JUST A GENT featuring ELLA VOS and JOEY CHAVEZ, “Rolling Dice”
Welcome once again to the rich music world of Australian producer/DJ Just A Gent with his latest “Rolling Dice” from his EP Stories To Tell, fresh off the presses as of yesterday! I wrote about this teen’s “Heavy As A Heartbreak” earlier this year, and “Rolling Dice” takes that several paces forward with a complex piece of storytelling that is supplemented by the epic electronic backdrop that he provides. This isn’t meant to include all the wow and flutter of a busy dance track. “Rolling Dice” is like a theatre piece, led by two strong, unique vocals that sound like they are at a crossroads, and as the story unfolds Just A Gent allows it to build into a grand tale with enough majestic sweeps and turns that make its 4:48 journey seem much less. There’s major support coming out of Australia for Just A Gent such that a few US concert dates have been announced with more to come. Check out “Rolling Dice” above and put Just A Gent on your Must Watch list for the rest of the year because I don’t think you’ll want to miss what’s coming.
SALVATORE featuring ENYA and ALEX ARIS, “Dive” (Sean Turk remix)
“Dive” is a complex and layered song from Sweden’s Salvatore Ganacci and featuring fellow Swede Alex Aris on vocals that is given pop potential through a futuristic remix from Long Island’s Sean Turk, fresh off of his collaboration with Brandyn Burnette on “Closer”. The track is also gifted with an official sample of Enya’s “Boadicea” from her earlier pre-“Orinoco Flow” days and has been picked up by Warner Music. I suppose when someone like Enya allows her music to grace your song then that’s a huge vote of confidence! Sean’s remix makes this common tale of keeping a relationship together even more compelling with appropriately placed effects which heighten the urgency of the lyrics. It adds immensely to the quieter, trap/chill original and allows Alex’s voice to get a little more under your skin. Give it a listen above then head over to iTunes to pick it up.
Having the duo of Feenixpawl match creative wits with APEK in itself is a wondrous thing, but with remixes on top of that, it couldn’t get any better variety-wise. So we have young L.A.-based Spirix stirring the progressive house pot with his remix of “Quicksand”. It’s a downright pretty song, with a powerful but unbilled vocal which takes it to the next level, and would be a great bookend to Elephante & Bishøp’s “Closer”. The remix makes the song glisten in everything that is shiny and progressive, adding to the emotional wallop and only reshaping a tad what Feenixpawl and APEK had in mind. “Quicksand” warrants your attention and you can get it for free at the link above.
After successfully tackling a remix of Molly Moore’s cover of the classic “Come Fly With Me” in the Spring, Tyler and Garret from New Immunity are back with their take on “Take Me Down” by new British singer Jazz Morley. It’s a fine independently-released song about combating that invisible monster called jealousy, and New Immunity adds a lift to the song in tempo and in overall feel that helps reassure us of a winning battle. The singer is one to watch, with a gorgeous restraint to her voice that also knows when to let loose. Yeah there are a lot of mid-tempo EDM ballads out there lately but count this remix of “Take Me Down” as one of the better of them. Check it out at the link above and pick it up at your favourite digital store.
If you’re looking for a mysterious song that will fit like a dream in a late night set then you’re best to check out Anden’s remix of L.A. band Satchmode’s “Undertow”. Anden (aka NYC-based brothers Pete and Tom, previously known as You&Me – you read about their reworks of Robyn’s “Dancing On My Own” back in the Spring) have expanded on Satchmode’s graceful original and have even kept their slow fade intro until a minute into the song – and that’s where the deep house vibe starts. It’s a clever, relentless remix that would be imposing serious sweat on club goers if not for a break that will stop them in their fine paces mid-way. The dark beat resumes and you’ll still be wondering what it’s all about anyway, but it will be fun getting there. Check it out at the link above and look for the additional link where you can download “Undertow” for free.
DJ SNAKE x MOKSI, “Pigalle” (Adam Foster Dialect edit)
Adam Foster’s Dialect edit of “Pigalle” by DJ Snake and Moksi, which originally appears on DJ Snake’s new album Encore, is a powerhouse dance floor storm all unto itself. It heavily relies on early 90’s house – I’m thinking of Sound Factory’s “Good Time” particularly – and with lots of bass and some fine production moments which isolate some of the instrumentation, Adam Foster’s edit of “Pigalle” is not quite what you would expect but will be more than welcome in a crunchy set of deep house. You can download it for free at the link above.
