Sometimes it may seem to hard, but eventually one does break through the pain of a breakup or loss, and music is the appropriate outlet! Dapper Italian DJ/producer Gil Sanders, who began his fine work in the 00’s as a teenager, has your handle on it with “Party Through The Pain”. It’s a spirited, anthemic house number that’s destined to give you a good time and lift you up, up, up! Dance music often becomes great friends with melancholy and “Party Through The Pain” works exceptionally well. Add it to your Feeling Great playlist using the Spotify link above.
SoCal indie duo Inspired And The Sleep (aka singer/songwriter/producer Max and multi-instrumentalist Bryce) get their groove on this time with “Stay”. And why not – it’s about being deep in the throes of love, so there are nothing but positive vibes here. Max’s gentle and knowing vocal sets the stage while the groove generates an easy going but funky rhythm to make it all work well. Picture a late night drive down PCH as the warm winds blow from the deserted beaches while you’re with your special someone. “Stay” is the ideal soundtrack for those kinds of moments.
Copenhagen’s Fabian Mazur, very well known in Europe these past 8 years, opts for more pop/dance/soul flavours with “Settle”, a release for The Music Elk. It’s an intense, deliberately-paced dance song featuring the welcome return of L.A. singer/songwriter Zac Poor, who I’ve written about several times in these pages. Zac sings and co-wrote the song. His vocal has a gritty, soulful quality here that usually doesn’t appear on European dance songs, thereby making it seem like something hailing from the UK when it’s not. And I have definitely missed hearing his power and range! In fact, “Settle” recalls the soulful dance of 90’s groups like Stereo MC’s but wrapped up with a lot of contemporary finesse. Fabian definitely knows how to swing a few hooks, and the electronic elements of the song keep it brewing steadily. “Settle” may not be instantly memorable by title but chances are you’ll be adding it to a playlist or three of your own.
“Closure” marks the 100th release for Dutch producer Steve Void’s Strange Fruits label. And that’s a fast steady pace of 100 releases too which have definitely caught the eyes and ears of the dance music part of the music biz. “Closure” quite honestly is one of Steve’s own best releases. It’s a great song about how relationships end and some people need closure before they can move on, which often does not happen at all. The production has a grooving synth bass line and Andy Marsh’s vocal convincingly puts you in that moment that you might not ever want to be in. But “Closure” let’s you wrap it all up and dance away your own troubles in the process.
The first thing that will strike you about “These Hands” by Essex-born singer Corey Layzell is his voice. Think of everyone who might have stood out because they didn’t sound like anyone else. Corey reminds me of MNEK without soulful power but with a lot of pop potential in a Bastille kind of way. “These Hands” is about fighting for love, and it’s set to an engaging and complimentary pop/dance synth track. It’s no wonder that Sia is a vocal influence for Corey. “These Hands” is everything that you enjoy about pop music that’s unmistakably unconventional and dance music is the perfect genre to host it. I’m predicting we’ll be hearing much, much more from Corey Layzell very soon!
“Majesty” gets a heavy-duty epic trap-influenced official remix by French producer CloZee, who has seen herself play festivals on the same bill as the likes of Jean-Michel Jarre. She lends a lot of spirit to the creative release from Montreal-based producer Apashe and Canadian rapper Wasiu. You might think of the word ‘anthemic’ when you first hear the remix, but a title like “Majesty” deserves more than that and CloZee delivers it big time. She’s got a great record to work with as Wasiu delivers a candid rap that is full of fire without being over the top. “Majesty” is a hard-hitting fist-pumper that requires repeated listening.
The Top 10 of this edition of the chart is a dancin’ fool’s dream, just chock full of classic house, disco, trap, and of course what would be more likely labelled as pop/dance. But there are many soulful and hip hip influences embedded, along with the presence of a singer normally associated with the country genre.
The Top 10
Odesza’s “Loyal” crushes it again at the top, with a feverishly paced song that just makes your heart race and leaves you with an incredible rush at the end. How many other songs could do that this year?
The presence of A-Trak and Todd Terry in “DJ’s Gotta Dance More” (3-2) is an inspired collaboration which honours classic house and helps to make that style of dance music even better, by inspiring those who play it!
Mercer’s 70’s flavoured house of “Fireworks” (above) races 7-3 to join the dance festivities as he releases another new single called “Boss” (below).
PatrickReza’s taut remix of Illenium and Annika Wells’ “Crawl Outta Love” soars 10-5 to give presence to this fine song.
