If you don’t already know him from his numerous remixes, meet Copenhagen’s Le Boeuf, aka Nicholas Søbye, with his original release “Waiting For You”. The song probably leans more towards pop than dance even in its remix by London, Ontario’s Kapre. Even after the remix kind of starts over after the 1:30 mark or so, Kapre builds on that break through the urgency of the excellent, rich and soulful vocal. Clubs not looking to get all hard and heavy with bigger deep house beats will appreciate this remix of “Waiting For You” and all of its positive energy. You can get it for free at the link above.
Here at the BILLCS Music Blog, we continue to burn down discos until the morning comes…
The Top 10
Or so sing Pet Shop Boys, as “Burn” from their album Super handily continues its reign at the top. We’ll have to wait to see if any other song challenges in two weeks.
“D E E P In NY”, Bobby Nourmand’s brilliant mix of hip hop and EDM, slides up a notch to #2 to try and rival Pet Shop Boys two weeks from now.
Don’t discount Brothers by Saxity featuring Strøm, either, as this carefree song about friendship advances to #3. The duo have a collaboration on deck with American singer Nathalie Archangel too, with the same songwriters no less 🙂
“All The Way”, a fun-loving instrumental by Sweden’s Hellberg, continues to rise up 7-5.
Tony Moran & Jason Walker know how to have a blast together making songs, and “Say Yes” is the latest collaboration, moving 9-6.
Vancouver’s Felix Cartal has his first of two entries cracking the Top 10 with frequent vocal collaborator Ofelia K on “Drifting Away”, climbing 17-9.
“Light” by Dutchman San Holo continues to tread in the Billboard Top 20 Electronic Songs chart, and also continues to advance on this chart too, soaring 18-10.
Movin’ On Up
It looks like another young Dutchman, Steve Void, is about to get his first Top 10 here with No Mondays with “Chemistry”, featuring a lovely vocal by Clara Mae. It rises 13-11. Steve has been in the Top 10 with remixes last year – SNBRN’s “Beat The Sunrise” got to #5, while “False Alarm” by Matoma & Becky Hill reached #6.
L.A.’s Mahalo is on a roll with a splendid remix of ZHU’s “In The Morning” following a couple of originals, one being “Be My Love” (featuring Cat Lewis) which climbs 16-12.
The fastest riser on the chart is Phil Good’s ode to “Sleeping In”, which in a Sean Turk bedroom bass remix is more than about just that. It wastes no time rocketing up the chart 22-13.
All of the last chart’s debuts are well on their way. DNCE’s “Naked” bounds 25-19 (above), with Felix Cartal’s second entry “Keep Up” (featuring Steph Jones in a Ben Zamora remix) jumping 27-20 (below), Throttle’s pairing with Michael Buble for a remix of “My Kind Of Girl” rising 26-22, and would-be sports anthem “#Bomber!” by Italy’s BeatmartHz & DJ Mirko B climbing 29-23.
Three Debuts
There is no denying that The Chainsmokers were wise to wait till January to unleash “Paris”, now that “Closer” has hit its stride. The guys know their audience and wrote another song to which anyone can relate, capturing a snapshot and the accompanying emotion to make the song soar. Once again Drew Taggart’s vocal totally suits the song and the chorus is a positive singalong that will endure throughout 2017. It arrives at #15, giving it a good shot at the top… soon! The Chainsmokers did reach #1 here with “Closer”, as well as #2 in 2015 with “Let You Go” (featuring Great Good Fine OK), and #8 with “Don’t Let Me Down” (featuring Daya).
Debuting on the chart is Miami producer Alyx Ander with the seductive “Memories Of You” featuring an amazing vocal by Srey Davi. This one will get under your skin… it arrives at #27. It’s the first appearance by Nettwerk Records on this chart since 2011 too.
The last debut belongs to British producer KDA with “Just Say” featuring rising American vocalist Tinashe. Not much is known about KDA but he did manage to fend off One Direction and scored a UK #1 in late 2015 with “Turn The Music Louder (Rumble)” (featuring Tinie Tempah and Katy B). “Just Say” is classic American-style house with European flair, and it’s no surprise it’s already in the Top 20 of the Billboard Club Play chart.
View the full BILLCS Top 30right here, and be sure to click on the photos to hear all of the songs.
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After many top notch remixes and covers in 2016, German producer/guitarist Koni knocks it out of the park with an original for Big Top Records, “Mad About You”, featuring L.A. vocalist Danelle. This isn’t even the kind of song I would like normally but ends up being top notch tropical flavoured light deep house with a really adorable vocal by Danelle. “Mad About You” is a big-hearted song for laying back on a clear sunny day and letting everything around you drift away while you groove to the slinky beat. Listen above and pick it up at your favourite digital store.
