RAIN MAN featuring OLY, “Bring Back The Summer” (INSTRUM remix)
Rising American producer/DJ/remixer INSTRUM continues to offer creative spins on some songs that are just under the radar. To me, this bright-sounding future bass remix of Rain Man’s “Bring Back The Summer” improves on the original by matching up the synth effects with Oly’s soaring vocal. This reinforces the longing of the lyrics with a stylish wrap up leaving you knowing that summer and another possible romance are once again on your doorstep. And for us in the Western countries where we have had a cold start to our Spring, who could want much else? 🙂 Stream it at the link above. It’s a remix contest contender!
“Mechanism” is the title song from the new EP from L.A.-based duo Ardency. In collaboration with fellow EDM performer, Canada’s Icelandia, they’ve created a big sounding progressive synth experience that will fill the room and shake those huge speakers. This is the kind of record DJ’s at the point of building their set just before the big boom hits. But aside from clubbing, “Mechanism” is a multi-layered, rich earful that will also sound great on your home stereo. You can pick up Ardency’s Mechanism EP on iTunes.
New American producer/singer Grant Klinger has some unique ideas up his sleeve with “RiGht HeRe”. Using an easily identifiable lyrical theme about a guy who’s waiting for his gal to stop messing and flirting with other guys, probably to an unsatisfying end, Grant shapes his triphop style with a sparse sound that throws his vocal and lyrics up front. So “RiGht HeRe” still has a raw hip hop quality about it but can easily sneak through the EDM doors of clubs too. Give it a listen above. I think remixers could put some interesting spins on it too.
4 new entries into the Top 10 and 5 debuts on the chart make for an action-packed list of music!
The Top 10
Impressively, the Top 4 stay exactly the same. The Knocks & Wyclef Jean win out at #1 with “Kiss The Sky” over Canadians DVBBS and Dante Leon at #2 with “Angel”. We’ll have to wait to see if the pair go head to head again in two weeks!
With his new single with Blonde called “Nothing Like This” on the rise, Craig David lands in the Top 5 for the first time since 2002 with the exceedingly fun “When The Bassline Drops” in collaboration with UK rapper Big Narstie.
Clinton Washington matches the recent #6 peak for “Hearts Beat Loud” with his latest and even more beautiful single “Frozen”. Clinton may not have suited the style of “The Voice” when he was a contestant, but he sure has his own way of making you melt with his songs.
It’s finally starting to breakout in North America, but Jonas Blue & Dakota’s fine and danceable UK Top 5 cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” climbs 12-7.
As it approaches the UK Top 10 this week, right behind is Norway’s Alan Walker, featuring the gorgeous voice of fellow Norwegian, singer Iselin Solheim, rising 13-8 with his rhythmic EDM song “Faded”, originally an instrumental called “Fade”.
While “Talk Me Down” continues to hang out at #3, Troye Sivan’s “Fools” moves up 11-9. The thoughtful Aussie singer won the GLAAD award for Outstanding Music Artist this past week, well-deserved!
The fastest riser on the chart belongs to the affecting “Care For Me” by Canadians Dzeko & Torres along with Sweden’s Hellberg. It vaults 21-10 and has its eyes on the top of the chart. Not only is this song quite touching, but it slams big time on the dance floor. You won’t be able to stop moving – something, anything!! It’s also a free download 😀
Almost certain to warm you up where it still may be cold in the early Spring, SNBRN’s “Beat The Sunrise”, featuring an inviting vocal by Andrew Watt in a Steve Void remix, bolts up the chart 17-11. The Top 5 is definitely under watch!
Minnesota’s Call Me Karizma has announced that his upcoming album will drop on his birthday, April 28, titled Uninvited. In the meantime, check out his latest release Loser on iTunes, which also includes the amusing-but-with-a-point “u suck”, which rises 16-12.
It’s Hellberg again, up 18-14, this time with his own composition “Synchronize”, featuring a soaring vocal from NYC’s Aaron Richards.
Last week’s debut by Dutch producer/DJ’s Vicetone, along with Cosmos & Creature (you know them better as Brandyn Burnette and Molly Moore, who also wrote the song), “Bright Side”, wastes no time and gets into the mix big time by climbing 23-17.
“Afraid Of Heights” by Couzare featuring April Cheung jumps 27-20 thanks to its cool summery vibe using amusement park imagery as a backdrop for falling in love.