These are hardly the last “Days Of Disco” but Canadian duo Botnek definitely have catchy business happening with this song which moves up 8-7.
Soulful UK singer/songwriter Sam Dickinson scores his third Top 10 here with “Wild Sun”, which in its Handbag House radio edit should by all rights be played in any club, anywhere that has great taste! It climbs 13-9.
Of course it’s The Chainsmokers who paired with country singer Kelsea Ballerini for another treat for us this year with “This Feeling” rising 12-10.
Movin’ On Up
From a great go-to EP called Tough Love, Bright Light Bright Light’s “How I Feel” climbs 19-13.
If there’s such a thing as alt.soul.pop then singer Victor Perry and producer Ficci may have coined it in their project called Labrose with “Gravity”, up 20-15.
The good-natured vibes of San Holo’s “Brighter Days” definitely creep under your skin and stay there thanks to a totally in sync vocal by Bipolar Sunshine. The song is from San’s release called Album1 and moves up 21-17.
Possibly the tightest and most irresistible song on the chart at only 2:28 is “In My Arms” by L.A.-based producer Mahalo in partnership with newcomer Le:Blanc. It’s the fastest riser on the chart, soaring 26-18.
Illenium entry #2, “God Damnit” as written and sung by Call Me Karizma, wastes no time landing in the Top 20, up 24-19.
4 Debuts
As “All For You” exits the chart, Years & Years maintain a presence, this time courtesy of UK producer Jax Jones on “Play” at #24. “Play” is featured on Jax’s compilation EP called Snacks.
Another disco-tastic track to grace the chart is “Mister Love”, by Luxembourg-born producer White Chocolate, which arrives at #25.
And as the long-lasting “Infinitum” leaves the chart, so “Naked” by Revelries featuring Romanian vocalist Jeoko arrives to take its place. The exotic song, tapping into Revelries Emerati roots, lands at #26 out of the gate.
More Chainsmokers anyone? Yes, please! The guys know when to let loose and show their progressive side, and “Siren”, featuring Aazar is a shining example. “Siren” debuts at #27.
View the full BILLCS Top 30right here! Click on the hyperlink on the song titles to hear the songs or watch the videos!
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
Dutch producer Jay Hardway is pretty consistent with a steady stream of dance floor and festival favourites to draw from in his repertoire. Add up high on that list, his latest instrumental “Paradigm”. I’m not sure if it’s intended, but there’s an incredible late 70s/early 80’s vibe about the song, and it rests in the keyboard hook. While I can definitely hear a classical melody at its core, I immediately think of some of the instrumental work in Giorgio Moroder’s seminal “From Here To Eternity” as well as some of the synth lushness that’s identified with European hits like FR David’s “Words”. And while I might be totally wrong about all of that, dance music fans will still be hanging on that synth hook while the song shifts into lower gear and then revs back up, similar to what you’ll hear that worked so well in recent songs by Arty and Martin Garrix. In any case, “Paradigm” is a winner that will sound fabulous through monstrous festival speakers.
Multi-instrumentalist Spazz Cardigan is back with a playful slice-of-life called “DOIDOIT”, following this past Spring’s whimsical “Episode”. While being entertained by its jaunty keyboard work – Spazz is a classically trained pianist – and other live instruments, “DOIDOIT” will definitely have you thinking throughout the song about why things are the way they are, and why you’re the way you are. Its sly humour that reminds me of the Jason Mraz of old while being channeled through a deft arrangement that would please Charlie Puth fans. But “DOIDOIT” is really about getting through all of those questions to figure out that all Spazz wants is to be in love – many of you will no doubt relate! The anthemic finale of the song will leave you wound up with a smile on your face. Don’t underestimate the talented Spazz Cardigan, who will sing and write and play his way to many successes to come.
Following up their bouncy take on Stevie Wonder’s “Uptight” last Spring, French producer Martin Vallée and US pop/soul singer/songwriter Victor Perry have once again joined forces for “Whispers”. With this song, they head straight into a softer Eurohouse mix that’s best suited either early on in the evening or later at night. There’s an interesting song structure here, with a subtle introduction, that’s followed by the hook within its first minute. This allows Victor to then wax his eloquent voice over the crux of the story, remembering the whispers of a past lover. Queue the hook again and the song bobs its way playfully until it’s time to get closer again… “Whispers” is definitely a pleasing choice atypical of its genre and my compliments to the artists for taking some chances with a gentler shade of house music.
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