Listen to @iamEauClaire’s thoughtful original “All The Wonder” also in a @LoFrames remix

EAU CLAIRE, “All The Wonder”, also in a LoFrames remix

After making her name well known across North America as a producer/DJ and remixer, Washington, DC-based Eau Claire has launched her own recording career with her EP All The Wonder.  And unlike many other performing women in the EDM genre, Eau Claire has chosen to sing the title song.  As a producer, it makes perfect sense as she’s written for her own voice and the results are not only assured but pretty darned catchy as well.  The sparkling keyboards and melody all join forces with the vocal to make a solid song structure to keep you more than interested throughout.  And French duo LoFrames have come up with their own darker, unique-sounding take on the song that sends it through some Daft Punk-ish kind of motions, particularly right before the 3 minute mark, which will sound fabulous on big club speakers.  You can pick up Eau Claire’s EP and the LoFrames remix on your favourite digital platform, but check them both out at the links above.

“Take Me” is the latest bass-driven original by @Latchmeresound featuring #ReinaWinters

https://soundcloud.com/latchmeresound/take-me-feat-reina-winters

LATCHMERE featuring REINA WINTERS, “Take Me” (free DL)

Australia-based producer Latchmere is back with a new original called “Take Me”, following his infectious deep house collaboration with Andreas Liberos this past summer, “Limits”.  Featuring a sultry vocal by Reina Winters, “Take Me” is a high quality, bass-driven song that will have no problem winning you over midway with with an ominous-sounding backdrop and some expressive synths, creating another ear-catching melody.  It’s a bit low-key and different on the surface but “Take Me” ultimately will wrap you up in its variety of sounds.  You can download it for free at the link above (Soundcloud now hides other buttons like this under “More”).

WORLD PREMIERE: Listen to Victor Perry (@perksofbeingvic) sing a gorgeous unplugged cover of @EBTG’s classic “Missing”

VICTOR PERRY, “Missing”

Georgia pop/R&B singer Victor Perry shows off two of his major talents in this stripped down cover of Everything But The Girl’s 1995 smash “Missing” – his slick ability as an interpreter and his beautiful high register.  Of course “Missing” is best known as a pop and dance hit thanks to an historic remix by Todd Terry, which transformed and reinvented the slower, more emotional acoustic original from the Amplified Heart album.  Victor turns it back down with piano for support (courtesy of dad/producer William Perry Jr.) and the result is very special, which Everything But The Girl/Tracey Thorn/Ben Watt fans will love, as Victor’s take conveys a similar emotional vibe to the original.  And just when you think that’s not enough, he lets his high register take off for most of the last minute of the song to give a gorgeous, long-lasting coda that you would have never expected.  And this all came about thanks to a Twitter chat Victor and I had about some of our favourite 90’s records:  I sent “Missing” his way, he fell in love with it, and voilà! 🙂  Thanks for running with it Victor and putting your own signature stamp on “Missing” 😀  Also be sure to check out Victor’s debut EP 4 AM Nostalgia.  Listen to “Missing” at the above link.

“Imaginary Friends” by @missMollyMoore gets a different perspective in @thePlutomusic’s remix

https://soundcloud.com/theplutomusic/imaginary-friends-remix

MOLLY MOORE, “Imaginary Friends” (Pluto remix)

“Imaginary Friends” is one of three songs previewed in advance of the release last week of Molly Moore’s second EP Now You See Me, and I’ve written about them all 🙂 The song now gets a remix courtesy of German producer Pluto.  And what in its original version is about the pain of loneliness when relocating to a big city receives a change in perspective from the remixer.  Its new futuristic trap surroundings bring out a more hallucinogenic, almost nightmarish side of the song – more of a companion piece to Molly’s “Just A Dream” – wherein you realize that the friends are indeed all in one’s head.  As much as I enjoy the focused production of the original of “Imaginary Friends”, Pluto’s remix takes you on a different journey and will sit well with dance club patrons.  Give it a listen above – it’s available as a free download.

Sophisto-dance thriller: “Kiss Me Kill Me” by @SIRPAUL

SIRPAUL, “Kiss Me Kill Me”

Following up his recent Intimate Science album, full of the sexy and pulsating dance music that NYC’s SIRPAUL creates so well (including a cover of Madonna’s “Physical Attraction”), comes “Kiss Me Kill Me” from a film of the same name.  This is a bit of a change of pace for the singer, a perfectly thrilling dance track that exudes ‘movie theme’.  In the above video, SIRPAUL is the dapper secret agent-type who lets the story unfold interspersed with scenes from the film, and it helps bring back the sophistication missing in much of today’s beat-and-genre focused dance songs.  We’re the beneficiary of SIRPAUL’s rich contemporary dance music experience here and “Kiss Me Kill Me”, while sinfully good in its original version, would benefit from remixes that will help take that sophistication to other levels.  “Kiss Me Kill Me” should not be missed by dance clubs looking to dazzle their patrons.