Hot on the verses from songs like “F U Till I F U” on his album Uninvited, Call Me Karizma follows up his hip hop flavoured pop by singing his latest song called “Disconnected”. Taking a cue – perhaps, perhaps not, but it’s what immediately comes to mind – from Drew’s vocal in The Chainsmokers’ “Closer”, Call Me Karizma (aka Minnesota native Morgan Parriott) finds that his genuine tell-it-like-it-is style works just as well when sung, and the result is an instant breakup anthem with some big musical moments too, to which anyone can relate. And like Drew, Call Me Karizma has this laid back, genteel singing voice that people want to hear because music doesn’t always need a superstar talent belting it out till the cows come home. Sometimes we’d rather hear the guy next door, who happens to know how to write songs for his voice quite well. So it’s great to hear this side of Call Me Karizma and maybe we’ll get to hear more of it again. In the meantime, check out “Disconnected” at the link above.
A one-of-a-kind new voice to get to know belongs to NYC’s Janelle Kroll with another vowel-deprived title “FVR”. And the song is a true showcase for that voice which stands apart from just about anyone else’s in a crowd. It’s easy to put Janelle in an Ellie Goulding-meets-Jewel kind of category, with her slight rasp also standing out, but her music is more uptempo left-of-centre. The defining moment of the song comes about two and a half minutes in when we receive a break that allows Janelle to ease out of it with plenty of expression before the beat kicks in. “FVR” is easy to enjoy with a vocal from Janelle Kroll that can only lead to even better things. Give it a listen at the link above.
The world of EDM/Dance moves so quickly, so much that at times it seems like too much of a revolving door of very high quality songs. With the influx of this genre in my chart over the last year, it slows down the pace for some of the songs to be showcased on the chart for up to 10 appearances (20 weeks). So while some of the performers have gone on to record other songs since, these are all of my current favourites, EDM/Dance or otherwise, and there’s a new #1 and a high-flying debut in the Top 10 🙂
The Top 10
“Shy” in its Club mix by The Magician featuring vocalist Brayton Bowman takes over from Brandon Skeie at #1. “Shy” is a barnstorming dance floor filler with a really invested and soulful vocal, one of my favourite songs of 2016 so far!
Soaring into the Top 5 at #4 from #10 is “Her And Him” by L.A.’s Mi Disguise & Rouse, a really cinematic song for a late night highway drive. It comes from the pair’s excellent mixtape called NGHT LFE.
Ariana Grande’s “Into You” becomes her greatest success on this chart as it moves to #6. Also do check out the different and highly complimentary Wookie Vegas remix above.
I didn’t like it enough for it to debut two weeks ago, but since then I’ve grown incredibly fond of “Closer” by The Chainsmokers and Halsey, so much that I’d call it the End of Summer Song for 2016. It’s this chart’s highest debut at #7. It’s really genuine and romantic in a “Reality Bites” kind of way, if you know what I mean 🙂 It will be as much a dance floor draw as for listening.
Three more songs make their Top 10 debuts. No stranger to this part of the chart is Brandyn Burnette from his State I’m In EP with “Worship” (above) rising to #8. NYC’s Electric Bodega featuring vocalist Matt Beilis climb 15-9 with the incredibly infectious “Rest Of My Life”. And the Jenaux remix of the ultra cool “Native Son Prequel” by Gramatik featuring singer Leo Napier soars 17-10. Both of the latter are below.
Movin’ On Up
You wouldn’t necessarily expect to find singer/actor Jesse McCartney on an EDM record but Built By Titan uses his voice to great effect on “Dangerous” which moves up a notch to #13.
It should really have been the follow up to “Don’t Let Me Down”, but nonetheless “Inside Out” by The Chainsmokers featuring Charlee has now become a companion song to “Closer”, on this chart anyway 🙂 It jumps 20-14.
The fastest riser on the chart belongs to a short but busy deep house track called “Balance” by The Him featuring vocalist Oktavian. The Him are popping up in high places now with remixes… watch out for more from them. “Balance” vaults 25-15.
Atlanta singer/Victor Perry continues to advance 22-17 with his gracious ode to love that could have been called “Rainbows” from his EP 4 AM Nostalgia. I hear that a remix of “Rainbows” is coming soon 🙂
The very busy duo called The Disco Fries moves up 24-18 featuring UK singer Hope Murphy on the powerful dance floor banger “Born Ready”.