5 Noteworthy Debuts!
This past week, I fell head over heels for “Freeze Time”, a thoroughly romantic EDM ode, courtesy of producer/DJ Manse and Swedish singer Alice Berg. It’s been around a while already but no matter, it’s a fabulous song deserving of attention, and storms onto the chart at #19.
What’s even more intriguing about “Freeze Time” is that it bests the #21 debut of Pet Shop Boys’ “The Pop Kids” by 2 positions! The princes of today’s dance music arrived on Friday with their latest album Super, which I’m hoping will be as strong as 2013’s Electric.
While I’ve always enjoyed the original since its release in November, the title song from Brandyn Burnette’s EP Made Of Dreams recently got a tropical dance makeover by producers/DJ’s Win & Woo and Kiso. It accentuates the happy side of the song and will easily put a smile on your face. Bonus: It will make you dance too. “Made Of Dreams” in this remix bows at #23.
He’s back with a different, Caribbean-flavoured melody in his latest single, so I think his next album should be quite diverse after shelving what he had been working on for the past few years. Sweden’s Eric Saade continues with another catchy single featuring one of his best vocals, “Colors”, which premieres at #26.
If you loved “Smoke-Filled Room”, which just exits the chart after its maximum 10 appearances and peaking at #3, then L.A. duo Mako have a fantastic follow up for you. In a sparkling, loaded Two Friends remix, “Way Back Home” arrives at #28 with an EP of remixes available for you on iTunes.
The Full Chart
01 01 KISS THE SKY The Knocks F/ Wyclef Jean 02 02 ANGEL DVBBS F/ Dante Leon 03 03 TALK ME DOWN Troye Sivan 04 04 SUPER PSYCHO LOVE Simon Curtis 07 05 WHEN THE BASSLINE DROPS Craig David & Big Narstie 08 06 FROZEN Clinton Washington 12 07 FAST CAR Jonas Blue F/ Dakota 13 08 FADED Alan Walker 11 09 FOOLS Troye Sivan 21 10 CARE FOR ME Dzeko & Torres And Hellberg 17 11 BEAT THE SUNRISE (Steve Void remix) SNBRN F/ Andrew Watt 16 12 U SUCK Call Me Karizma 14 13 VICIOUS GIRL Calvo 18 14 SYNCHRONIZE Hellberg F/ Aaron Richards 15 15 LOUD PLACES (Cloudchord Remix) Jamie XX F/ Romy 19 16 WAVES Miguel 23 17 BRIGHT SIDE Vicetone F/ Cosmos & Creature 05 18 WRONG MAX F/ Lil Uzi Vert New 19 FREEZE TIME Manse F/ Alice Berg 27 20 AFRAID OF HEIGHTS Couzare F/ April Cheung New 21 THE POP KIDS Pet Shop Boys 06 22 WILD Troye Sivan New 23 MADE OF DREAMS (Win & Woo x Kiso remix) Brandyn Burnette 09 24 ALL I ASK Adele 10 25 8BIT HEART (redux) Simon Curtis New 26 COLORS Eric Saade 20 27 BLOOD. SWEAT. TEARS. Molly Moore New 28 WAY BACK HOME (Two Friends remix) Mako 24 29 DOWN Brandyn Burnette 26 30 DRINKEE Sofi Tukker
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You can now hear me online on http://www.planetradio.caevery Tuesday at 9:00 pm EST counting down a Toronto Top 10 chart from yesteryear, as well as with my BILLCS Pick of the Week, Sunday through Thursday at 10:20 PM EST 🙂
The world needs more funky and fresh Bad W0lfy songs if “Used 2 This” is any indication. The L.A.-based singer/songwriter and model otherwise known as Ro Danishei, and co-leader of the duo Wrathschild with Simon Curtis, has returned after 5 years after her End Of The Rainbow release. “Used 2 This” is a real ear-grabbing solo song after 2014 saw the release of Wrathschild’s EP and last year a once-online cover of Ellie Goulding’s “Love Me Like You Do”. It’s a futuristic, bass-laden dance number that doesn’t quite sound like anything out there (remixers take note!). The singer’s voice is completely on-point and suited to producer Ray Reich outside-of-the-box production which places a totally appropriate dubsteppy vocal break (you’ll think Erik Hassle’s “No Words” or Years & Years’ “Shine”) in the midst of it all. To quote the esteemed Lady Kier of Deee-Lite,”Used 2 This” is definitely one de-groovy feast for the ears and feet. Pick it up on iTunes.
