“Love Is Alive” by @LouisTheChild featuring @Elohimmusic gets the @ChetPorter treatment

LOUIS THE CHILD featuring ELOHIM, “Love Is Alive” (Chet Porter remix)

Chicago duo Louis The Child and Toronto’s Chet Porter on the same record, you ask?  The styles of these rising stars on the dance music scene fuse perfectly in this remix of “Love Is Alive”.  Supporters of the original, featuring on-the-bubble vocalist Elohim, will be pleased as “Love Is Alive” is ‘Chet-ified’ (yaaasss it’s gonna be a thang trust me!).  There’s a huge focus on melody and exotic, progressive synth sounds, as might be expected by Chet fans, while keeping the essence and hook of the song intact.  The remix is thoughtful, warm and gentle, and will be a floor-filler in clubs at the right time in an evening.  With all three acts currently touring, the song will definitely be well-in-hand throughout the Fall.  Be sure to catch any or all of them when they come to your city 🙂

Oops upside your head: L.A. duo @Ojivolta’s remix of “iSpy” by @superduperKyle featuring @LilYachty will make you spin

KYLE featuring LIL YACHTY, “iSpy”

I’m always listening for remixers who take the time to totally transform a song, and sometimes it happens even with a big hit like Kyle’s “iSpy” featuring Lil Yachty.  It’s even better when it’s a song that never really caught my ear in its original version.  Well L.A. duo Ojivolta will have your head spinning with this dirty but highly playful remix.  It doesn’t even sound like the original until about halfway through, and even then it’s the equivalent of being doused with hot sauce, making “iSpy” even more full of zing and oomph.  Ojivolta know how to work their magic around the vocals very well, leaving your ears a bit exhausted as the song wraps up with a wonky dubsteppy finale.  Check out this one at the link above and DJ’s should plan to add it mid-set when the audience will least expect for instant reaction!

“Would You Ever” by @Skrillex & @PooBear gets a high class @SCRVP remix

SKRILLEX & POO BEAR, “Would You Ever” (scrvp. remix) (free DL)

Quickly following up his collaboration with Secret Sauce on “Give It All”, MMXVAC’s scrvp. totally nails the pop-flavoured “Would You Ever” by Skrillex and Poo Bear.  In his future bass remix, he isolates the catchy chorus and sends it in to high-end-la-la-land and it’s a real ‘wow’ moment in the song.  “Would You Ever” is a simple enough retrospective ode to taking risks, but with some kicking funky beats in the mix, scrvp. turns it into a dance party centrepiece.  The original is already on the pop charts in some places (like my country 🙂 ) so dance music radio should latch on to this one and wait for the listener reaction.  scrvp.’s remix of “Would You Ever” is a marvellous treat!  Get it for free at the link above.

Another side of the remarkable @JaneBadler with breezy danceable pop of “Sunburn”

JANE BADLER, “Sunburn”

As much as I have been fascinated by the melodrama of Jane Badler’s recent songs such as “Losing You”, “Dead Eyes”, “Yesterday’s Tomorrows” and even “Black Silk Stockings” (with its wacked-out video!), another page is in motion for the much respected actress and singer with “Sunburn”.  Yet another delight from the words and music of Charlie Mason and Richard Hymas with production from ever on-point Ricardo Autobahn, “Sunburn” is breezy tropical-flavoured dance pop, which perhaps draws more from Jane’s jazz-pop recordings vocally than from recent releases.  UV rays and suntan lotion be damned, “Sunburn” goes down mighty easily, and it’s a first for Jane in collaboration with Energise Recordings, who have recently brought us Nicki French’s “Teardrops (On The Disco Floor)” and “Magic” by Sean Smith.  Some dance remixes of “Sunburn” would definitely be in order!  Watch Jane – and lots of smiling! – in the lyric video for “Sunburn” above.

Brisk house-flavoured pop by Italy’s @SAmusiceurope featuring @AvaKingmusic with “‘Bout A Thing”

https://soundcloud.com/selectedsounds/bout-a-thing

SA featuring AVA KING, “‘Bout A Thing” (free DL)

“‘Bout A Thing” is the kind of brisk, happy song that will keep the good times of summer extended into the fall months.  It’s brought to you by a relative newcomer from Italy named SA featuring L.A. vocalist Ava King, but it’s not at all what you’d expect when you think of dance music from that country.  SA definitely likes his mix to sparkle with tingly synth and percussion sounds up front but never hiding the house rhythm, while Ava’s vocal acrobatics flow along beautifully with the melody like they were made for one another.  Definitely playlist-worthy, “‘Bout A Thing” is a great start for SA with its global-friendly sound and it’s available as a free download from the link above.

Scorching alt.rocker “Futureproof” is from St. Catharines band @Kapturmusic

https://soundcloud.com/puregrainaudio/kaptur-futureproof

KAPTUR, “Futureproof” (free DL link below)

While my blog posts tend to be full of electronic dance pop, when a solid rock song comes along I am always happy to write about it.  This is even better when the talent is not far from home in the form of St. Catharines, Ontario rock quartet Kaptur with “Futureproof” from their EP Go To Waste.  This is tasty new rock – think Cage The Elephant via later Radiohead with some sophisticated 80’s new wave alt.rock inspiration thrown in – anchored by wicked guitar playing (Johnny Marr comes to mind for some reason), layered production, and solid songwriting which makes the 5 minutes of “Futureproof” go by in a flash.  So rock up your mix and get “Futureproof” for free right here.

