Monthly Archives: April 2017

#BILLCSTop30 #508 – May 1/17

We have more new music out there in the world to listen to than ever, yet our favourites remain near and dear to us.  One of those continues to top the BILLCS Top 30 while new ones bubble underneath.

The Top 10

  • “Something Just Like This” by The Chainsmokers and Coldplay stays atop for a fourth appearance – that’s eight weeks, while new official pack arrived within the last two weeks.  Absolutely no complaints about the selection: R3hab, Alesso, Don Diablo, Like Mike & Dimitri Vegas, Jai Wolf and ARMNHMR.  Since Alesso’s latest arrives in the Top 10 this week, check out his remix above.

https://soundcloud.com/aftrhrsrecords/somethingtosay

  • Any of the Top 5 that are still on the rise have what it takes to be at #1 in two weeks.  “Something To Say” (above) by Toronto’s Loud Luxury and Ryan Shepherd advances to #2 with its warm and crowd-pleasing redux of Craig David’s “Fill Me In”.  L.A.’s Mahalo collaborates again with singer Cat Lewis for the rollicking “WTFYWF” (below) which moves up to #4, while WLRD and SMLE take “Stranded”  (also below) 9-5 thanks to an amazing vocal by Kiddo AI which caps a song that sounds like nothing else out there.
  • Toronto’s Blajk are resurfacing after a quiet few months – they play Toronto’s NXNE festival in late June.  “Lethal”, from their EP Limited, holds at #6.

  • “Stay” by Anton Zaslavski – I mean Zedd – and Alessia Cara is becoming one of the biggest hits of 2017, and the official video dropped this week.  To think in 2012’s video for “Spectrum”, both Zedd and Matthew Koma only had fleeting cameos!  It moves up 11-8.

  • It’s definitely a grower, but some remixes also arrived this week for “I Wonder” by The Him featuring LissA, by Westfunk and Teelena.  Check out the latter’s below.

  • As I mentioned up top, “Falling” by Alesso becomes the Swedish producer’s first Top Tenner here, rising 16-10.

Movin’ On Up

  • With a new song hot off the presses as well, Axel Mansoor’s “Wasted My Love” is the fastest riser on the chart, soaring 19-12.  The sweet voice, the beautiful melody, and the thoughtful lyrics are what will win you over if you haven’t yet heard him.  One to watch!!  And free to download below.
  • Although it’s more of a French-appearing moniker, Lulleaux is from The Netherlands and the very catchy – thanks to a trumpet melody that recalls Capital Cities’ “Safe And Sound” – “Sinner”, with vocals by SVM, climbs 18-13.
  • The Knocks (BRoc and JPatt) are already recording their second album, so think of this EP of Testify as a palate-whetter, with “Worship” featuring MNEK being a focal track, which rises 17-14.
  • No sooner than “Sign Of The Times” drops and his self-titled album is on the way, but Harry Styles launches a huge tour which will sail into a city near you.  “Sign Of The Times” climbs 21-15.

  • “Runaway” by Spirix featuring Xuitcasecity is no slouch either in its second appearance, with a killer melodic hook, zipping into the Top 20 23-17.

  • The Netherlands’ Steve Void has a new single coming soon too called “West LA”, and while “Never Been Better” has taken a little while to shift into high gear, it moves up 26-21.

Four Debuts

All of our debuts are by brand new performers 🙂

  • Bowing at #26 is “Heavy Hearted”, a beautifully sung EDM mid-tempo ballad as recorded by the mysterious producer Murky, featuring Polish singer Anuka to make the song really sparkle.  Get it for free at the link above.

https://soundcloud.com/manifesto-music/murky-heavy-hearted-feat-anuka

  • Captain Cuts may be new performers but they are hardly new to the music scene.  The trio are well-established producers, songwriters, and remixers, witness Walk The Moon’s massive “Shut Up And Dance”, Bebe Rexha’s recent “I Got You”, and Grouplove’s “Tongue Tied” for three!  “Love Like We Used To” has all kinds of pop potential as well as for clubs with a variety of remixes, including by Canadians Young Bombs which lands at #27.
  • Arriving at #29 is Philadelphia duo N I G H T S, whose spicy mix of R&B and EDM has yielded the strutting “Party”, which is also a free download at the above link.
  • By no means least at #30 is Australia’s Spenda C featuring rapper Cult Sh∅tta and an uncredited female vocal in “Release”.  I just love the way this song flows between pop, EDM and hip hop.

View the full BILLCS Top 30 right here, and be sure to click on the photos to hear all of the songs.

