Aeroplane - We Can’t Fly

Brussels’ Aeroplane, in its previous incarnation at least, is probably best known to you as the two Belgian blokes that remixed ‘Bodies’ by Robbie Williams into a beat-heavy masterpiece, or Friendly Fires’ ‘Paris’ into a smooth as silk track highlighting the vocals of New York girl trio Au Revoir Simone. Aeroplane is now one man, studio master Vito DeLuca, one and alone now that his former partner Stephan Fasano has departed. DJs are famous for taking someone else’s work, teasing out the best parts to highlight, removing the not so great stuff, adding stuff to the mix to shake things up.

DeLuca however decided to take a completely different tack, reportedly having written all the songs and played all the instruments on ‘We Can’t Fly’, Aeroplane’s debut album. No mean feat. When Aeroplane were featured at club nights previously, their adoring fans were, for the most part, the kind of rave-loving people you’d likely find on Ibiza. While this album has a definite dance hall vibe to it, you don’t have to be one of Annie Mac’s Friday night ravers to appreciate what DeLuca has done here. ‘We Can’t Fly’ is a textured effort that would sound equally good on headphones as it would piped out onto the dance floor.

As should be expected for a famed DJ of the European underground club scene, it’s the instrumental, all-out dance numbers that shine the brightest. ‘London Town’ is the kind of song that will psych you up for a night on the town, as well as probably have hallucinating a mirrorball hanging from the ceiling, the flickering coloured lights of Studio 54 upon you as you try out your sexiest club moves in front of the mirror. Because the grooves are that good.

Two more examples: ‘I Don’t Feel’ (featuring the vocals of Merry Clayton, who provided backing vocals to the Stones’ ‘Gimme Shelter’) and ‘Caramellas’. Hearing these are like taking a step back in time, when disco was king and the beats were always good. The amazing thing about these tracks is that unlike the work of other dance bands that make choppy but poppy hits, these by DeLuca sound so effortless, so fluid. There is something seriously wrong with your body if you don’t raise their hands in the air and wiggle your hips to ‘My Enemy’ and title track ‘We Can’t Fly’. The only instrumental misstep appears to be opening track ‘Mountains of Moscow’, which is an unworthy introduction to an otherwise great album.

The epic guitars and synths of ‘The Point of No Return’ establishes DeLuca as our generation’s Henry Mancini. You know, that talented bloke who wrote the iconic ‘Moon River’ for Hepburn’s ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’, the theme to ‘Peter Gunn’ and countless film scores. You can easily envision this song soundtracking the next Hollywood blockbuster. ‘Fish in the Sky’ is equally impressive, with an ’80s power pop vibe. ‘Without Lies’ features sun-dappled Paul Epworth protégé Sky Ferreira, and truth be told, the Aeroplane touch makes her voice palatable. No doubt about it: this Aeroplane is set to soar.