“The Art Of Making Love” is here and all for you, with love from @CarlosdNobrega

CARLOS NÓBREGA, The Art Of Making Love

After teasing you with four singles over the past month or so, “The Art Of Making Love”, the full length album by Spain-based Portuguese singer/actor Carlos Nóbrega, has finally arrived after years in the making to make it so special just for you.  Well the folks in Spain rallied enough to have it debut at #4 yesterday on iTunes.  And the rest of Carlos’ patient and devoted fans worldwide have been hitting up this blog to make posts about two of its songs, “You (It’s All About You)”, and “Love, Love, Love” the two most-viewed posts in the almost 8 years of this blog.  

It’s an album about the many facets of love and being in love, even in some cases still being in love after a relationship has ended.  But this is not over-complicated in the least – having fun, enjoying each other, and most importantly ensuring romance is always in the air for your special person.  

Beyond “You (It’s All About You)”, “Love, Love, Love”, “I Love You”, and “Set Me Free”, which have all been enjoyed in advance, there are 14 other songs in The Art Of Making Love’s deluxe edition which you can stream up top on Spotify.  Carlos has you covered for every kind of song that will appeal inside the pop and dance music genres.  Two of my other favourites are “Morning Sun”, a sizzling wake up call to love, and the energetic “Free” (featuring vocalist Jvel), full of joyous bounce.  On the softer side we have the long and luscious “Forever In Love” and the emotional bonus track “Letting You Go”.  “Up and Down” and “Fuck on the Dance Floor” are a little spicier, and Carlos even included my personal favourite by him, the inspiring and contagious “Music Makes You Lose Control”, originally released in 2012 and ever-deserving of a big dance video with lots of costumes.  Perhaps it will be reignited in some 2018 remixes?  Just sayin’….  😀

So do yourself a huge favour and wrap yourself up in the warmth and fun and most of all the love charged in the songs of The Art Of Making Love.  This is the massive start of much more to come in 2017 and 2018 and beyond 🙂

 

.@KidFroopy transforms “Cut To The Feeling” by @CarlyRaeJepsen into the club hit that it should be

https://soundcloud.com/carly-rae-jepsen-official/cut-to-the-feeling-kid-froopy

CARLY RAE JEPSEN, “Cut To The Feeling” (Kid Froopy remix)

After the recent release of his excellent original “Drive Slow” (#20 on my chart), I was thrilled to see Iowa’s Kid Froopy land one of the official remixes of Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Cut To The Feeling”. Music friends of mine adore the song; I’m somewhat indifferent to the original as I feel it’s more of a Katy Perry/Kylie Minogue throwback.  And certainly radio has ignored the song, with the over-saturation of “Call Me Maybe” still seemingly affecting the singer for a follow up after five years.  But Froopy creates a more deliberate rhythm that’s perfect for clubs and reshapes it into the dance hit that it rightly should be. So watch out worldwide club charts – and maybe radio could follow. 

Kid Froopy opens for Terror Jr. on their “Grapeland” already sold out in San Francisco, Montreal, Chicago, Brooklyn, and Toronto – L.A. music peeps still have a chance for tix!

“U Got That” is a deep down ‘n dirty bass club track this time from Atlanta’s @we_are_Halogen

HALOGEN, “U Got That” (free DL)

It’s a little hard to ponder after the delightful pop/dance duet-making that Halogen recently released in the form of “Can’t Resist” that the duo could turn their heads to a song so deep down ‘n dirty, but here it is, “U Got That”, which is available as a free download above.  I do enjoy hearing the other sides of what performers listen to and then record, and “U Got That” is a club bass banger that will fill your speakers.  Its low, ominous vocal is entertaining and the rhythm is impossible to resist.  Brought to you by Pinnacle Collective, “U Got That” is definitely one that DJ’s won’t want to miss!

Needed all around the world today: “Love Love Love” by @CarlosdNobrega

CARLOS NÓBREGA, “Love, Love, Love”

It’s the fourth taste from Carlos’ pop album The Art Of Making Love, due on Friday August 25, and like with its predecessor singles “Set Me Free”, “You (It’s All About You)” (whose recent blog post has had over 18,000 views!), and “I Love You”, “Love, Love, Love” is a song for everyone because we’ve all experienced love of some kind in our lives.  It can be pretty contagious and it’s what’s needed most in the world today, as many other songs currently cry out for love and unity as well – but you also have to desire it.  Carlos was on to it first as these songs have been awaiting release for a while now – and the time for these songs and The Art of Making Love is, impeccably, upon us 🙂  I particularly enjoy the subtle urgency of “Love, Love, Love”, highlighted from some lovely piano notes, never going over the top and letting you embrace its message in the end.  Watch the simple elegance of the lyric video at the link above and pre-order The Art of Making Love from your favourite digital store so that you have it on release day 🙂

In tandem with The Art Of Making Love, Carlos is releasing a highly personal soundscape of sorts that will appeal to lovers of movie soundtracks and lush instrumentals.  You can preview his Almageddon project by listening to “Almageddon: #Madeira” below, and revel in the awesome scenery of the homeland of Carlos Nóbrega, a Portuguese archipelago off the coast of Morocco.