Dan the Automator is a man of worldly tastes when it comes to the art of the collaboration. While mostly known for his hip hop production with Gorillaz and Deltron 3030, the dude has previously joined forces, in one form or another, with Zack de la Rocha, At the Drive-In’s Cedric Bixler-Zavala, and Glassjaw’s Daryl Palumbo — and that’s only taking into account late-’90s post-hardcore heroes.
With his newest collaboration, Dan takes a decidedly cinematic turn. Having hit it off with Mary Elizabeth Winstead on the set of the 2010 film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World — he was working on the score and she was starring as love interest Ramona Flowers — Dan the Automator invited Winstead to form the other half of a project that would become Got a Girl.
On “Did We Live Too Fast,” the opening cut from Got a Girl’s forthcoming debut album, the pair delves deep into their shared affinity for ’60s French pop. Dan the Automator reminds us of his classical training with nostalgia-pop production fit for a Tarantino film, but riddles it with Gorillaz-esque drums; Winstead, meanwhile, is perfectly cast as the soulful voice bemoaning a fantasy in the lounge spotlight as the synths blare.
Stream “Did We Live Too Fast” below, and look out for Got a Girl’s I Love You But I Must Drive Off This Cliff Now, out July 22 via Bulk Recordings.
