I became a new fan of Mokita’s gentle, emotional, sometimes electronic pop late last year when I heard his expressive voice in R3HAB’s “All Or Nothing”, though he’s been on the music scene for a number of years as a producer and remixer too. Successive singles have become true favourites of mine this year, such as “London” and “Kiss And Tell” (which both reached #3 on my personal chart), and have led to create a six song EP “4201”, which includes new single “More Than Friends” (above). Like with a number of his other songs, Mokita (aka John-Luke Carter) reflects on current or past relationships, wondering what could have been, or what to think further about them, now that they are over. It’s unique insight where many other songwriters simply don’t go. And while most of Mokita’s songs are neat and tidy and under 3 minutes long, he has a real flair for weaving genuine stories into that short period of time. Be sure to check out the full “4201” EP below for a solid taste of what Mokita offers.
Trying to get through all of the songs I hear every two weeks is always worth it because some of them ultimately become new favourites. And while #1 is a lock again, other songs rise up to challenge perhaps for the next few charts. There are three striking debuts, one by a veteran dance group in comeback mode.
Illenium and Jon Bellion continue to reign supreme at #1 with “Good Things Fall Apart”, making it the emotional soundtrack for an intense summer of music. And now Illenium and The Chainsmokers are tweeting about another collaboration which this time will include my fellow Canadian Lennon Stella, who is touring with the ‘Smokers this Fall. I’ll watch to see what becomes of these promo teases!
Timmy Trumpet’s anthem “World At Our Feet” soars 7-2 to challenge “Good Things Fall Apart” for #1. Like many electronic dance music artists, Timmy was performing at Tomorrowland in Belgium this past weekend.
Halifax’s Famba climbs 6-3 with “Swear To God”, as the song inches towards becoming his second Top 10 radio hit in Canada.
MAX holds for a 4th appearance (8 weeks!) at #4 with “Love Me Less” (above) featuring Quinn XCII. This song, like “Lights Down Low”, has a lot of lasting power, and I’m hoping MAX’s light-hearted new single “Acid Dreams” (featuring hip hop performer Felly) will do similarly. Take a listen below!
A smashing trio indeed land in the Top 10 for the first time. Mark Ronson & YEBBA move up 11-8 with “Don’t Leave Me Lonely” (above), while Kygo & Whitney Houston have the Fastest Riser on the chart 16-9 with the timely cover of Steve Winwood’s “Higher Love” (below). And Switzerland’s Luca Hãnni moves 15-10 with his Eurovision entry that ended up fourth overall, “She Got Me” (also below).
Making short work of climbing up the chart is “Monday Blues” by L.A.’s Eric Sharp with vocalist Zhao, which sails 18-12.
“Time” is easily my favourite song on EMAN8’s debut album, also called Emanate. It moves up 22-18 for the L.A. based singer/songwriter, also currently on release with Molly Moore as Cosmos & Creature with “The Wonder”, about which I recently wrote.
“Even In Confusion” is sophisticated European deep house from Italy’s Eric Zava and DJ Mirko B featuring singer Daniel Gorash, and climbs 23-19.
Sam Dickinson’s thoughtful and bubbly “All We Are” is well on its way to becoming the biggest release for Sam yet. From his new EP From The Glass House Pt. 2, “All We Are” rises 26-20.
The Highest Debut on the chart belongs to comeback kids Kazaky, the Ukrainian dance group led by Artur Gaspar that has now expanded to five members. With their big heels in full effect and amazing choreography in their new video, “Push” arrives at #21.
Bowing at #27 is the gorgeous posthumous release by Avicii featuring fellow Swedish singer Agnes as well as long time friends and producers Vargas & Lagola called “Tough Love” from the album TIM. While it’s bittersweet to hear, TIM is a fine album that was done right and featuring all kinds of talent including Imagine Dragons, A R I Z O N A, Joe Janiak, and Bonn. “Tough Love” is only Avicii’s second appearance on the chart, following 2013’s “Addicted To You”, while Agnes marks her third entry but her first since 2011. Her song “Release Me” got to the top in early 2009.
Veteran producers Kenny Summit and Eric Kupper land at #28 with “Give Me Love”, a 90’s flavoured dance track for the late night club crowd featuring vocalist Amy Douglas. Eric recently helped Parralox to #11 with his remix of “Paradise” featuring Marcella Detroit, while Amy featured on Horse Meat Disco’s “Let’s Go Dancing”, which reached #14.
View the full BILLCS Top 30right here! Click on the hyperlink on the song titles to hear the songs or watch the videos!
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While many of us are still reeling over the loss of his joyful larger-than-life father, Johnny Clegg, a few days ago, I was really pleased to see Jesse Clegg release “Let It Burn” in the past few weeks. Already known for his dynamic stage performances when opening for his father, “Let It Burn” marks a more pop-oriented direction for Jesse after more rock flavoured releases, which included an impressive live album a few years back. The South African singer/songwriter has immense crossover appeal with “Let It Burn”, a surprisingly infectious pop/dance song which shows off his diverse voice. Like his dad, Jesse creates songs for singing and dancing, and you can hear his roots showing with the percussive rhythm which becomes a bed for the rest of the song. I was thrilled to see Johnny Clegg perform three times, once in Savuka and twice in solo performances, and he always gave it to the max, even a few years ago after he had passed age 60. Johnny’s legacy will continue to flourish with Jesse and beyond.
