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This article contains mild spoilers for “Andor.”
“Andor” really is the best thing to happen to “Star Wars” since the Battle of Hoth. Creator Tony Gilroy and his team have crafted a sci-fi drama like nothing else in either the galaxy far, far away or on television in general.
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This is a “Star Wars” show that is unequivocally a reflection of our political reality, staring at fascism right in the face and showing how terrifyingly mundane it can be. And yet, it is also a series distinctly set in the galaxy far, far away, a show that works precisely because it is a “Star Wars” title. Its commentary serves not just to hold a mirror to our world but to add complexity and nuance to a franchise that started as a space opera. Indeed, given how much “Andor” reflects our world, it has blurred the line a bit between what can be real in our world and in “Star Wars.”
We’ve seen plenty of grounded, realistic imagery in “Andor” that we’d not seen before, like a seedy brothel or a beach resort in what can only be described as Space Miami. Now, “Andor” season 2, episode 3, “Harvest,” has gifted audiences with the “Star Wars” equivalent of “Macarena.”
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That’s right, the iconic pop culture phenomenon of the ’90s, only “Star Wars”-style. It comes during the climax of episode 3 as Genevieve O’Reilly’s Mon Mothma finds herself in the hellish wedding of her daughter. What most guests consider a joyous occasion, a weekend to celebrate Chandrilan culture and heritage (and also a phenomenally lavish party with the one and only DJ Disco Droid in charge of the music), is actually Mon’s personal hell. Her daughter hates her, while her best friend is betraying her confidence and is about to be murdered by her own co-conspirator. In the middle of this, right as the senator and future Rebel leader has an emotional breakdown, DJ Disco Droid drops an enormous banger — a new remix of “Niamos!”
Niamos! is the Star Wars equivalent of Macarena
When our own Jeremy Mathai spoke with Tony Gilroy about the making of the first three episodes of “Andor” season 2, he got the scoop on DJ Disco Droid’s big music set. Turns out, the song is a different remix of a familiar tune for “Andor” fans. Specifically, the song is “Niamos!” It came up a few times throughout season 1, most prominently in the Space Miami episode when Cassian is arrested at a beach resort. “We really liked that song a lot,” Gilroy explained, lamenting that sourcing diegetic music for “Andor” is very difficult — as there is rather little in-universe music that we know of, other than jizz.
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As Gilroy pointed out, the “Niamos!” song has been remixed a few times in the show, like in the scene that opens the season 1 premiere or at the Chandrilan Embassy on Coruscant (where it’s played backward). So, when it came time to find a banger song for a wedding, there was no other choice. “We sort of said, ‘What if it’s a galactic hit? What if that’s a really big galactic hit?'” The result was a “massive EDM mix” for the wedding scene, as scored by Brandon Roberts.
So, per Gilroy, the “Niamos!” song is such a hit in the “Star Wars” universe it plays everywhere from weddings to beach resorts. Guys, it’s “Macarena,” a song that always plays well when you need to have a whole bunch of people hyped up and moving at parties and resorts alike. It fits the scene perfectly, too, as Mon Mothma, in the face of her entire world falling apart, decides to just slam some shots and dance along to “Niamos!” with the rest of the wedding crowd. Who among us hasn’t done the same, drawing our sorrows while joining a group of people dancing to the “Macarena?”
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Star Wars should include more stuff like Niamos!
The idea of music hits that are heard across the entire “Star Wars” galaxy is ludicrous, ridiculous, and absolutely hilarious. As much as every living thing in the franchise is connected by the Force, the “Star Wars” property has never really spent much time trying to show the galaxy being connected in other ways. That is, we never really see people in the Outer Rim planets like Tatooine having anything in common with folks from places like Naboo or Coruscant — not just in terms of culture, but even pop culture. Sure, the prequel trilogy emphasizes the idea that the Republic is far too big and disorganized, and that lack of connectivity is part of what ultimately destroys it. Still, would it be that hard to give us just one reference to podracing being popular outside of Tatooine? Couldn’t we get a brief scene of a major character talking about seeing Sebulba racing?
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Likewise, we know there are big music stars in the “Star Wars” galaxy, Max Rebo among them. And yet, we’ve only ever really seen his band play one time, so we have no visual proof that anyone outside of gangsters is familiar with jizz.
Having “Niamos!” be a song that’s just as popular on the titular Outer Rim planet as it is on Chandrila in the Core Worlds is a fantastic way of connecting the vastly distant locales of the galaxy far, far away and making it a more lived-in place where information and culture are exchanged — not just blaster fire. “Andor” may be ending with season 2, but here’s hoping “Niamos!” lives on in future “Star Wars” projects.
New episodes of “Andor” premiere Tuesdays at 9pm EST on Disney+.
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