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Modernaire (a.k.a. (I Want 2 B A) Modernaire) was performed (in part) by Dez Dickerson in Prince's first film Purple Rain. Over 20 years later, Dez Dickerson released the full song as the first track on his limited edition compilation A Retrospective (from his own tape copy of the track, rather than the master copy).
Three years later, Dez Dickerson released the single Modernaire, including the original version of the track and multiple cover versions of the song by dance artists (labeled on the single as "remixes").
Specific recording dates are not known, although it is believed that the track was recorded in mid-to-late 1983 at Prince's Kiowa Trail Home Studio, Chanhassen, MN, USA (credited as "the Purple House basement studio"), after Dickerson left Prince's band.
Some reversed background vocals by an unidentified female (possibly Jill Jones) include the lines "Else would a maiden blush bepaint my cheek / For that which thou hast heard me speak tonight", taken from William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet (Act 2, Scene 2). This recording was later used in Intermission.
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