Yolanda Be Cool Explained

Yolanda Be Cool
Origin:Australia
Years Active:2009–present
Associated Acts:DCUP
Current Members:Andrew Stanley
Matthew Handley

Yolanda Be Cool are an Australian music duo made up of Andrew Stanley and Matthew Handley.

History

In 2010, they collaborated with Australian producer DCUP (real name Duncan MacLennan) to release an international single "We No Speak Americano" on the indie Australian label Sweat It Out, sampling on a 1956 Neapolitan language hit "Tu vuò fà l'americano" by Renato Carosone and written by Carosone and Nicola "Nisa" Salerno.[1]

"We No Speak Americano" sold over 5 million copies and amassed over 200 million YouTube views worldwide. It topped the British, Spanish, German, Mexican, Argentinian, Swedish, Danish, Swiss, and Ecuadorian charts,[2] and reached the Top 5 in Australia, France, Italy, Spain and Norway. It was also a chart hit in Colombia, New Zealand, Mexico, Peru, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Venezuela, Honduras, Costa Rica and several other countries. The video was directed by Andy Hylton. Prior to the hit, they had collaborated with DCUP when he remixed their hit "Afro Nuts" in 2009.

The name is a reference to the scene in the film Pulp Fiction, where the character Jules (played by Samuel L. Jackson) tells an armed robber named Yolanda (played by Amanda Plummer) "Be cool!" Yolanda Be Cool received two 2010 ARIA Music Awards nominations which include, "Best Dance Release" and "Most Popular Australian Single" for "We No Speak Americano".[3]

In 2011, Yolanda Be Cool collaborated with Crystal Waters on a track called 'Le Bump'[4] which then made it onto their debut album "Ladies and Mentalmen" released by Sweat It Out! and DIM MAK in 2013. The album featured indigenous Australian icon Gurrumul, house royalty Crystal Waters and Barbara Tucker, soul legend Betty Wright and US up and coming rap star Nola Darling. Also, Yolanda Be Cool notably remixed Cyndi Lauper's song "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", taken from the 30th anniversary reissue of her album She's So Unusual.[5]

In 2015, they got back in the studio with DCUP to make "Sugar Man", an edit of a song by Rodriguez that went on to go platinum in Australia[6] before writing Soul Makossa, which samples Manu Dibango's saxophone. The song currently has over 1 million plays on YouTube[7] and claimed number 2 on Beatport's Top Ten in addition to being the sixth most sold House record of the year.[8]

Yolanda Be Cool released "From Me to You" with DCUP on Spinnin' Records on 8 February 2016.

Discography

Studio albums

Title! scope="col" style="width:18.5em;"
Album details
Ladies & Mentalmen
  • Released: 7 December 2012
  • Label: Sweat It Out
  • Format: CD, digital download
Je Suis Music
  • Released: 26 August 2016
  • Label: Sweat It Out
  • Format: Digital download

Singles

As lead artist

Title! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:1em;"
YearPeak chart positionsCertificationsAlbum
AUS
[9]
AUT
[10]
BEL
[11]
FRA
[12]
GER
[13]
NLD
[14]
SWE
[15]
SWI
[16]
UK
[17]
US
[18]
"Afro Nuts"2009rowspan="3"
"Holy Cow"
"We No Speak Americano"
(with DCUP)
20104 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 29
"Le Bump"
(featuring Crystal Waters)
2011Ladies & Mentalmen
"Change"
(featuring Nola Darling)
2012
"Before Midnight"
"A Baru in New York"
(featuring Gurrumul)
2013
"Sweat Naked"
"To Be Alone"
(featuring Omar)
"All That She Wants"
(featuring SYF and Fritz Helder)
2014
"Cause I Like It"rowspan="22"
"Sugar Man"
(with DCUP)
15
"Soul Makossa (Money)"
(with DCUP)
201511
"MAMA YO"
(With Mayra Verónica)
"From Me to You"
(with DCUP)[24]
2016
"Xylophobia"
(with Mason)[25]
"S.O.S. (Sound of Swing)"
(with Kenneth Bager featuring Aloe Blacc)[26]
"Hacia la Noche"
(with Massivedrum)[27]
2017
"Musika"
(featuring Kwanzaa Posse)[28]
2018
"Chilimanjaro"
(featuring Cut Snake)[29]
"Dance and Chant"[30] 2019
"Space Jam"[31]
"No More Sorrow"[32] 2020
"Frisky in Forteleza"[33]
"To Be Alone"
(featuring Omar)[34]
"Emergency"
(with Tommy Trash)[35]
2021
"The Launch"
(with DJ Jean)[36]
"Work Your Body"[37] 2022
"Unity"[38]
"Tiger Stripes"[39] 2023
"Segunda"
(featuring Jonjon)[40]
"Hip Trumpets"
(featuring KVISION)[41]
"Hold On"
(with Piero Pirupa and Alexander Som)
2024
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Awards

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.|-| 2013[42] |Ladies & Mentalmen| Best Independent Dance/Electronic Album| |-

