Laid back electro vibes soar in “Flying High” by @FiveandaDime featuring @YasharGasanov

https://soundcloud.com/fiveandadime/sets/5-a-dime-flying-high-feat

5 AND A DIME featuring YASHAR GASANOV, “Flying High”

Philadelphia producer 5 And A Dime returns with a 90’s-influenced song that sounds like no other right now with “Flying High” from none other than Lowly Palace.  It features the distinctive vocalizing of Russian singer Yashar Gasanov – distorted, mysterious, not always on key, but ever-so-flowing with the chilled out vibe of the song.  What’s beautiful about “Flying High” is that its melody gets between your ears by not really letting up in its under three minutes length.  If offsets what could be initially a quite polarizing vocal style, making it an intriguing late night alt.rock-flavoured track.  “Flying High” isn’t for everyone, but if you like your dance music on the adventurous side then 5 And A Dime is out to make you soar right along with it.

New Seattle production duo @weareSolstis bring on the crunchy, progressive instrumental “Open Your Eyes”

SOLSTIS, “Open Your Eyes” (free DL)

Seattle producers Solstis are out to convincingly make their mark with “Open Your Eyes”, their latest original song from their upcoming album Nowhere.  It’s a busy, crunchy instrumental that fuses trap with old school industrial electronic dance music.  You can hear classical influences as well as 80’s inspiration that alternately recalls The Art Of Noise and Ministry, not quite what you would expect in one song.  “Open Your Eyes” is indeed an aggressive dance track, not suited for every club.  But its complex and unpredictable arrangement will compel you to listen, and at the end of its 3:26 length you will want to hear more.  Download “Open Your Eyes” by Solstis for free at the link above.

German producers @VeniceandBoujee bring you the inspiring “My Time Will Come”

PAUL VENICE & DAN BOUJEE, “My Time Will Come” (free DL)

New German production duo Paul Venice and Dan Boujee are off to a great start out of the gate with “My Time Will Come”.  It’s an inspiring slice of folk story pop that happily marries dance rhythms to a memorable guitar-driven melody rather than the usual dose of synths.  What it also offers is an inspiring story of confidence and determination, which no one can get enough of these days.  The vocals are a bit on the raw side but after repeated listens you realize they totally suit the production and the approach of the song.  Best of all it’s a free download.  Add it to your story-telling dance playlist on Spotify or download it right here.

French producer @Khamsinmusic goes huge future bass with “Second Guess” featuring @Anukamusic

KHAMSIN featuring ANUKA, “Second Guess”

At times sometimes sounding a bit contrary to its lyrics, “Second Guess” comes confidently from French producer Khamsin, who, along with Kidswaste and Rusty Hook, is another member of the collective Slow Hours.  With a major bonus, it features vocalist Anuka, who you’ll remember from her persuasive singing in last year’s “Heavy Hearted” by Murky.  When the song is quiet, the arrangement surrounds Anuka’s voice like a velvet envelope.  But when it’s loud, it’s almost a future bass battle cry complete with knights, catapults, and castles all a rage in your head.  “Second Guess” has a big movie soundtrack with a fairy tale love story of uncertainty.  It will make you shiver and then want to cheer.  Khamsin isn’t about to leave any stone unturned in in this majestic production.  He is definitely one to watch with “Second Guess”.  Add it to your big and loud electronic playlist using the Spotify link above.

“Perfectly Me” by @JamesPoole_ is a jubilant ode to loving yourself the way you are

JAMES POOLE, “Perfectly Me”

UK singer/songwriter James Poole is on to a great thing with “Perfectly Me”.  It’s definitely a bit of parade down Mika Street that truly could go hand-in-hand with that singer’s own recent single about inclusion, “It’s My House”.  For it’s perfectly okay to just be you and love yourself for who you are.  You don’t need to make excuses or adjustments just because someone thinks you should.  It’s all about empowering self-confidence, and James channels this in a gleeful and unbridled performance.  I hope that many listeners will jump on James’ thoughtful messages as well as how fun he gets his points across.  But yeah, this is an anthem Mika didn’t happen to think of writing – James Poole fans will be especially pleased.  Add “Perfectly Me” to your feel-good playlist using the Spotify link up top.

