Galvanize 20th Anniversary

[Bosco]

The official music video has lots of Sonic comments too

Spoiler

But I also noticed some comments saying that the Chems "stole" the Moroccan sample from Najat Atabou. That's a BIG sample to use without clearance. So I wondered:And I found myself on a Reddit page with a couple of links to a story from September 2023. Apparently they did sample it without permision. But in 2023 Ms Atabou won her court case against the Chems - after ten years. Here are the two story links from the Reddit page:
H24 Info: "Copyright. Najat Aatabou vs The Chemical Brothers: the verdict fell"
World Today News: "Moroccan Artist Wins Landmark Copyright Case Against The Chemical Brothers"
Which leaves me wondering:
1) Did the Chems think they would get away with it? I guess they must have thought it was worth a gamble.
2) If the case took 10 years, why did it start in 2013? Was Najat Atabou oblivious from 2004-12?
3) Why did the case take ten years, anyway?
4) How much in back-payments were The Chems obliged to cough up for this? It was a big hit back in 2004/5! It's been used in Budweiser commercials too.
5) Might the Chems still get sued for The Beatles' Strawberry Fields sample in LFB? (Well, "yes it's possible" is the answer to that one, before someone says it!).
I can only guess that the music press in 2023 wasn't too interested in a court case for a song dating back to 2004/5, because no one in the "western" world seems to have covered the story. So alas we haven't got all the juicy details. Even the Wkipedia page for the song doesn't mention it.
Anyone here know how to access the records from court cases in The Hague?
If anyone can find more sources for this story, please post them. Cos I'm curious, or nosey, or something.

View this post on Instagram

The above Insta video is in Arabic. Click to play.
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*EDIT* I found another article: L'Obserateur: Copyright. Najat Atabou wins her case
It tells us: "behind this victory is the former rapper and producer born in Salé, Majesticon. Thanks to his label MAJENCY, the name of the Chaâbi star Najat Atabou will now be included in the Master (final version) of the famous hit "Galvanize" by the Chemical Brothers"
The rest of the article -in English- goes like this:

Spoiler

Najat Atabou will also be part of the ownership of the original Track. As a result, when you search for example on Spotify for the song "Galvanize", by Chemical Brothers feat Q-Tip, you will find her name among the artists. She will also benefit from the exploitation and distribution rights, in other words, each time the song is broadcast on a radio, television or festival..., she will receive royalties and financial compensation for the exploitation of her work.
Najat Atabou had filed a complaint for plagiarism with the International Court in The Hague against The Chemical Brothers. The British electronic music duo had used a sample of her song "Hadi Kedba Bayna" (It's an obvious lie) without her consent. Ten years later, she won the case and was vindicated. Her victory is a first in the history of copyright in Morocco.

Oh I also found something on Bandcamp. A bootleg I guess, which uses more of the original sample source. It's not bad! And It's free. Marrrtin - GALVANIZE NAJAT EDIT

Informative. Thank you.

As a fan, I think it's difficult to read that and still not have an unbiased opinion to the matter.

I would point out reasons why this stinks of  a cash grab over simply seeking artistic credit. But that's the ignorant American in me and I would rather hear the talking points from suing party. I don't dispute the right to compensation and what would be unauthorized usage, but feel like maybe a lot of grey area was vastly ignored here...


Also, agree. The mashup you found shows potential. On production level, I think Tom and Ed  did the right thing to clean up the sample so it fits to the markets they play for.

[Explud]

Apparently they did sample it without permision.

Someone is lying. Or someone just wanted to draw attention to themselves.

Album:

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Single:

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[Wolkenkrabber]

Someone is lying. Or someone just wanted to draw attention to themselves.

Interesting. I did have a look at Discogs briefly when I first posted. As you can see in the image below, it credits the songwriting to T&E and Kamal Fareed (Q Tip).



And I wonder if the writing credit may actually be the issue here.
In the instagram video, the guy points to the writing credits (rather than sample credits) and shows Najat Aatabou's name there alongside the other writers. I don't think she was previously credited as an actual writer of the track, just a sample source.

I wonder if this legal battle was actually to get Najat Aatabou listed as a songwriter rather than just as a cleared sample. I suspect there is a difference.