Notes and References

  1. Web site: All Music Biography . All Music . ALLMUSIC, NETAKTION LLC . 21 January 2022.
  2. https://danishcharts.dk/showitem.asp?interpret=Yolanda+Be+Cool+%26+DCup&titel=We+No+Speak+Americano&cat=s danishcharts.dk "We No Speak Americano" page
  3. http://www.take40.com/news/20335/2010-aria-nominations-announced---full-list-here! 2010 ARIA Nominations Announced
  4. Web site: Yolanda Be Cool feat. Crystal Waters - Le Bump : News : Sweat It Out . sweatitoutmusic.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120320035401/http://sweatitoutmusic.com/news/yolanda-be-cool-feat-crystal-waters-le-bump/ . 2012-03-20.
  5. Web site: She's So Unusual: A 30th Anniversary Celebration [Deluxe Edition] [Boxset] - Cyndi Lauper - Release Info - AllMusic]. AllMusic.
  6. Web site: ARIA Australian Top 20 Dance Tracks - Australia's Official Top 20 Dan…. https://archive.today/20150315065424/http://www.ariacharts.com.au/chart/singles/3433. dead. 15 March 2015. 15 March 2015.
  7. Web site: Yolanda Be Cool & DCUP - Soul Makossa (Money) [Official Video]]. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211215/GwWnYwYzwyc . 2021-12-15 . live. sweatitoutmusic. 16 June 2015. YouTube.
  8. Web site: Instagram post by Yolandabecool • Jun 5, 2015 at 2:31pm UTC. https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/3jQg1JuCE8 . 2021-12-24 . limited. Instagram.
  9. Web site: Yolanda Be Cool discography . australian-charts.com . Hung Medien . 10 April 2017.
  10. Web site: Yolanda Be Cool discography . austriancharts.at . Hung Medien . 10 April 2017 . de.
  11. Web site: Yolanda Be Cool discography . ultratop.be . Hung Medien . 10 April 2017 . nl.
  12. Web site: Yolanda Be Cool discography . lescharts.com . Hung Medien . 10 April 2017 . fr.
  13. Web site: Yolanda Be Cool . . 10 April 2017 . de.
  14. Web site: Yolanda Be Cool discography . dutchcharts.nl . Hung Medien . 10 April 2017 . nl.
  15. Web site: Yolanda Be Cool discography . swedishcharts.com . Hung Medien . 10 April 2017.
  16. Web site: Yolanda Be Cool discography . swisscharts.com . Hung Medien . 10 April 2017.
  17. https://www.officialcharts.com/artists/ Yolanda Be Cool – Discography on UK charts
  18. Yolanda Be Cool – Artist Chart History
  19. Australia. single. 2011. 6 December 2014.
  20. United Kingdom. single. We No Speak Americano. Yolanda Be Cool vs D CUP. 6 December 2012.
  21. United States. single. We No Speak Americano. Yolanda Be Cool vs DCUP. 6 December 2012.
  22. New Zealand. single. We No Speak Americano. Yolanda Be Cool and DCUP. 1606. 10 December 2014.
  23. Web site: ARIA Singles: Ellie Goulding Remains At No 1. Noise11. Ryan. Gavin. 7 March 2015. 7 March 2015.
  24. Web site: From Me to You. Apple Music. March 2016. 5 April 2021.
  25. Web site: Xylophobia . Apple Music. October 2016. 5 April 2021.
  26. Web site: S.O.S. (Sound of Swing) . Apple Music. October 2016. 5 April 2021.
  27. Web site: Hacia la Noche . Apple Music. December 2017. 5 April 2021.
  28. Web site: Musika . Apple Music. March 2018. 5 April 2021.
  29. Web site: Chilimanjaro . Apple Music. October 2018. 5 April 2021.
  30. Web site: Dance and Chant . Apple Music. January 2019. 5 April 2021.
  31. Web site: Space Jam . Apple Music. April 2019. 5 April 2021.
  32. Web site: No More Sorrow . Apple Music. August 2020. 5 April 2021.
  33. Web site: Frisky in Forteleza . Apple Music. October 2020. 5 April 2021.
  34. Web site: To Be Alone . Apple Music. December 2020. 5 April 2021.
  35. Web site: Emergency. Apple Music. 4 June 2021. 28 January 2023.
  36. Web site: The Launch. Apple Music. 29 October 2021. 28 January 2023.
  37. Web site: Work Your Body. Apple Music. 25 February 2022. 28 January 2023.
  38. Web site: Unity. Apple Music. 3 June 2022. 28 January 2023.
  39. Web site: Tiger Stripes. Apple Music. 27 January 2023. 28 January 2023.
  40. Web site: Yolanda Be Cool ft. Jonjon - Segunda. 1001tracklists. 14 July 2023 . 15 July 2023.
  41. Web site: Yolanda Be Cool Unveil New Catchy Tune, 'Hip Trumpets'. EDM Tunes. 1 September 2023 . 10 September 2023.
  42. Web site: Final AIR Awards 2013 Nominations Revealed, $50,000 Prize Announced. tonedeaf. 1 October 2013. 20 August 2020.