AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Bran Van 3000

Artist:Bran Van 3000 f/Curtis Mayfield

Song:Astounded

Album:Discosis

The 2001 single Astounded was a top five hit in Canada and was popular in dance clubs and in Europe. It is the best known song by the Montreal based DJ collective Bran Van 3000. In 1994, DJ James Di Salvio received a royalty cheque for a remix he had done for Quebecois singer songwriter Jean Leloup. He asked his producer friend E.P. Bergen to go with him to New York and help him spend the money. DiSalvio then asked Bergen to teach him how to produce using a sampler and turntables. And that's how Bran Van 3000 was born. The name is a joke about Bergen's Volkswagen van that supposedly was powered by the Swedish liquor Brannvin. They released the single Johnny Go with Leloup that topped the Quebec charts. Di Salvio rapped and directed the music video. They produced more tracks with Leloup and that led to Bran Van 3000 getting a record deal with his label Audiogram in Quebec and Capitol in the rest of Canada. They released the 1997 album Glee and the single Drinking in L.A. was a hit in Canada and Europe. It was a top five hit in England. Bran Van 3000 was still just the two of them in the studio but they formed a band to tour. They won a Juno for Best Alternative Album. The album Discosis was released in 2001. The single Astounded reached #3 on the Canadian Singles chart and it also charted on the dance chart and in Europe. The video was played in heavy rotation on MuchMusic and that probably sold the song more than anything. So the big thing is Curtis Mayfield's vocal. Di Salvo approached Mayfield before his 1999 death. He was too ill to contribute a vocal. But he gave Di Salvo permission to find something in his archives. And DiSalvo found an unused Mayfield vocal from the 80s. Mayfield gave him permission to use it. Astounded was written and produced by The Brothers Grand (Dominique & Sylvain Grand). They released an album in 1998. They produced five tracks on the album.. DiSalvio produced the album with Ric Ocasek of The Cars. Other guest vocalists on the album include Youssou N'Dour, Big Daddy Kane, Eek-A-Mouse and Jean Leloup. This album is available on CD. Bran Van 3000 wouldn't release another album until 2007. And by that time, they were forgotten. They also released albums in 2010 and 2015. They haven't recorded since then but they toured last year to celebrate their 25th anniversary. I think that's the end for Bran Van 3000. Here's the video for Astounded by Bran Van 3000 featuring Curtis Mayfield.