Darkstar Gold (2010)
Gold has played a significant role in various cultures and civilizations. The Incas of South America, for example, used it extensively to decorate their temples, including Coricancha, the Temple of the Sun in the famous city of Cuzco. The Incas considered gold to be the sweat of the sun, and in a way, they were not entirely wrong.
Scientists believe that much of the gold on earth arrived through ancient asteroid impacts. This theory arises from the understanding that if gold had been present during earth's formation, it would have sunk to the planet's core along with other heavy metals like iron. Although some gold landed on earth after its formation, the amount found on the earth's surface remains scarce, making the metal highly valuable. As a result, gold serves as a status symbol and is often used metaphorically to describe something precious, such as a loved one.
The British synthpop band The Human League used this metaphor in their song “You Remind Me of Gold”, which was released as the B-side to the single Mirror Man in 1982. The following year, the song was included on the Fascination! EP, which served as a bridge between the massively successful Dare album from 1981 and their next LP, Hysteria. However, the song was never released on a proper album and thus remained somewhat obscure, known primarily to die-hard fans.
Given its status, “You Remind Me of Gold” was the perfect song for Darkstar to cover when they underwent a transformation at the end of the noughties. The band started out as a duo just after dubstep’s heyday and eventually transitioned to a synthpop style informed by the hardcore continuum. The first manifestation of that transformation was North, Darkstar’s debut LP released in 2010, which features “Gold”, the cover in question and today’s song.
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