Songfacts®:

• In the electrifying energy of the dancefloor, we shed our inhibitions and embrace the sheer thrill of the moment. Idles' "Dancer" captures this primal essence, painting imagery of cocoa butter gliding down necks and the intoxicating scent of "particles of punch-drunk love."
  
  "'Dancer' is the violence that comes from the pounding heart of the dancefloor," said vocalist Joe Talbot, "and rushes through your body and gives you life from music, from love and from you."
• Released as the lead single from Idles' fifth album, Tangk, "Dancer" marks their foray into the disco era, symbolizing movement, connection, and the album's overarching theme of contagious energy. Talbot's vision for the album is clear. "I want to make people dance, I want people to feel the love that I need in my life, I want to make people move, I want our music to be infectious again – and I want it to be infectious in a way that makes people feel, not think," he told NME. "I want to feel part of something electric again."
• Inspired by the disco vibes they experienced during their US tour with LCD Soundsystem, Idles enlisted the backing vocals of band members James Murphy and Nancy Whang. "If you don't ask, you don't get," said Talbot. "By that point we'd been touring with them for a few weeks and knew they were lovely human beings. They took time out of their day off and took us to their studio. They were really accommodating and lovely, so hard-working, patient and awesome. They're sick."
• The five band members wrote the track. Idles guitarist/keyboardist Mark Bowen, hip-hop producer Kenny Beats, and longtime Radiohead collaborator Nigel Godrich crafted the production, imbuing "Dancer" with a disco-inflected energy that encapsulates the song's spirit. Bowen and Beats produced the band's previous album, Crawler.
• Jocelyn Anquetil's music video transforms Idles into a faux-ABBA, clad in white suits and striding towards the camera as the music pulsates. There are also shots of a janitor finding solace and rhythm amidst the mundane.