Listen to the BILLCS Top 30 Songs on Spotify! Click on this link to take you there, and follow me on Spotify: BILLCS Top 30 Songs

Planet Radio Canada is on hiatus and will return http://www.planetradio.ca 🙂

 

“Be Like You” brings back remixer @SeanTurkmusic to crank it up for @CVBZmvsic

CVBZ, “Be Like You” (Sean Turk remix)

It’s been a few months, but I’ve been excited to know for a while that this fine Sean Turk remix of CVBZ’s “Be Like You” was on its way for Ultra Music.  And it was well worth the wait.  Sean’s choices in picking top notch songs for remixing continues with “Be Like You”, a great introduction for me to Oregon-bred L.A.-based singer/songwriter CVBZ.  The NYC producer/remixer ignites the pop stylings of the original to deliver amped-up ‘bedroom bass’ dance floor heaven well before the minute mark.  Which is a good thing because this is such a delightful remix – and it goes by much too quickly.  Pick this one up at your favourite online digital store.

A tale of two “Raccoons” theme covers: @BrightLightx2 and @Spraypopmusic revive “Run With Us”

BRIGHT LIGHT BRIGHT LIGHT, “Run With Us”

SPRAY, “Run With Us” (Matt Pop remix)

In one of the stranger coincidences in 2017, “Run With Us”, the late 80’s theme song to a Canadian kids’ TV program – which ran from 1985 to 1992 and itself followed a series of full length animated features starting in 1980 – shows its enduring effects!  It gets a new lease on life with two new reverent cover versions of the Lisa Lougheed original (a minor Canadian hit which I know very well and peaked at #69 nationally in 1988, below), one by none other than Bright Light Bright Light, and the other by those cool UK wordsmiths and purveyors of pop, Spray.

Bright Light x2 (aka Rod Thomas) just released his EP Cinematography 2: Back In The Habit, a gloriously curated 6-pack of cover versions, including Madonna’s “Causing A Commotion”, Starship’s “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”, and Lisa Loeb’s “Stay (I Missed You)” – as well as “Run With Us”.  Rod’s rendition could have easily competed with the original in the 80’s, definitely intended as a loving interpretation that was obviously something important to him when he was much younger, and has stuck like glue through adulthood.  Needless to say, it’s great!

Spray, the duo of Jenny McLaren and Ricardo Autobahn whose music I have also written about a number of times, actually covered “Run With Us” back in 2007 for their album Children Of A Laser God.  With impeccable timing – there is apparently a 2017 “Raccoons Dance” or something like that in the works by original TV show creator Kevin Gillis – they’ve brought their enthusiastic rework into 2017 with a jazzed-up remix by Matt Pop (who recently did similar wonders for Nathalie Archangel’s Billboard charter “Unleashed”) as well as a lyric video.  It’s a different take on the song from Bright Light Bright Light’s, but they go kind of hand-in-hand in inspiration.

So all of you lovers of that old “Raccoons” theme can immerse yourself with two solid throwbacks – both available at all digital stores.

Your 1st epic summer ’17 song: @BobbyNourmand with “D U S T”

BOBBY NOURMAND, “D U S T” (free DL)

L.A. producer/DJ Bobby Nourmand has been honing his versatile dance music sound and it has experienced quite an evolution during this past year, culminating most recently with the raucous but still refined and insanely catchy “D E E P in NY”, one of my favourites of 2017 so far (a BILLCS Top 30 #1 in January too).  “D U S T” continues in the deep house realm but it’s an epic song in all kinds of ways.  It’s bold like this big ray of sunshine swooped in to signal the coming of summer.  It will bring the beach to you where there may not even be a beach.  It’s also got a rich soulful vocal sound that resonates throughout and makes you wait for it to arrive when the song has much more chill moments.  Plus at 5 and a half minutes, “D U S T” creates a fun journey when you know where you’re headed and feel better when you get there.  “D U S T” is a grower, and it makes you come back to it, expecting, wanting and getting more out of it each time.  And as Bobby’s gift to you for your kind attention, get it as a free download at the link above.

That cool voice belongs to L.A.’s Axel Mansoor @iamAxelM with “Out Of My Head”

AXEL MANSOOR, “Out Of My Head” (free DL)

Right now I can’t get enough of Axel Mansoor’s pensive and knowing breakup ballad “Wasted My Love”, which currently rising in the Top 20 of the BILLCS Top 30.  Score winner #2 for Axel with another original “Out Of My Head”.  He’s got this cool, easy going voice that’s hard to dislike, especially when in harmony with himself.  But Axel also taps into a gritty soulful vibe now and then that makes me want to listen to his songs as much as I do the likes of favourites such as Brandyn Burnette.  “Out Of My Head” has an interesting alt.pop song structure, kind of gliding along gracefully on a cloud until a bit of a welcome switch up near the end.  So now we have two equally fine introductions to the natural talents of Axel Mansoor, and like “Wasted My Love”, you can get “Out Of My Head” at the link above for free.

