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
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
http://www.planetradio.cais back! Listen for my Pick of the Week at 2:20/6:20/10:20 AM/PM EST most days Monday through Sunday, and my flashbacks to a Toronto Top 10 of yesteryear return this Tuesday evening at 9pm EST
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!
Paris-based producer Gianni Kosta has a winner with “Sirius” featuring vocalist Belle through Armada’s The Bearded Man imprint. Gianni’s already caught attention working with Lost Frequencies and Demi Lovato’s “Confident”. But “Sirius” has definitely got a crunch European groove down pat which will standout in a club mix. Belle’s laid back and warm vocal supports the story of a relationship that nearly falls apart but once you’re ‘sirius’ about it it will all be fine. Marry that with images of the warm southern France beaches and the colour of the Mediterranean and “Sirius” goes down easy. Check it out at the link above.
NYC trio Liquid Diet return hot off the presses today with the delectable electropop of “Luminary” from their upcoming debut album Double Life. Vocalists Georgia (singing “Luminary”) and Billy and electronics whiz Jonathan have wisely taken their time with their crowd-sourced release. Temporarily putting aside humour and innuendo for this song, they’ve created a stylish, memorable, lavish-looking, and thought-provoking black and white video for “Luminary”. Classic music video fans will immediately reference Duran Duran’s “The Chauffeur”, and the opening scene is inspired by the David Bowie film “The Hunger”, but it’s way more than meets your eyes. You’ll be transfixed to figure out what in fact is going on. Georgia’s attire and make up are throwbacks to Marlene Dietrich and Gloria Swanson, and the video direction recalls post-“Citizen Kane” era movies. A dash of “Twin Peaks” silent storytelling – it’s all in the touches, moves, and expressions – and the story continues… “Luminary” is delightful NYC Nu Disco that will light up the dance floors. Check it out at the link above, but pre-order Double Life (due September 9) on iTunes and you get “Luminary” right away. How luminiscious is that? 🙂
TASTY TREAT featuring MARCO FOSTER, “Sideways” (free DL)
Rising L.A. based EDM duo Tasty Treat (aka John and Devin) have wisely enlisted the talents of NYC’s Marco Foster for this laid back ballad called “Sideways”. Camp Flo Rida is being very good in support of on-the-bubble Marco these past few years, and what we have here is a confident R&B vocal that will appeal to fans as diverse as Bryson Tiller, Justin Timberlake, and Justin Bieber. While I think an acappella version would likely cause jaws to drop, nonetheless Tasty Treat have created deliberately sparse but classy electronics behind Marco’s vocal. It reminds me of a jazzy 60’s R&B song that’s been transported in time to pick up tender electronic rhythms and a vocal with that same kind of classic retro appeal. Give it a listen and download it for free at the link above.
Many lower key electronic songs neither make a huge impression nor have an impact on the dance floor at a club. “Stay” by Toronto’s Chet Porter featuring new American vocalist Chelsea Cutler might change that. Released by the Foreign Family Collective (curated by Odesza, which includes Jai Wolf), it’s a lush, melodic song with an ear-ringing vocal that is in fact the perfect companion to this year’s end-of-summer song, “Closer” by The Chainsmokers and Halsey. There are so many songs called “Stay” that have similar themes, but this one is really beautiful and romantic. After listening to a couple of his wilder remixes, I was fortunate enough to see another side of Chet at a recent ‘secret’ DJ set in Toronto which drew to my attention his keen ear for melody. Dance clubs should be all over “Stay” instantly and don’t be surprised if radio follows soon after. “Stay” is a diverse head-turner that requires your attention. Billboard has already sang the song’s praises – read it here.
Chet Porter’s upcoming North American tour will include a Toronto date at The Velvet Underground on November 8 which includes Lemaitre.
“Keep Up” is one beauty of a slick but laid back deep house track brought to you courtesy of my renown fellow Canadian Felix Cartal. It’s perfect for a late night cruise down the highway while there’s still heat/warmth in the air (depending on where you are). The familiar and classy vocal is brought to you by Steph Jones who you’ll also be hearing soon on the upcoming Tritonal album. Felix Cartal continues to grow an excellent repertoire with songs like “Keep Up”. So kick off your sandals on that beach and dance the night away as you try to “Keep Up”. Listen above and pick it up at your favourite online digital store.
BILLCSMUSIC BLOG 