"Tribal Dance" is a song recorded by Dutch Eurodance band 2 Unlimited.[1] It was 2 Unlimited’s sixith single released in April 1993 from the group's second album, No Limits!. The UK release once again omitted the main rap, but left in more vocals from Ray than any of their previous releases. The single scored chart success in many European countries topping the charts in Finland, Portugal and Spain. Outside Europe, the song topped the chart in Israel and the Canadian dance chart while peaking at number 7 on the US dance charts. "Tribal Dance" also peaked within the top 5 in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Zimbabwe.
Content and reception
The track featured a trumpet riff and different kinds of drums throughout the song and the "Say that again" lyric at the start of the track was sampled from the film Back to the Future. Wendi Cermak from The Network Forty commented in her review, that 2 Unlimited "hits the dance floor with another Tribal trancer".[2]Newcastle Evening Chronicle described it as a "brash, action packed pounder".[3]Woroni called it a "thumping, driven dance track"[4] and also noted the song as a "obvious higlight" of the No Limits! album.[5]
Chart performance
"Tribal Dance" was a hit on the charts in several continents. It peaked at number one in Finland, Portugal and Spain, as well as on the Eurochart Hot 100 and the European Dance Radio Chart. In addition, the single managed to climb to the Top 10 in Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. In the latter, it peaked at number 4 on May 2, 1993, in its first week at the UK Singles Chart. It stayed at that position for two weeks. Outside Europe, the song went to number-one also in Israel, where it spent two weeks at the top and on the Canadian RPM Dance Chart. It also climbed to number 4 in Zimbabwe, number 5 in Australia and number 7 on the BillboardHot Dance Club Play. But in New Zealand, it only reached number 38. "Tribal Dance" was awarded with a gold record in Germany, after 250,000 singles were sold.
Music video
The music video for "Tribal Dance" was directed by British director Nick Burgess-Jones. The video was set in the jungle using blue screen in order to create the appearance of members of the band swinging across a jungle backdrop. A picture-in-picture screen showing a video game was also used. Burgess-Jones also directed the music video for "No Limit". The video was uploaded to YouTube in December 2013.