Din Daa Daa
by George Kranz
“I remember watching Breakin’ 2, the sequel of the famous 80s dance movie Breakin’, featuring legendary street dancers Ozone (RIP) and Turbo.”
I was mesmerized by this song and its original mix of groovy synthesized funky rhythms, pitched-down vocals, and captivating vocal percussions.
This song is just one of a kind piece of music. It sounds so fresh original, and it's not easy to categorize it in a specific genre. It inspired many musicians and was covered many times by the great Philly hip-hop act The Roots.
George Kranz is a German drummer and percussionist from Berlin. His professional career began in the 70s as a drummer in the rock-fusion band Firma 33. He later joined a new wave-rock band called Zeitgeist.
In the early 80s was working on his first solo album called "My Rhythm," both released one year after "Din Daa Daa" for a small Berlin-based label called Pool records. The track was initially named "Trommeltanz," which in German means "Drum Dance," but later on, the name was changed.
In his 80s live shows, he performed a drum solo, showcasing his drums skills in front of the crowd, but his creativity went far beyond playing drums.
Kranz added some scat vocal phrases during the drum solos, imitating the percussions, creating a one-of-a-kind performance that later led to writing this amazing track.
There are no actual words in the song's lyrics. They are basically supposed to imitate the drumming. He got inspired by the French prog-rock band "Magma," where they sang their song using an artificial language they created.
This scat-vocal singing technique shares similarities with the art form of Beatboxing, popularized by hip-hop acts like Doug E. Fresh or The fat Boys. The Fat Boys, also known as Disco 3, released a song called "Human Beat Box" in 1984. One year after the release of "Din Daa Daa."
Different musicians in the Berlin area noticed his unique and original live performances. Christopher Franke from the legendary experimental band Tangerine Dream saw Kranz play live and was impressed by George's performance, later deciding to go to the studio and work on a track together.
Franke played the live drums, and they both sang some Ad-libs (That "Porompomperoo") and vocal harmonies. Franke & Kranz then recorded the "Din Daa Daa" and "Ba" phrases on tape and looped them using a tape playing throughout the song.
Later adding some synth parts using a Prophet 5 and hired a bass player to add some catchy basslines. The drums slowly build up, eventually exploding in a massive crescendo of powerful live drums and vocal percussions.
After releasing this in the U.S., the song became a hit and topped the dance music chart in 1984 and 1991 due to a remixed version. This track has been sampled and remixed many times over the years. You can hear it in seminal tracks like MARRS "Pump up the volume" or "Turn around" by Flo Rida and on "Year of the dragon," a song by Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill.
"Din Daa Daa" is a timeless ode to freedom. A free universal ultra groovy musical anthem that does not get old and never stops to fascinate new generations of music lovers and composers!