Readers of this blog are already well acquainted with both Eli Lieb and Steve Grand, about whom I’ve written about many times in the last two years or so, and both have graced my personal chart with their stellar songs. Each singer is decidedly different from the other, but “Look Away” is both a co-write and a duet that brings the best of both worlds together. Essentially, if you loved A Great Big World’s “Say Something”, then “Look Away” is its companion song. It brings together all of the emotions and racing thoughts about what to do next, just before a breakup occurs, and the realization that it is likely all ‘never again’. I’ll be very happy if this is the start of a regular songwriting and/or singing thing for both Eli and Steve, the former breaking away from infectious danceable pop and the latter veering further away from country than ever and into pure pop where he really belongs. You can pick up “Look Away” on Steve’s bandcamp pageright here. You can also enjoy the resulting amusing online antics on their respective social media pages 😀
Toronto has many fine up and coming performers who are finding themselves in the midst of a keener interest in R&B/soul – which Toronto has always fancied back to the 1950’s. And yes I’m talking about beyond Drake and The Weeknd who we really have to thank for flinging the door open wide. 23 year old Joël LeMay actually hails from closer to North Bay from a family of music-makers, but is rooted in Toronto now to create his craft. “You Fucked Up” is an excellent start. It’s a fine piece of storytelling when your lover is cheating and has ‘splainin’ to do. But that seems to happen after she drinks lots of whiskey, so what kind of mess have you got yourself into? “You Fucked Up” is over 4 minutes long but breezes by because of the gritty, captivating vocal that makes you want to hear this story. The production by Manuso Joshua is deftly subtle, allowing the song to bask in R&B/soul/alternative folk flavours. If “You Fucked Up” is any indication, Joël should do well both as a solo performer and an in-demand featured vocalist who can adapt to many styles. Download “You Fucked Up” for free at the link above and watch for more new music every month from Joël.
MANSE featuring ALICE BERG, “Freeze Time” (MAXR remix)
Swedish producer/DJ Manse has such a Kool song with “Freeze Time”, featuring fellow Swede Alice Berg on vocals, that it’s already being hyped in advance of its April 13 release date through Revealed Recordings by a number of remixes. MAXR wisely keeps his distance from the pristine, deep-down-affecting original and gives it gritty, progressive house edge instead, in what sounds like what might happen if Foxes and Martin Garrix teamed up. There is so much innovation to be found in dance music right now and “Freeze Time” is a classic example of how an original which is so beautiful on its own can be adeptly reinterpreted while retaining its essence. Like Dzeko & Torres and Hellberg’s recent “Care For Me”, “Freeze Time” is one song I will be playing for months ahead. Download MAXR’s remix above but pick up the original on Beatport too.
The prolific Elephante continues a succession of fresh-sounding club zingers with “Closer”. This is a particularly rich, joyous earful featuring the distinct, commanding voice of rising Portland, Oregon singer Bishøp. You want to get couples up on the dance floor? Just play Elephante’s “Closer” back-to-back with Tegan & Sara’s “Closer” and see what happens. Both are equally good-natured ear candy that will generate a filled club floor and fare equally respectfully on dance music radio. “Closer” is a natural progressive house follow-up to Elephante’s recent Top 20 Billboard Dance Club Play hit “Age Of Innocence”. Download it for free at the link above.
The follow up to the long-lasting dance radio hit “Smoke-Filled Room” by LA-based duo Mako is “Way Back Home”, which in its original form is a lovely, slow-ish progressive/alternative EDM track that will crawl into your ears and stay there. These guys know how to write a great song, which makes it easy for any producer/remixer to adapt it to something suitable. It may seem unlikely, but Matt and Eli, aka Two Friends, turn “Way Back Home” into an effortless-sounding soulful deep house track with so much going on in its 3 minute rework. They’ve taken the yearning and desperation of the lyrics and made them equally urgent through bassy, buoyant rhythms. You can pick up the EP with the original, as well as the Two Friends remix and others, on iTunes. Ultra Music has another winner for Mako in whatever version you hear!
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