It’s not one, but two orchestral pieces by Montreal producer Apashe that will move players from just dance 2023. majestya collaboration with rapper Wasiu – who also lives in the metropolis –, and witchon which the Ukrainian Alina Pash raps, are among the forty songs selected by the Ubisoft Paris studio.
In the new version of the choreography imitation game, which is scheduled for release on November 22, Apashe will shine alongside international stars like Justin Timberlake, Olivia Rodrigo, Taylor Swift, Britney Spears, Bruno Mars, Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish or Linkin Park.
“My tunes are very different from what they usually put on,” observes John De Buck, alias Apashe, reached by telephone in Berlin.
They’re not pop or 100% hip-hop tunes that people are used to dancing to. Creators may be drawn to that. It’s still very danceable, but it’s not as intense as the music of rave or club.
John De Buck, aka Apashe
The epic masterpiece majestywhere the ghost of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart meets the trap aesthetic, appears on the album Requiem, released in 2018. Montrealer Wasiu raps with skill and authority. The clip, shot in L’Anse-Saint-Jean, has been watched more than 11 million times on YouTube.
A political song
As for witchthe song has taken on a whole new meaning since its release on the EP I Killed the Orchestrain 2021. “To live and fight is my limbo”, asserts the guest artist, Alina Pash, who was designated to represent Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. However, her candidacy was withdrawn after the authorities investigated the singer’s illegal trip to Crimea via Russia in 2015. Her replacement, rap group Kalush, helped Ukraine win the competition.
” witch became a political symbol, says Apashe. We shot the clip in Kyiv in 2020, long before the war. Alina Pash has always been very involved. When we did [la chanson], we especially wanted people to feel things related to a climate of a pandemic and a bad world, but to try to keep things positive. It remains unwinding, dancing and quite deep. I really like this duality that is both dramatic and festive. It’s a bit like the soundtrack of our generation. »
PHOTO YURII SOLODZHUK, FROM WIKIPEDIA
Alina Pash, Ukrainian rapper
Apashe, who has often performed in Eastern Europe, says he found himself in the middle of a conflict between Russian and Ukrainian friends. This weekend, he is due for a concert in Poland, where a missile killed two people – ultimately by accident – and put the world on high alert.
John De Buck, whose music is also found in films and sports or action games, does not know if the creators of just dance were aware of the symbolic charge of witch when they made their choice.
Did they pay attention to the lyrics? It’s something I wonder. Lacrimosa and majesty, in the lyrics and the message, it’s a bit lighter. I don’t know if they realized the heaviness of Witch.
John De Buck, aka Apashe
This is not the first time that the work of Apashe, of Belgian origin, has fallen into the eye of Ubisoft Paris. Among other collaborations: the piece Lacrimosa was chosen for the soundtrack of just dance 2021. The producer is therefore well aware of the repercussions of such a selection. “I didn’t realize how much just dance has an equally involved community of gamers. It’s not just consumers. I’ve seen my music in game-related playlists and in a lot of videos. »
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Apashe in his Montreal studio in 2020
In the past, other Quebecers have benefited from the global showcase just dance. Montreal rapper Imposs got players dancing with his piece Stadium Flow in 2016, while dancer and TikTok star Énola Bédard serves as a model for the song Level Upby Ciara, in the 2022 version.
The cross-platform game has sold more than 80 million copies since its creation in 2009. The popularity of the brand notably depends on viral challenges in social networks.