 hit, the Swedish house don gives a respectful nod to the anti-establishment aesthetics of the record, while perfectly bringing it up to date, giving it a new lease of life for another assault on the charts.



The video for `Proper Education' is now set to cause a sensation of another kind, as it focuses on climate change and the issues surrounding global warming. Set in a London estate, it features a gang of young people breaking into local flats, in order to switch appliances off standby, change light bulbs for energy efficient alternatives, place bricks in toilet cisterns, alongside a series of other energy saving measures.



"There was a lot of anticipation around this video and I was really keen to do something a bit different," Prydz explains. "Pink Floyd would always use their videos to get a message across and I really wanted to carry on this spirit. I'd been reading so much in the press about climate change and global warming recently and felt it would be great to try and empower people to do something about it. It's not making a grand statement. It's just simply saying everyone can do a little and it will make a difference."



The video, directed by Marcus Adams, saw Prydz consult with climate change charity Global Cool [...]. Global Cool believes that the solution to defeating global warming lies within the power of the individual, empowering them to take personal action to make a valuable difference.



Global Cool spokesman, Dan Morrell said, "The message is clear, climate change is happening but collectively, given the tools and the knowledge to actively reduce CO2 emissions, and to encourage others to do the same, we can collectively push the climatic tipping point long into the future".



Global Cool not only advised not only on the video's content but are also working with Eric and Ministry of Sound to make the release of `Proper Education' carbon neutral. The emissions created through the production and distribution of the CD release will be offset* through the Te Apiti Wind Farm project in New Zealand. The Te Apiti project is one of the first carbon offset schemes to be classified as Gold Standard, a programme endorsed by over 43 critical non-governmental organisations (NGOs).



With `Proper Education' playlisted by Radio 1 seven weeks upfront, by Capital six weeks upfront, and both Vernon Kay and Jo Whiley making it their Record of the Week, the single looks set to surpass the phenomenal success of `Call On Me', "It would be great to have another hit," Prydz concludes. "Even more so if it means we're getting the video's message across to as many people as possible."



About Global Cool

The Global Cool Foundation aims to push back the climatic tipping point, by reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 10 billion tonnes over the next 10 years (one billion tonnes per year). With over 26.5 billion tonnes of CO2 emitted globally every year and with an added annual increase of 0.5 billion tonnes, it is predicted that we are fast approaching the climatic tipping point - the point at which the global climate will become irreversibly unstable.



Carbon neutral offset scheme

The production and distribution of 40,000 CDs, a total of 54.8 tonnes of CO2 produced, will be offset through a Carbon Offset scheme funded by Global Cool. The Te Apiti Wind Farm is located on the north side of the Manawatu Gorge on North Island, New Zealand. The site's 55 megawatt-class turbines generate enough emission free electricity to power up to 45,000 average sized homes."