Ultra-prolific L.A.-based singer/songwriter Brandyn Burnette continues to engage and dazzle his fans, this time with a new burst of songs from his upcoming third EP Feature Films. Having written and performed some of my favourite music of the last three years through his first two EP’s State I’m In and Made Of Dreams (eight songs of which ended up in my Top 86 Songs of 2016), it’s no surprise that “Escape” shines with a lot of understated, thought-provoking appeal. The first 2/3 of the song echoes with pent up emotional narrative in a sparse, soulful arrangement. The remainder of “Escape” advances with a catchy percussion break that starts the trippy journey into an electric guitar-fused finish that is deliberately kept open-ended. Brandyn always makes his music for your mind and your soul, and “Escape” is a great introduction to Feature Films. To me, this song is about finding and owning your own brand of escape. Brandyn is also posting links to the behind-the-scenes creation of his new songs, so watch for them. In the meantime you can listen to “Escape” above and pick it up on iTunes on Monday January 23.
MILK N COOKS x TWINNS featuring LYON HART, “Thunder” (Snøwmass remix) (free DL)
“Thunder” by Chicago’s Milk N Cooks with Twinns featuring vocalist Lyon Hart (who you heard in Elephante’s compelling “Shake The Earth”) gets a slinky bass synth makeover from fellow Chicago producer Snøwmass. But while that rhythm will definitely get you hooked on this one, this remix has tremendous pop flavour and crossover potential. Lyon Hart’s prominent vocal is what really sends it home. Snøwmass shows that he’s not always about crazy futuristic dirty remixing when he can accentuate the pop but also retain the solid deep house club vibes. “Thunder” is a standout track for so many reasons which you can hear at the link above – and download for free.
NYC singer Reigen continues to diversify his style with “Weekend”. Like my favourite by him, the ballad “Come Back To Me”, “Weekend” features a lush, soulful vocal that shows off a lighter, sometimes breathy style that totally suits this new song. Reigen marries his love of R&B and dance music together with a chilled out backdrop that helps tell the story of a weekend encounter that happens to lead to something more. With every release, and following some inspiring songs with a lot more force and drive (“Seize The Night”, “Real New Yorker”), Reigen offers a different side to his stories, enhanced by a rich grab bag of vocal talents that will take him far. “Weekend” is a sexy and earnest introduction for those who don’t already know Reigen’s music. Watch the video above and pick up the single on iTunes.
Yet another talented young Dutchman, WRLD, had a banner year in 2016 but was constantly switching it up, with originals like “Galaxies” with Father Dude and remixes like the 70’s disco retro “BB (Four Missed Texts)” by Kid Froopy. So it should come as no surprise that freshness continues in 2017 with “Hideaway” for the Heroic label, in which he’s paired up with Australian EDM artist Savoi. The flow of “Hideaway” totally works, it’s a great companion to The Chainsmokers’ more pop-oriented recent efforts, and it’s such a great pop song overall. Savoi’s sometimes gritty raw-ish vocal initially seems out of place, but the production makes it fly. WRLD continues to go to the next level with songs like “Hideaway”. For now, you can download “Hideaway” for free at the link above.
ANDY SUZUKI & THE METHOD, “I Need You More (The More You Leave)”
Keeping it way more than interesting as we approach the release date of their second album The Glass Hour is NYC’s Andy Suzuki & The Method. To coincide with the US election the group offered up “Fight”, an urgent personalized and rocking call-to-arms that’s all about choice and standing up for what you believe in. “I Need You More” on the other hand is vibrant pop with a heavy, uplifting Gospel chorus that fuels the emotions of wanting someone even more after they are gone. Andy Suzuki is in excellent vocal form and he and formidable percussionist pal Kozza show that they are destined never to be packaged in one stylistic box. Feast your ears on the inspiring “I Need You More (The More You Leave)” at the link above.
It’s probably the only current but unlikely single out there where you would find two Grammy nominees working together from different decades of dance music. Of course twice-nominated Morgan Page has been well-respected for years with his Las Vegas residencies, and is likely best known for his acclaimed In The Air album, with the title song featuring Sultan + Ned Shepard and BT. Steve James is not yet out of his teens – he would not have even been 10 when Morgan’s star was rising – and newly nominated, for co-writing and co-producing the title song from Justin Bieber’s Purpose album, no less. So their collaboration of “Candles” is more of a tightly-woven pop/dance record than one I suspect would be geared for heavy club play, though remixes could help change that. It’s got a knowing and earnest message with an urgent delivery by a fine but uncredited vocalist that goes a long way. You can expect this one to fly out of dance radio stations with a thrust for pop radio as Proximity’s first (and very loaded) release. Listen to “Candles” at the link above.
One of the most enigmatic songs to come out of 2014 and slay everything in sight was “Faded” by ZHU, a #1 dance hit which even copped a Grammy nomination. “In The Morning” (the first single from the acclaimed GenerationWhy album) likely stands out most because of ZHU’s strangely seductive vocal, which is captured nicely for effect in this remix by L.A.’s Mahalo. While set to a graceful late-nite deep house rhythm, it’s a perfect song to drive off into the night to arrive for the pleasures of the morning. Mahalo has already got a great thing happening too with collaborations with vocalist Cat Lewis such as “Be My Love” with more to come in 2017. You can download this highly recommended remix of “In The Morning” at the link above.
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