I think “We Don’t Talk Anymore” by Charlie Puth and Selena Gomez is going to be a long-lasting hit through September. It moves up 26-19 in its DROELOE remix.
Vocal duo RKCB have great voices as evidenced on “Elevated”, which rises 27-20 in its Joe Mason remix. The duo was also recently featured on Steve James’ “In My Head” to great effect.
3 More Debuts
It didn’t take long for it to become one of my favourites about to soar, but the beautiful “Broken” by Austin duo Tritonal along with NYC’s Jenaux and featuring none other than Adam Lambert quickly bows at #23. That makes it three chart appearances for Jenaux – #10, #11, and #23 😀 And the song follows two Top 10 songs from Adam’s last album The Original High, “Ghost Town” (#4) and “The Light” (#9).
I know MAX Schneider fans may be soaking in the richness of the original ballad, but L.A.’s Two Friends really transformed “Lights Down Low” into a dance floor rave up. One of the best parts of the song is the simple chorus with some added vocal effects which enhance rather than detract. Anyway this collaboration between MAX and one of my favourite remix teams – who I hear have a remix of my #7 song on deck this week – lands at #25 not long out of the gate. It’s MAX’s third entry on this chart, following #1 “Wrong” and #6 “Ms Anonymous”.
The final debut this week belongs to a song that should by all rights be a worldwide hit. Sweden’s Matoma meets UK’s Becky Hill for “False Alarm” which arrives at #26.
The complete chart:
02 01 SHY (Club mix) The Magician F/ Brayton Bowman 01 02 SO BAD (EDWYNN x TIKAL & Spirix remix) Brandon Skeie 03 03 SO HAPPY Tony Moran F/ Jason Walker 10 04 HER AND HIM Mi Disguise x Rouse 05 05 TAKE ME APART Lzrd x Spirix F/ Remmi 08 06 INTO YOU Ariana Grande New 07 CLOSER The Chainsmokers F/ Halsey 11 08 WORSHIP Brandyn Burnette 15 09 REST OF MY LIFE Electric Bodega F/ Matt Beilis 17 10 NATIVE SON PREQUEL (Jenaux remix) Gramatix F/ Leo Napier 04 11 GET IT ON Jenaux 12 12 OPEN YOUR MIND Megaphonix 14 13 DANGEROUS Built By Titan F/ Jesse McCartney 20 14 INSIDE OUT The Chainsmokers F/ Charlee 25 15 BALANCE The Him F/ Oktavian 18 16 STATE I’M IN Brandyn Burnette 22 17 RAINBOWS Victor Perry 24 18 BORN READY (Halogen radio edit) The Disco Fries F/ Hope Murphy 26 19 WE DON’T TALK ANYMORE (DROELOE remix) Charlie Puth F/ Selena Gomez 27 20 ELEVATED (Joe Mason remix) RKCB 21 21 LIMITS Latchmere F/ Andreas Liberos 07 22 RUN RUN Kat Krazy F/ Johnny Stimson New 23 BROKEN Tritonal & Jenaux F/ Adam Lambert 06 24 MAGNETISED (Kat Krazy remix) Tom Odell New 25 LIGHTS DOWN LOW (Two Friends remix) MAX New 26 FALSE ALARM Matoma F/ Becky Hill 09 27 DREAMIN’ Embody F/ Camden Cox 13 28 STRONGER (Steve Void edit) Nik Ernst 16 29 SOUND OF HOME (Snøwmass remix) Sterling Grove F/ Ellyn Woods 19 30 DON’T YOU CRY FOR ME Cobi
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I don’t usually write about older songs let alone songs that I’m not crazy about in general, but sometimes a creative remix allows me to put that aside. Relative newcomer Vasta totally nails it with this reimagining of T-Pain’s “I’m Sprung”, which was his first huge hit back in 2005. If you’re looking for the trademark (and to me,now outdated) vox effects of a T-Pain song then this isn’t the place. “I’m Sprung” is now in a highly danceable deep house remix which should easily win over club DJ’s looking to inject surprises into their sets that will cause immediate reaction. Think of this version of “I’m Sprung” as T-Pain channeled through gentler 90’s house music, giving it the effect of a mid-tempo ballad. Download it for free above; an extended remix for clubs is available too!
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