In the bit that I put under spoilers near the bottom of my previous post, quoting from L'Observateur, it says (translated from French) "Najat Atabou will also be part of the ownership of the original Track. As a result, when you search for example on Spotify for the song "Galvanize", by Chemical Brothers feat Q-Tip, you will find her name among the artists".

My hunch is that this may be different from a cleared sample. And (I'm guessing) arguing the difference may be why it took ten years in court (assuming those news reports are "just telling the truth"). After all, the sample is more than just a sound, it's the main hook/riff.

It would be nice to have an article about this from the "music press" to clarify this stuff. Alas, the music press is a shadow of what it used to be...

[Explud]

And I wonder if the writing credit may actually be the issue here. In the instagram video, the guy points to the writing credits (rather than sample credits) and shows Najat Aatabou's name there alongside the other writers. I don't think she was previously credited as an actual writer of the track, just a sample source.

Maybe you're right, but I bought my copy of PTB sometime in 2009-2010, which again doesn't fit the 10-year battle in court. Look at the credits again on my photo, it lists Aatabou in writing credits.

[Bosco]

Maybe you're right, but I bought my copy of PTB sometime in 2009-2010, which again doesn't fit the 10-year battle in court. Look at the credits again on my photo, it lists Aatabou in writing credits.

I just checked liner notes on my 1st edition 'Push The Button' CD copy from Astralwerks (literally was purchased on release day back in 2005) and Aatabou is absent from the writing credits. It's basically the same as the LP one @Wolkenkrabber posted.


I think the advertising with Budweiser and the multiple Grammy wins made Aatabou rethink her position and seek a writing credit. I mean, it's only after the fact Galvanize was deemed a marketable success, did securing a writers credit become necessary.

Maybe Aatabou approached Chems management in non-litigation manner and was met with resistance. Chems acquiesce by updating writing credit in liner notes (see Explud's updated version PTB liner notes picture), but remain silent for paying out any reparations. Eventually she filed a lawsuit, case was opened, took 10 years, she wins. Bam, here we are.

[Wolkenkrabber]

Looking at an Astralwerks listing on Discogs, the image is a bit fuzzy but I don't think Aatabou's name is on there. Which fits with your findings @Bosco .

I have also dug out my own UK CD of PTB which I bought around the time of release, and it does NOT have Najat Atabou's name in the writing credits, however when I checked Discogs, I found this listing which appears to be for the 2005 UK CD (same catalogue number as mine: 0724356330221). We can see that the inlay does have her name in the writing credits. I am of course assuming that this is the correct booklet for that listing(!).

This suggests to me that the issue may have been addressed quite quickly (within a year?).
And certainly when we consider @Explud 's comments/pictures, it does sugest that the issue was sorted out long before 2023.

I think Galvanize was also used in a Michelin advert and maybe some others, but I don't know when exactly. Your adertising theory is plausible Bosco but it may simply be that Aatabou's lawyers jumped on the case once Galvanize went Top 10 in the UK singles chart. Or when the album charted.

We're probably getting into "overthinking" teritory by now, and hey apologies if I've wasted people's time here!

It seems to me that either:
A) The writing credit issue was sorted out within a year (approx) of the original release, and whoever issued the 2023 story got their timelines very wrong indeed.
Or
B) There was some lingering issue about ownership of the song, or royalty payments that continued to rumble on until 2023, and we may never know the details of it unless someone can report the story more accurately!

[Bosco]

We're probably getting into "overthinking" teritory by now,

Agreed, but I now find myself invested to understand the hostile comments ("stolen!") towards The Chemical Brothers in the youtube comments for Galvanize or Aatabou's original. I know parts of the world have some unbridled pride when being matched up to the Western world, but I mean, come on...

The Chemical Brothers were well established before Galvanize. Their goal wasn't to pillage and whitewash a piece of Moroccan music culture. If anything it was creative stab at creating synergy among two unlikely cultures. It worked!

[ThePumisher]

https://www.instagram.com/share/reel/BANQkEe3Lm

[Explud]

No thanks, no spoilers. Seems like i got to watch feature in two weeks at cinema.

[ThePumisher]

Haven't seen Sonic 1 & 2 and probably won't see 3, but i have to say that i loved playing Sonic 1 & 2 on my Sega Mega Drive (Genesis in some countrys) back in the days.