"White Horse" is a song performed by the Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

-based trio Jessica 6

Jessica 6 (band)

Jessica 6 is a Brooklyn-based Nu-disco and R&B trio that formed after helping put together the Hercules and Love Affair live show. Formerly known as Deep Red, their name was taken from the lead character of the same name from the 1967 novel Logan's Run....

, taken from their debut album See the Light. It was released in January 2011, as the album's second single by Peacefrog Records

Peacefrog Records

Peacefrog Records are an independent record label based in London, United Kingdom. The label produces releases in many different styles of electronic music as well as branching out into folk and indie artists such as José González and Nouvelle Vague. Started by Pete Hutchison and Paul Ballard in...

. The song was featured in the campaign film for the Mugler menswear collection for Spring/Summer 2012 titled "Brothers of Aracadia."

Composition

"White Horse" is an uptempo disco

Disco

Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...

-pop song with house

House music

House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...

 and funk

Funk

Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...

 influences. According to David Welsh of musicOMH

MusicOMH

musicOMH is a United Kingdom-based website which publishes independent reviews, featues and interviews from across all musical genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B.-History:...

, the song's disco influences thud into "Donna Summer

Donna Summer

LaDonna Adrian Gaines , known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach...

-esque retro-styled glory."

Criticial reception

"White Horse" received positive reviews from music critics. In a review for The Guardian

The Guardian

The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

, Michael Cragg felt that the song creates a "fresh take on 70s disco

Disco

Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...

 and filtered house

House music

House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...

 with a dash of funk

Funk

Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...

. But while Hercules & Love Affair sound like they now lack a distinctive vocalist, Jessica 6 are elevated by Ruiz

Nomi Ruiz

Nomi Ruiz is an American Nu-disco and Hip hop singer from New York City who is most famous for being among the cast of vocalists that contributed to Hercules and Love Affair's debut album. Ruiz has also collaborated with dance music trio The Ones...

's smoky, melancholic voice." Likewise, Robin Murray of Clash

Clash (magazine)

Clash is a popular music and fashion magazine based in the United Kingdom. Its magazine title is published 12 times a year. It has a circulation of around 40,000....

noticed a "definite pop touch, but that doesn’t discredit some fantastic production."

Music video

The music video for "White Horse" was directed by Marco Avando and aided by Ava Sanjurjo. Nomi Ruiz explained in an interview with Brightest Young Things, the main idea behind the music video of "White Horse." She said that the video "started off with a biker theme. Once Ava Sanjurjo came in as stylist along with Marco and I, it really took its own shape. It was all very improvised but wound up paying homage to NY and night life." The video premiered on Perez Hilton's wesbite on 28 February 2011.

Live performances

Jessica 6 performed "White Horse" at the Greek MAD Video Music Awards on 14 June 2011.

Track listing

• Digital download

1. "White Horse" – 5:02
2. "Pressed" – 6:11

• Digital download (Remixes)

1. "White Horse" – 4:59
2. "White Horse" (Radio Edit) – 3:34
3. "White Horse" (Tee's Inbox Remix) – 5:42

Charts

Chart (2011)	Peak Position
Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)	34
Belgium Dance (Ultratop Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... )	36
European Hot 100 Singles	67
Greece (IFPI IFPI Greece International Federation of the Phonographic Industry Greece or IFPI Greece is the Greek branch of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and is the official charts provider and recording sales certification body for Greece. Currently two charts are compiled, one for sales of... )	5

Release history

Country	Date	Format	Label
United Kingdom	7 January 2011	12" single 12-inch single The 12-inch single is a type of gramophone record that has wider groove spacing compared to other types of records. This allows for louder levels to be cut on the disc by the cutting engineer, which in turn gives a wider dynamic range, and thus better sound quality...	Peacefrog Records Peacefrog Records Peacefrog Records are an independent record label based in London, United Kingdom. The label produces releases in many different styles of electronic music as well as branching out into folk and indie artists such as José González and Nouvelle Vague. Started by Pete Hutchison and Paul Ballard in...
United States	17 April 2011	Digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
Belgium	16 May 2011	Promo CD single	V2 Records V2 Records V2 Records is a record label that is owned by Universal Music Group as of October 2007. The label was founded in 1996 by Richard Branson, five years after he sold Virgin Records to EMI....
United States	31 May 2011	Digital download (Remixes)	Peacefrog Records