“ZULU” is large and in charge trap-style from @FarandFewmusic and @Dreamerkta

DREAMER and FAR & FEW, “ZULU”

It’s loud, busy, large and in charge, but what might you expect when with a title like “ZULU”?  Austin duo Far & Few pair up with New Zealand’s Dreamer via Tribal Trap for a song that will put your speakers to a great test.  Chunky bass drips with distorted synths and percussion nicknacks, following a ponderous rhythm interspersed with well-placed chants.  Yeah “ZULU” is pretty much for adventurous dance/EDM fans but it’s a fun three minutes where you can put your head and feet into a different space.  Check it out above and show your support by picking it up at one of the many online digital stores.

Baton Rouge’s @HunterPlake is my underdog – well not anymore – with his cover of @Sia’s “Elastic Heart” on Season 12 of @NBCTheVoice

HUNTER PLAKE, “Elastic Heart”

It doesn’t happen on every season of “The Voice” but I often select a performer who is an underdog that I root for – and sometimes they stick around.  Despite top notch performances which got him through the Battle Rounds (and stolen by Gwen Stefani from Alicia Keys), I was worried when I heard that 20 year old newlywed Hunter was performing Sia’s massively difficult “Elastic Heart” for the live show, which is when teams get cut from six to three members.  But in an extremely clever move, the arrangement for “Elastic Heart” was stripped down, which allowed Hunter’s gorgeous voice to flourish to heightened emotions even though his version could have probably used some better articulation in spots.  Nonetheless it established a distinct sound that none of the other contestants – or any in recent memory – possess.  Now Hunter is in the Top 12 – underdog no more – and has an excellent chance at finishing in the Top 4.  And people are buying his songs on iTunes even before the Top 12 shows, which is amazing! Check out the performance of “Elastic Heart” – totally melt-worthy 🙂

“Secrets” is another winner for New Haven duo @Opiaofficial with “Secrets” featuring @SamFischermusic

OPIA featuring SAM FISCHER, “Secrets”

In their short career thus far, New Haven duo Opia have a way of tantalizing the listener with rich and vibrant vocals set to songs that seem to tell a story rather than stitched together lyrics for lyrics’ sake.  Their track record so far is pretty impeccable with less beat-heavy electronica:  “Falling”, “Chasing Shadows” and “YDU”, not to mention a joint duo effort with RKCB for “Always”.  Again enriching their vocals they’ve brought in Sam Fischer for the fun on “Secrets”.  This one is a winner rhythmically as much as it is vocally.  Its production is lush and dazzling, changing it up musically and vocally throughout, which would make it sound even more impressive in concert. Keep your ears tuned for Opia throughout 2017 – even better you can catch them on a limited tour with Marian Hill in select cities through June.

Classic dance update: @Tiesto’s “Just Be” gets a @Dzekomusic redux

TIËSTO, “Just Be” (Dzeko remix)

It may be a touch daring to update songs that are revered by a lot of dance music fans, but that’s sometimes what makes a remix stand on its own.  Such is the case with 2004’s “Just Be” by Tiësto from the classic album of the same name, also known for including “Love Comes Again” (with BT) and “Adagio For Strings”.  Toronto’s Julian Dzeko is definitely in the good books with Tiësto, so he took some license with the remix.  I like the update overall with its future bass drops and breaks, so it can slide into a set easily and catch folks off guard, though I miss many of the experimental elements of the original.  Kirsty Hawkshaw’s dreamy vocal is intact though of course much is edited out for such a short remix.  All-in-all, with Dzeko & Torres and their distinctive sound on hiatus, a representation of good things to come from Dzeko solo. 

“Dear Ana” (featuring @JaiWolfx) recounts @MatthewKoma’s battle with an eating disorder

MATTHEW KOMA featuring JAI WOLF, “Dear Ana”

We would never have known looking back five years ago that Matthew Koma, a rocker and songwriter who became a new and perhaps reluctant go-to-voice of dance/EDM music on songs by the likes of Tiësto, Zedd, Alesso, Giorgio Moroder and others, had or would develop an eating disorder that became hidden under his sudden celebrity.  But he was smart, got help before it was too late, and turned it all around, and now, with assistance from the much praised Jai Wolf, has released a song about his battle called “Dear Ana”.  And whether it’s about anorexia or some other ‘ana’ condition/dependency, “Dear Ana” is here to try and also help others.  It’s an atypical, softer Matthew Koma song for this reason and the poignant lyrics, which any listener will appreciate even without the context, definitely drive it home.  Congratulations Matthew, YOU win 🙂