When lovin’ can’t get better: “We Love” by @Tokimonsta featuring @MNDR in a @FelixCartal remix

TOKiMONSTA featuring MNDR, “We Love” (Felix Cartal remix)

I always get to enjoy knowing more about performers in dance music, and one that I had yet to write about was L.A.-based Tokimonsta.  She pairs up just fine with fellow L.A. denizen MNDR – we last heard her vocalizing with Scissor Sisters in the summer with the charity single “SWERLK”.  Master remixer and my fellow Canadian Felix Cartal throws a huge, happy sheen over “We Love” to make it into a timely anthem for clubs.  Who’s love is better?  Well yours of course!  MNDR’s vocal is bubbly and carefree while Tokimonsta gives those deep grooves some edge that resonates right till the end.  “We Love” will filter down to your feet but will first grab you around the heart, which sounds about right.  Give it a hard listen at the link above.

As the evening winds down there’s “Honey” by @Madnapmusic featuring @SophiexMeiers

https://soundcloud.com/movingcastle/madnap-honey-feat-sophie-meiers

MADNAP featuring SOPHIE MEIERS, “Honey”

The big beats have stopped. Sports is over on TV.  Your favourite movie has roared to a finale.  So it’s time to find some quiet private time with that special someone.  “Honey” by L.A.’s Madnap sets the tone nicely for what might follow.  Featuring a sultry and confident vocal by Sophie Meiers, “Honey” whirls the slow dance to the end with melodic, hollow sounds providing a sometimes acoustic backdrop while Sophie sings as if she’s the second last one in the room next to her own loved one.  Madnap makes “Honey” glimmer and it’s hardly sugary sweet, more like the teaspoon you want to lick from sitting in your cup of tea.  While clubs could easily use it in a slower set mid-evening, the most appropriate and effective place for “Honey” is near or at the end.  Madnap keeps it new and fresh at the link above.

#BILLCSTop30 #519 – October 2/17

The start of Fall brings a chart that is crammed with great music particularly near the top. There’s a new #1 and four new songs to keep your head and feet particularly happy!
The Top 10  

  • Toronto’s Loud Luxury, the duo of Andrew Fedyk and Joseph De Pace, with the wonderful assist from fellow locals Nikki’s Wives, are back at the top of the chart, this time with the bass-laden “Show Me”. That’s two in a row this year following their big ‘n deep house cover of Craig David’s “Fill Me In” with another Torontonian, Ryan Shepherd. But “Show Me” has pretty fierce competition just bubbling below.
  • CVBZ’s “Be Like You”, in a Sean Turk remix (above), inches up to #2, while “Perfect” by L.A.’s Mahalo featuring singer Cat Lewis (below) is on its tail at #3. Who knows what will happen in two weeks! Sooo close!

  • At #5, why it’s Lauv with one of the best club-worthy singalongs of the year, “I Like Me Better”. Already in demand, you can catch the singer/songwriter also on DJ Snake’s new one “A Different Way”.
  • Soaring into the Top 10, up 14-7, is the Franco-American collaboration of “No Love In Brooklyn” by Nick Peters & Frank Pierce featuring Scott Vega. It has one of the catchiest choruses of the year, too!

  • The ever-recognizable voice of singer/songwriter Matthew Koma lands in the Top 10 for the 9th time since 2012 as either a solo or featured artist with the pensive ballad “Suitcase”, rising 12-9.

Movin’ On Up

  • “You (It’s All About You)” by Carlos Nóbrega’s debut album The Art Of Making Love climbs 18-14 to drive home the importance of commitment to one’s loved one. From Carlos’ other project Almageddon, also check out the latest video below for the majestic instrumental “Viva La Vida”.

https://soundcloud.com/latchmeresound/need-your-heart

  • The fastest riser on the chart is the highest debut from the last chart, a club hit in the making for “Need Your Heart”, the classic house opening song for Latchmere’s EP Lovedrunk. It rockets up the chart 23-15.
  • The warm and affectionate “We Won’t Leave You” by Steve Void and Syence continues to climb the chart with its anthemic feel-good message, rising 20-16.
  • The second collaboration by L.A.’s Bobby Nourmand with hip hop artists DOC and Goodmorning is “MIND”, and it jumps 19-17.
  • Possibly the most aggressive and wacked out song on the chart is the dubstep instrumental “Anesthetic” by San Diego’s Convulsic, continue to climb 22-18

  • You can catch a look at the 2017 edition of Sam Smith on Saturday Night Live on October 7, where he will almost certainly sing “Too Good At Goodbyes”, which rises 26-20.
  • “Would You Ever” is a pretty simple piece of songwriting that will leave you pondering if you should! And so it should, as Skrillex and partner-in-crime this time Poo Bear get remixed by MMXVAC’s own scrvp. (in a free download), taking it 27-21 on the chart.