Austin’s @Renat_music offers a classy and uplifting remix of @iamAlanWalker’s “All Falls Down”

ALAN WALKER featuring NOAH CYRUS & DIGITAL FARM ANIMALS, “All Falls Down” (Renat remix) (free DL)

In a wise choice of a cover to offer us as a “Happy 2018” free download, Austin producer Renat returns with his take on Alan Walker’s recent “All Falls Down” (featuring Miley Cyrus’ sister Noah and British producer Digital Farm Animals).  Out of all of Alan’s subsequent dance hits to the monstrous “Faded” – and bear in mind that he just turned 20 last August – “All Falls Down” should have been the pop hit to follow it up.  Renat puts a classy and uplifting spin on the song featuring a lot of staccato high notes and synth washes to create a bigger, shinier sound for the song.  In addition to opening for acts in concert like The Chainsmokers in recent past, Renat also had the opportunity to open for Alan Walker last year, and so what better tribute could there be than an upscale and highly complimentary remix.  Get “All Falls Down” for free at the link above.

“White Lies” is fresh pop with intrigue from Dutch duo @TheHim

THE HIM, “White Lies”

Alternating between true club bangers like “Everybody Hurts” and pop morsels like “Always”, Dutch duo The Him (Jeroen and Steven) are back with “White Lies”.  The song definitely has more of a dance/pop flavour but remixes could help it shake down on the dance floor too.  An uncredited male vocalist sings an intriguing tale of a potential hook up that could lead to much more if the object of his desire wants it.  The Him embellish it all with airy vocal effects and a fluid bass line that anchors the song at its key moments.  The Him keep cranking out great songs and in turn are a crowd-pleasing presence in concert.  Watch 2018 to be a breakout year for The Him!  Add “White Lies” to your mid-tempo playlist of mysterious pop/dance songs at the Spotify link above.

NYC-based duo @weareAnden return with progressive electronica of “Retrograde”

ANDEN, “Retrograde” (extended mix)

NYC-based producers/remixers Anden (aka brothers Pete and Tom) follow up the originals they released in 2017 with possibly their most dynamic song yet with the progressive-sounding”Retrograde”, which is featured on the EP Unified Vol. 7 jointly with songs with Max Ruby.  Definitely go with the 7 minute extended mix of “Retrograde”, which starts with a slow-burn tribal introduction but proceeds to show off a lot of inspiration from 80’s electronic music that would stand comfortably beside songs of that era by Duran Duran, Thomas Dolby or Jean-Michel Jarre.  There is an abundance of contemporary flash with a barrage of flowing synths and minimalist-styled vocals that will keep you entertained.  Add “Retrograde” (extended mix) to your playlist of electronic wizards at the Spotify link above.

Hip hop inflected European deep house will have you grooving to “Multiply” by #IDEO featuring @JPaulished

https://soundcloud.com/ideodj/ideo-feat-jpaulished-multiply-1

IDEO featuring JPAULISHED, “Multiply”

“Multiply” is one of the more intriguing songs to kick off 2018 that caught me off guard listening to it repeatedly over the holidays.  It brings Italian producer/DJ Ideo together with American hip hop vocalist JPaulished for a hot one-of-a-kind dose of fun that will both engage club DJ’s and listeners.  Although the song is 5 minutes long, Ideo switches it up so much that you want to know what will keep coming next.  JPaulished’s gritty vocals don’t start to appear until about halfway, which is an interesting production angle, but it really makes the song come alive when other songs would be ending.  Club DJ’s can pick or choose what parts of the song to mix into a set, they will all work.  “Multiply” is a surprise that totally slams hard with lots of bounce, from our friends at Balmung Digital Recordings, and you can check it out at the link above.

Canadian rockers @Kapturmusic are back with powerful “Spirit” and a unique lyric video

KAPTUR, “Spirit”

St. Catharines, Ontario rock quintet Kaptur are back with the first of several new songs to come in 2018, “Spirit”.  It’s a potent, well-played high-energy rocker to please any fan of current rock music that takes its jumping off point from groups like Linkin Park, Foo Fighters, and Korn. What makes this release even more interesting is the clever lyric video that accompanies the song.  It was made with a Critter & Guitari Video Scope, a video synthesizer which allowed them to feed a variety of images to be set against the oscillating waveform of the song.  Check it out at the You Tube link above, and watch for more from Kaptur soon!