Russian producer Khrebto had Tiësto at ‘hello’ when the superstar slid “Droppin’ Acid” into one of his sets this past Spring and long before release. Now we have the song all to ourselves, and it’s a fun but crunchy trip into the pounding bangers of the wee hours. Taking trance-like influences from when Tiësto himself was emerging, “Droppin’ Acid” has retro appeal while still remaining cutting edge. The song is actually about crushing it in a club after digging through crates for the right tunes. It’s definitely one for the DJ’s who I’m sure will be more than glad to spin it at length.
LIQUID DIET, “Looking For Love” (Night Stalker mix)
I enjoy some songs that veer to the naughty side, and when I think of those, NYC/LA trio Liquid Diet (Billy, Georgia and Jonny) always comes to mind. Recently, some remixes from songs from their album Double Life have surfaced on an EP titled Double Life: Sloppy Seconds. So it’s time to reacquaint yourself with “Looking For Love” in its slinky Night Stalker mix, which comes in both playful radio edit and more seductive extended mix forms. As you might anticipate, it’s about ‘looking for love in all the wrong places’. Musically, the song takes you back to the mid-80’s around the time when Michael Jackson’s Thriller gave everyone in North America the okay to get back dancing again. Think Billy Idol meets ABC while incorporating a verse from The Doors’ “Hello, I Love You”. With the music of Liquid Diet, it’s a must to let your hair down, get loose, and just give in to its sinewy charms 🙂 Check out the enticing video for “Looking For Love” above.
It’s a bit of a stretch away from the electronic dance/pop with which we’ve become familiar with L.A. duo Cosmos & Creature through their own releases or their numerous features over the last few years. This time, Molly Moore and Brandyn Burnette get some huge and intriguing assists from Steve Aoki, who produced and co-wrote “The Wonder”. It’s an other-worldy, trippy, trappy-sounding effort on which Molly (who also co-wrote) is most showcased this time. The song seems to use echoes as a device to represent either an overload of emotions or information that leave us caught up in wonder, only to be taken away from it, willingly or not. “The Wonder” is C&C at their most experimental and creative and fans will definitely dig it.
“I’m Not Alright” has a lot going forward for it to land it onto dance club playlists and keep the worldwide radio audiences happy who found Toronto’s Loud Luxury (Andrew and Joe) through the massive “Body”. And with a penchant for including unique vocalists like both brando (“Body”) and Anders (“Love No More”), this time the boys partner with the very chill but always fun Bryce Vine. I caught Bryce’s show last year and he knows how to captivate an audience with his good-natured, self-deprecating humour. “I’m Not Alright” sometimes comes off as a close cousin of Milky Chance’s “Stolen Dance”, but with a deep house melody that is also reminiscent of Kungs & Cookin on 3 Burners’ “This Girl”. Bryce’s voice is often set against a quieter acoustic portion of the song before the bass rhythm kicks in. While “I’m Not Alright” isn’t quite as easy a sell as “Body”, Loud Luxury have another winner that will please their fans and keep the radio airplay prominent.
You’ve already met singer/actor and sometime voice actor Will Bowes through this blog with both his solo songs and his music as singer with the R&B/pop collective called Gold Complex. “Runway Lights” is his new single and its appealing melody and uplifting lyrics are just what pop radio needs right now in Canada to help cut through a lot of samey-sounding dross. Will has a rich, soulful and expressive tone which makes every word mean something, and could be a breakout talent to watch this year. The production is straight-forward and compliments both melody and voice. Sometimes you can’t ask for more than a pop song that has the goods and “Runway Lights” should do well and perhaps attract attention from beyond Canada in the process.
Will Bowes plays The Drake Hotel in Toronto on Monday, July 22 – see you there!
Who says you can’t have a great time dancing the night away and still appreciate the person that you rely on, to be there when you need them the most? That’s the appeal of “When It Goes Down” by SoCal singer/songwriter Dree Mon. She returns to spread the easy going dance/pop we previously heard in songs like “No Chill” and “Rebel Soul” last year. With a song like “When It Goes Down”, summer can indeed be all year round, and Dree’s enthusiasm in her vocal is contagious, along with an undeniable hook that owes much to classic 70’s and 80’s hits. When the bass keeps thumping that beat out a good time will be had by all, positive messages conveyed in the process. “When It Goes Down” will find a happy place on any summer dance music playlist.
If last month’s “Runaway” was an interesting slice of alt.dance music, then “Rather Be Friends”, by Toronto duo Homestead (producer/guitarist Liam DeBoer and vocalist Joël), ups the intrigue ante a few more notches. You must stick with this one. The beginning definitely starts off a little slow, but just after the minute mark things start to brew, and electronics creep in. Then with some change-ups to Joël’s vocal, at times sung/spoken, the mystery of the song starts to reveal itself – who is it that would actually ‘rather be friends’ here? The last minute of the song is well worth waiting for, as Joël’s vocal totally rocks out and catches you by surprise. Like with “Runaway”, there’s a lot of mystique in “Rather Be Friends”, but this time it’s more rock-flavoured and could appeal to fans of Toronto’s Edge 102 or Indie-88, where it should find favour on either of their playlists. I guess we will never entirely know what’s up Liam’s and Joël’s sleeves, and because of this, a few songs in, Homestead as a project has a lot of potential.
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