Four Debuts

  • New duo Culpriit is a US/UK collaboration bringing us one of the most infectious songs of the year with “Driveway”, which bows at #24. If you’re trying to think of that song that the melody of the chorus may remind you of, it’s OutKast’s “Ms Jackson”.
  • There are suddenly so many great vocal collaborations surfacing in dance music, and this one deserves to be everywhere. Where else would you get verses by both blackbear and MAX? Brought to us by the team of producers It’s Different and Forever MC, “No Hands” arrives at #25, and is available above for free download… for now. It’s MAX’s fourth appearance on the chart but first as a featured vocalist – the others have all gone Top 10 including a #1 with “Wrong” (featuring Lil Uzi Vert).
  • Miami producer Alyx Ander lands his second appearance on the chart this year, this time with a top ten finisher from The Voice, the Ellie Goulding-sounding Caroline Pennell, with “Wake Up For The Night”. A perfect late night clubbing/driving song, it debuts at #27.
  • The fourth debut has another fantastic vocal teaming courtesy of Atlanta producers Halogen on “Can’t Resist”. The incredible voices are from Adriana Gomez and Florida’s Lub from the Porch Family (or lub x tpf), and “Can’t Resist” premieres at #28. Halogen remixed last year’s memorable “Born Ready” by The Disco Fries, which reached #9 on the chart. “Can’t Resist”, too, and for now, is a free download.

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
Check out and ‘like’ the new BILLCS Music Projects Facebook page 🙂
Planet Radio Canada is on hiatus and will return http://www.planetradio.ca 🙂

Those “Daddy Issues” get a different perspective, as brought to you by @CallMeKarizma

CALL ME KARIZMA, “Daddy Issues”

He does it all – rap, sing, write, produce – and Minnesota’s Call Me Karizma follows up the deft “Frank Ocean” with his own perspective on “Daddy Issues”.  Just the title alone conjures up a variety of thoughts as to what the song might be all about, but ‘Riz in his unique way takes a few girlfriend case-studies and realizes that they come part-and-parcel with someone who hasn’t yet found love.  So what might seem controversial ends up being a nice-enough love song about moving on with romance …to be continued.  “Daddy Issues” to me is one of ‘Riz’s best records, continuing to discover ways of incorporating a down-to-earth, direct hip hop style with some gentle melodies and sweet vocals as well.  Slick and painless, “Daddy Issues” deserves your attention at the Spotify link above.

I’ll see you on Call Me Karizma’s A Summer High tour when it stops in Toronto at the Hard Luck on November 5.

L.A.’s @Zhaomusic arrives with the ethereal “Lifetime”

ZHAO, “Lifetime”

Producer/singer/songwriter Zhao first came to my attention late last year as the vocalist on an enigmatic, enduring favourite of mine by producer Eric Sharp called “The Thirst” (below).  Now L.A.-based, born in Tennessee but raised in Atlanta, Zhao (first name Kenny) kicks off his EP Ride with “Lifetime”.  It’s a thoughtful dose of melodic electronica that will slip under your skin and transport you to somewhere peaceful and personal for a while.  It’s definitely the flipside of the more aggressive “The Thirst”, and may hold as many influences from the keyboard work of M83 and the sparseness of Rhye as it does from 80’s pop and R&B.  It’s complex music that sounds simple and most pleasing to the ears, and you can watch Zhao himself at work in the fine video for “Lifetime” up top.

