Kevin Bronson on August 11th, 2020

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“What was once a careless Friday night is now a forbidden fantasy,” songwriter Darian Zahedi says of his first solo single, “Dancing!”

Sad but true. But if you’ve got a partner, Zahedi’s synth- and hormone-drenched creation — sounding like something out of a Studio 54 fever dream — will help you grind it out. Mixed by Shane Stoneback (Vampire Weekend, Rostam, Cults, among others), “Dancing!” is the latest turn for a versatile musician who’s helped keep bodies moving the past eight years.

Since 2015, Zahedi has written, recorded and played guitar with CRX, the solo venture of the Strokes’ Nick Valensi. He teamed up with CRX bandmate Jon Safley in the dream-pop duo People on People, who released an EP in 2018. And he and Safley go back to their days in the underrated L.A. rock band the Reflections. Zahedi also has a duo project called Cadeaux with Briana Lane (of Winslow) on the back burner.

For now, “Dancing!” offers a brief but welcome vaccine for lockdown fever. “The simplest things can provide such a massive release,” Zahedi says. “I can only imagine what it would feel like to go out with someone who made you excited and dance, have a good time, blow off steam.”

“Dancing!” is officially out on Thursday.

||| Stream: “Dancing!”