Tropical Chancer

"Tropical Chancer"
Promotional single by La Roux
from the album Trouble in Paradise
A-side"Kiss and Not Tell"
Released9 June 2014 (2014-06-09)
Genre
Length3:31
LabelPolydor
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Ian Sherwin
  • Elly Jackson
Audio video
"La Roux - Tropical Chancer (official audio)" on YouTube

"Tropical Chancer" is a 2014 song by English singer Elly Jackson, known professionally as La Roux, from her second studio album, Trouble in Paradise. It was written by Jackson, Ian Sherwin and Jeff Bhasker, and samples the song "My Jamaican Guy" written and performed by Grace Jones. "Tropical Chancer" was released as the album's second promotional single on 9 June 2014.

Background

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"Tropical Chancer" was written by Elly Jackson, Ian Sherwin and Jeff Bhasker, and produced by Sherwin and Jackson. It contains a sample of "My Jamaican Guy" as written and performed by Grace Jones, who is credited as one of the co-writers, as well as a sample from "Stop" originally performed by B.W.H., an Italian project fronted by Stefano Zito.[1] "Tropical Chancer" is a disco and electro-calypso track that incorporates elements of reggae and dancehall, set against a Nile Rodgers-inspired funk guitar and echoing steel drums.[2][3][4] The song tells the story of a Caribbean wide boy that Jackson has known for many years, whom she describes as the tropical version of Del Boy, a character from the British sitcom Only Fools and Horses played by David Jason.[5]

The song was made available to stream online as the second promotional single from Trouble in Paradise on 9 June 2014.[6] It was also available as an instant download with the pre-order of the album[7] and was later released as the B-side of the "Kiss and Not Tell" seven-inch vinyl single.

Credits and personnel

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Credits adapted from the liner notes of Trouble in Paradise.[1]

  • Ian Sherwin – production, engineering, bass guitar, drum programming, mixing
  • Elly Jackson – production, vocals, guitar, synth bass, keyboards, marimba, percussion, mixing
  • Alan Moulder – mixing
  • John Catlin – mixing assistance
  • Caesar Edmunds – mixing assistance
  • John Dent – mastering

Charts

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Chart (2014) Peak
position
France (SNEP)[8] 162

Release history

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Region Date Format Label Ref.
Various 12 May 2014 Digital download Polydor [6]

References

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  1. ^ a b Trouble in Paradise (liner notes). La Roux. Polydor Records. 2014. 2094302.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ^ Phares, Heather. "Trouble in Paradise – La Roux". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  3. ^ Gibsone, Harriet (10 June 2014). "La Roux's Tropical Chancer – listen". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  4. ^ Coplan, Chris (9 June 2014). "Listen: La Roux's new song "Tropical Chancer"". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  5. ^ Ugwu, Reggie (9 July 2014). "6 True Stories That Inspired La Roux's New Album". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  6. ^ a b Beauchemin, Molly (9 June 2014). "La Roux Shares New Song "Tropical Chancer"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  7. ^ Robin Murray (10 June 2014). "Listen: La Roux - Tropical Chancer". www.clashmusic.com. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  8. ^ "Discographie La Roux". lescharts.com (in French). Retrieved 26 July 2014.