Lots of big post-breakup beats in “Over U” by Australia’s @Enschway featuring @YeahBoymusic

ENSCHWAY featuring YEAH BOY, “Over U”

Australian producer/remixer Enschway knows how to power up a breakup song with the big beats in “Over U”.  Although anyone through a romance will relate to the lyrics, the bouncy execution becomes cathartic and fun.  It’s also carried by the clever vocals of British singer Yeah Boy, formerly of the duo Parachute Youth (you also know him from 3LAU’s “Is It Love”).  There’s a fine arrangement full of chemistry crammed into just over two minutes, which unfortunately has much too fast of a finale.  But I’d definitely love to hear these guys create another record.  Check out “Over U” at the link above.

Your new catch phrase? “Oom Zigga” brings the beach party courtesy of @itsPapaYa with @_MalcolmAnthony

PAPA YA featuring MALCOLM ANTHONY, “Oom Zigga” (free DL)

If you find traces of sand on your floor despite not being anywhere near a beach, then it may be the result of listening to LA-based duo Papa Ya with “Oom Zigga”, featuring New Jersey hip hop performer Malcolm Anthony.  It’s the follow up to the toe-tapper “Sunny”, and where “Sunny” got you dreaming about the beach, “Oom Zigga” takes you to the party along with some rhythmic chanting that you might find more in a campfire song from yesteryear.  But like “Sunny”, “Oom Zigga” is straight up fun that you don’t want to think about too much, otherwise you’ll simply prevent the title phrase from getting stuck in your head.  The beach boy pop/hip hop blend goes down easy, and you can get your own copy of “Oom Zigga” for free at the Soundcloud link above.

Papa Ya is touring with MAX in some of his upcoming US shows so watch out for them!

Chicago’s Pete Cho @petechosen makes an auspicious debut with “Howlin'”

PETE CHO, “Howlin'”

It was a rather pleasing and unexpected surprise to get to enjoy “Howlin'” by Pete Cho recently.  Pete is a Korean BBQ restauranteur from Chicago turned pop/dance artist who also writes and produces his own music.  And if you’re going to do it then you may as well go big and bold with help from the likes of Dino Zisis (Lady Gaga’s “Applause”).  “Howlin'” sounds great and of course has just arrived in time for Hallowe’en.  That means there’s a spooky video with a few twists, and Pete had his hand in writing it too.  “Howlin'” has a solid overall sound with a lot of punch in its beats that generates appropriate suspense without overkill.  The uncredited singer has a good voice too which adds to the atmosphere.  Check out the video above – you’ll want to hear “Howlin'” again and play it for your friends 🙂

“Flags” by @Shoffymusic (feat. #Yuna) is a low-key start to a fabulous debut album

https://soundcloud.com/shoffymusic/flags-feat-yuna

SHOFFY featuring YUNA, “Flags” (free DL)

Shoffy’s debut album may be one of the best and most understated dance music records to arrive this year, all in a very good way.  I really need to dig deeper into it to write more about it, but I’ll start with the unity-themed lead off single “Flags”, featuring R&B singer Yuna, available for free at the link above.  The singer I’m going to compare L.A.’s Shoffy to is Troye Sivan, not because of similar voices or styles, but for someone who has found his sound, which Troye did on last year’s huge Blue Neighbourhood.  Like other recent finds like Lauv and Kid Froopy, Shoffy has a natural, likeable voice that flows beautifully with his music as well as his singing collaborator.  The overall sound is a low-key electronic delight, one that will stay with you through subsequent listens.  Not all dance music has to result in big bangers, and Shoffy in the two years has been part of some interesting releases by others until he made the Billboard dance/electronic chart last year with “Takes My Body Higher” .  Check out “Flags” for now and I hope to feature more of Shoffy’s songs from his album soon!  

Shoffy’s upcoming east-west US tour starts in NYC on October 11 at the Mercury Lounge.

L.A.-based @Lash_music has silky tropical vibes with “I’m Gonna Be There”

LASH, “I’m Gonna Be There”

Lash was once a duo but it’s all Kelvin Beato now as he reveals his new single “I’m Gonna Be There” for Enhanced.  It’s quite a lovely story of commitment through ups and downs, skewing more of a pop side than what you might find in clubs.  And what’s most attractive about “I’m Gonna Be There” is the gentle, silky tropical vibes that can only come from someone who grew up with it all around him – Kelvin is native to the Dominican Republic.  “I’m Gonna Be There” is familiar but fresh and holds a lot of promise as a breakout for someone like Kelvin who grew up with adversity at his doorstep and is now flourishing through some pretty cool music.