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Feb 02, 2021 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Nat Magloire Body Language

Restless dance-experimentalists Body Language have been perfecting their genre-bent mix of experimental pop, indie disco, and neo-soul for over a decade now. Even so, the band has described their upcoming fourth LP, Travel Guide, as their most collaborative yet. Spreading out past the confines of the group’s Brooklyn home, the record takes the listener through a genre-bending world tour of psychedelic R&B. Body Language have now returned with a video for “Start It Up,” premiering with Under the Radar.

With an opening snap and a thumping dance pulse, listeners are instantly transported back to a packed pre-COVID dancefloor on “Start It Up.” Singer Angelica Bess honeyed vocals softly draw you in— “I know that you want it, baby / Because elevation is the only way to be / So are you going to start it? / Or am I going to start it?” she asks. The beat gets more and more insistent, dropping back for a few moments before jumping into a relentlessly addictive hook, backed by sharp stings of brass and Bess’s expressive vocals. The influences pull in different directions, from house to R&B, to disco, but the song remains firmly rooted on the dancefloor, binding the song together with an irresistible glittery rush of energy.

Bess describes the song as a “Dreamlike mirage of glamour and shimmering movement. The video travels through a tribute to the obligatory 90’s music video from the fisheye lens, various glamour looks, to the choreography. It’s a tribute to our favorite videos of the ’90s and early ’00s. An ode to the New Roaring ’20s: a little old and a lot new. ‘Start It Up’ represents the new age of loving yourself, expressing yourself, and having a good fucking time. Body Language’s music carries us to a new era: undefined, open to interpretation and this video is just the beginning. Check out the song and video below, and watch for the group’s remixes for “Start It Up,” coming soon.