I've known about Crazy Loop, the most recent solo project/alter ego of former O-Zone member Dan Bălan, for a long time now but held off on writing about it because it all seemed very "I want to stop making incredible fun pop songs and make serious music with guitars and no fun--oh wait, you mean that's not selling? OK, I'll go back to danceable Europop music" to me. Still, the lead single may be no "Dragostea Din Tei," but very little on Earth is (no joke, it's one of the best songs ever--I'm going to get things thrown at me by schlager fans for saying this, but it's like "Alla Flickor" in that it's just such an intense burst of fun that the language barrier is completely annihilated while you jump up and down and sing along at the top of your voice), and it really is a pretty good nonsensical poppy song not too far removed from the music of his former group.Crazy Loop (Mm-Mm-Ma)--the debut single from Dan's alter ego Crazy Loop (the fact that he felt he had to create an alter ego to indulge the Europop side of his writing sensibilites makes it seem like he's still trying to distance himself from this sort of music in a way; the video almost feels too purposefully crazy, too, at times, in a compartmentalizing/distancing himself from way--really, though, what did I want him to do, continue making music I had no interest in? I should just accept this reversion in style and get over it), "Crazy Loop" has been a chart hit in Romania (and I would imagine Moldova, as well as other nearby countries) for a while now. It's pure catchy danceable Europop, the sort that is going to drive some people absolutely crazy, but there's something about this kind of fun that I just can't pass up, and this is a great example of its subgenre. There are a few moments where, if it wasn't for the fact that the song's in English, it's so vocally similar to an O-Zone song that you really do feel like you've travelled back in time and are listening to that no longer existing group. If Dan can keep coming up with songs like this, let's hope he sticks with the fun music this time around (or at least continues the mix that he had on this past album)--Akcent may do a good job giving us some periodic singles to help make up for the loss of O-Zone, but it'd be great to be getting this sort of music from another source too; there's just as much an art to making songs like this as there is to making, say, good rock music, and it'd be a shame if someone I think is a real musical talent didn't take full advantage of that talent.
You can buy Crazy Loop's album The Power Of Shower here (physical) or just the "Crazy Loop (Mm-Mm-Ma)" single from iTunes here.
Also, I think I need to credit Pop Unlimited for writing about O-Zone recently and probably being the reason I've had this song stewing in my head again recently.
Next up: that Belgian singer.
