Why does a Madonna film matter to house?
Because she keeps reaching back to it. 'Confessions on a Dance Floor' (2005) was mainstream pop's biggest love letter to disco and house, and 'Confessions II' (out July 3 on Warner) is the sequel. The casting tells you where the credibility is meant to come from. Honey Dijon, the Chicago-born house DJ and producer, is in the room, next to Arca and Shygirl. Honey Dijon thanked Madonna publicly for the role; Arca teased it with a simple "Get ready, dolls, because it's coming in hot!"
What is actually in the film?
The short runs about 14 minutes, directed by the duo Torso, and threads six songs from the album, among them 'Bring Your Love' with Sabrina Carpenter and 'Read My Lips' with Feid. It premiered at the Tribeca Festival on June 5 at the Beacon Theatre, followed by a conversation with Anderson Cooper, and landed on YouTube on June 8. The wider cast pulls in Kate Moss, Julia Garner, Cole Palmer, Gwendoline Christie and Lourdes Leon.
The crossover read
When the biggest pop star of the disco-house revival reaches for Honey Dijon and Arca rather than a chart-EDM name, that is a tell about whose cool she wants borrowed. House's underground figures are being cast as the arbiters of dancefloor authenticity, and a Chicago DJ ends up vouching for a Madonna comeback.