“My Hands” by @AYERofficial gets a deep house workover by @TruthandLiesofc

AYER, “My Hands” (Truth x Lies remix)

NYC duo Truth x Lies take singer Ayer’s rising joyous, melodic pop/dance single “My Hands” to the centre of dance clubland with this official deep house remix.  It’s an increasingly big favourite of mine, now officially available on digital platforms everywhere as part of an EP package that includes other remixes by FrankMusik and Cazzette.  There aren’t any real surprises here as Truth x Lies create a classic bass-laden mix that changes the sway of the original into more of a bounce effected by well-placed drops.  This remix of “My Hands” will only make you want to get out and celebrate on the dance floor more.  For now, it’s also available as a free download at the above link.

Catch this ride: “Hitchhike” by L.A. duo @Kolajband

KOLAJ, “Hitchhike”

“Hitchhike” has a distinct and powerfully uplifting sound that’s becoming a trademark for L.A. duo KOLAJ (Teesa Houston and Mike McGarity) after a series of releases, most notably their pairing with K-Pop star Eric Nam for the equally appealing “Into You”.  “Hitchhike” will sweep you off your feet and onto the dance floor with Teesa’s soaring voice that will pour right through you.  It owes as much musically to dance and electronica as it does pop and alternative rock, and is the kind of song people like Lady Gaga and Katy Perry should be writing or looking for to sustain themselves over the next few years.  Fortunately, Gaga’s parent label Interscope has had the good taste to sign KOLAJ so this is a terrific start for that sweet deal, so maybe an opening gig is in their future, who knows?

Another journey into sound: “Bon Voyage” by @Droeloemusic

DROELOE, “Bon Voyage”

Dutch production duo Droeloe are definitely out to let you hear the many reasons why they might be considered one of the most diverse and adventurous EDM acts on the bubble.  From a futuristic remix of Charlie Puth & Selena Gomez’s “We Don’t Talk Anymore” through to the sonic delight of a strange instrumental that is “Shibuya”, we arrive at “Bon Voyage”, essentially another instrumental that at first doesn’t really seem to know where it begins.  However it more than makes up for a humble start by adding in some memorable voice clips and showing off the same sense for varied melody that we heard in “Shibuya”, with many similar percussive rhythms and Asian influences.  So we’ll be happy to take that trip around the world in an air balloon – with key stops at EDM venues 😛 – with Droeloe playing the soundtrack 🙂

Scorch: “Heat” by @TheKnocks featuring #SamNelsonHarris

THE KNOCKS featuring SAM NELSON HARRIS, “Heat”

Touring as the opener for Justin Bieber’s European tour seems to be a timely reason to drop a new tune after the success of many of their songs from their album 55, which is one of my personal favourites of this year.  The Knocks arrive with “Heat” to ensure that your Autumn and Winter are nice and toasty.  And it’s a touch different from the funky dance pop that you found in the 55 album, which continues to show growth for the duo of JPatt and BRoc.  There’s are dashes of tropical vibes and R&B to enhance the melody which carries a seamless and far-reaching vocal by Sam Nelson Harris, another diverse singer who could likely really sing anything and make it sound fabulous.  While “Heat” has radio-friendly pop sense, it still has some grittiness that you would find in most of The Knocks’ songs as well.  “Heat” is a fine introduction to what The Knocks have for us next!

Girl Power Indeed: @InstantKarma remix “Read My Lips” by @KingDeco

KING DECO, “Read My Lips” (Instant Karma remix)

Combining production duo Instant Karma with a song by Jordan-born, Brooklyn-based singer King Deco is like someone was secretly honing the idea of an EDM variation of The Go Go’s 😛  So Instant Karma’s bass-laden remix of King Deco’s “Read My Lips” has this wonderfully fun aggressively flirty approach that makes it shine next to the numerous non-descript EDM tracks that often fail to show off a strong female vocal.  Instant Karma have already done great wonders with songs by Chelsea Lankes and Flor which I’ve written about this year, and King Deco continues to make her recognizable voice an EDM presence after a number of diverse songs highlighted thus far by the punchy “Castaway”.  Golden pairings like this should happen more often 🙂  You can download “Read My Lips” for free at the link above.