Hitting the shuffle button on my old school cracked-screen pink iPod…that’s literally all it took for me to become so overwhelmed with fond memories that I had to put down everything that I was doing and just revel in the moment.
Somehow, “Toca’s Miracle” by Fragma had surfaced from beneath the dark depths of my oldest playlists and was gracing my headphone speakers with all the magic it contained when it was first released in 2000…and then some. Sixteen years! I couldn’t help but shake my head and laugh. It didn’t matter how much time had passed since that iconic moment of listening to “Toca’s Miracle” for the first time as a 10-year-old under the care of my babysitting cousin. It didn’t matter that electronic music styles had changed just a bit from the late 90s and early 2000s. It certainly didn’t matter how many more incredible EDM tracks I would listen to over the years and grow to love and obsess over. “Toca’s Miracle” captured my heart then and still holds me captivated now.
My body jumped right back into action as if it had been patiently waiting 15 years for this moment. I was singing every lyric and swaying to the beat as if no time had passed at all. “Toca’s Miracle” was part of my initiation into electronic dance music.
Up until the moment my cousin blasted that Fragma CD for the first time, I had never heard anything so…amazing! I fell in love with the lyrics, wanted to be the main girl in the music video when I grew up, and simply couldn’t get enough. If “Toca’s Miracle,” hadn’t entered my life exactly when it did, I honestly don’t know if I would have passionately pursued EDM as much as I did. I was surrounded by people telling me I had to like certain things, be a particular way, and basically conform at a very young age. This week’s Throwback Thursday was the gateway to my independence, my self-confidence, and my identity.
“Toca’s Miracle” was created by German musical group Fragma and features vocals stolen from the British singer, Coco Star. Despite it’s bootleg origins, the track very quickly became a worldwide hit that outlasted it’s 2000 release year. It was cited as one of the best dance anthems of all time and topped the UK Singles Chart in April 2000. There’s no doubt about it, “Toca’s Miracle” had a huge influence — whether it was within the grand genre of trance, or just on the heart of a little Indian girl who needed to dance to a different drum.
