Vince Leigh’s Single Review: Red Flags by DJ/Producer Martial Simon
By Drummer Vince Leigh (Pseudo Echo, John Farnham, Tina Arena) from the Australian Radio Promotions
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New York-based DJ and producer Martial Simon has some bold but nonetheless plausible aspirations when he says, ‘I hope to have a global music catalogue that all ages can enjoy. Bridge the gap 50/50 between the younger generation and the older generation.’ That aim might not be as elusive as one might think, given EDM’s now relatively venerable presence in our culture. Whether his new release, Red Flags, can bridge that imagined gap remains to be seen, but the track will undoubtedly add weight to his growing artillery of past accolades. Red Flags follows the success of previous tracks, including Let’s Hear It For The Boy, Don’t You Forget About Me and Lost, which have amassed 5M+ streams, 20M+ TikTok views, and received airplay from 200+ radio stations.
His last single, Where My Girls At?, was featured on BBC Radio 1 Dance Anthems and landed #1 on the Beatport Dance Electro Pop chart. So, if the hooks and hypnotic grooves aren’t enough, Red Flags’ lyric explores a timely and contentious issue, adding an extra layer of intensity to the track. As Martial says, ‘I put a spin on the social media memes for Red Flags. Basically, I flipped it with a female vocalist and the perception from a female’s point of view. All the memes are male-driven. So, the idea was ownership and to throw it back in the other direction. Yes, I am a Red Flag, you got a problem with that, deal with it.’ So is Red Flags some kind of confessional after all, or something more benign? As a line in the pre-chorus reminds us: ‘I’m toxic / a little neurotic / and honestly I won’t change.’ Reversing the perspective certainly makes for a curious way to approach the issue. Still, it clearly cannot do more than be playfully insouciant about a complex area of human interaction.
