Chilled and Funked Out: @Snowmassbeats works over “Sound Of Home” by #SterlingGrove featuring #EllynWoods

https://soundcloud.com/snowmass/sterling-grove-ft-ellyn-woods-sound-of-home-snowmass-remix

STERLING GROVE featuring ELLYN WOODS, “Sound Of Home” (Snowmass remix)

One thing about remixes from Chicago producer Snowmass:  expect the unexpected!  He takes a trippy chilled out alt-EDM song by Montreal duo Sterling Grove called “Sound Of Home”, featuring fellow Montrealer, pop/jazz vocalist Ellyn Woods, and attaches a deep funk edge that will pound the hell out of huge club speakers.  The now dramatic house rhythm chugs along while you strut your stuff and creates a perfectly alternate setting for Ellyn’s distant but still affecting vocal.  All in all, though Sterling Grove’s original has a different kind of appeal, Snowmass has re-envisioned “Sound Of Home” quite well which should make club DJ’s very happy indeed.  Download it for free at the link above.

Meet Australia’s @Latchmeresound with the slinky, infectious “Stressed”

https://soundcloud.com/latchmeresound/stressed-original-mix

LATCHMERE, “Stressed”

A minimalist house flavour is the key in Australian producer/DJ Latchmere’s latest “Stressed”.  It’s a slinky original whose deep keyboard riffs will stay in your ears long after the song is over.  Latchmere knows how to keep the music going through a blissed out middle bit by building out of it back to its infectious refrain.  “Stressed” is a great workout number when you’ve had one of those days when you just need to let go.  Download it for free at the link above.

Going deeper: “Underneath” by @BrandynBurnette

https://soundcloud.com/brandynburnette/underneath-winandwoo

BRANDYN BURNETTE, “Underneath”

It’s been nary a blink since Brandyn Burnette’s EP Made Of Dreams dropped last November, and the prolific Brandyn already has a bunch of new songs to spring on you in the form of another upcoming EP titled State I’m In. Brandyn’s faithful fans can guess that “Underneath” is another winner, which contains a similar progressive soul vibe as “Nothing At All” from the Dreams EP, and also recalls at times the low-fi demo that Brandyn put online last year called “1,000 Degrees of Separation”. While the lyrics are personal and touching as always, “Underneath” has a lot of contemporary style seemingly rooted in rock and roll and R&B of the past – think Hall & Oates meet Tom Waits meets John Mayer meets Allen Stone….. to start.  Win & Woo (the pair who made that sunny remix of “Made Of Dreams” which is climbing the BILLCS Top 30) get to the heart of what Brandyn’s song is all about with their attentive production.

Everyone sing! “f u till i f u” by @CallMeKarizma featuring #Cass

CALL ME KARIZMA featuring CASS, “f u till i f u”

To initiate his album due for official release tomorrow called Uninvited, Minnesota rapper and birthday boy Call Me Karizma has followed a similar pattern with this third preview, “f u till i f u”, as with the BILLCS Top 30 top tenner “u suck” – centre a grab bag of emotions around a great female vocal. Cass’ perfectly suited, somewhat disaffected sounding vocal, which carries the song with its refrain, is counterpoint to Karizma’s love-you-hate-you outpouring which his fans will just love. Plus like many of his best songs, you will find yourself singing along in no time. It’s not a story that everyone goes through, but Riz gives you his take and we can still all relate, younger and older.

Nobody says it’s “Easy” – new music from @missMollyMoore

MOLLY MOORE, “Easy”

All it takes quite often when you’re listening to a song written and sung by the L.A.-based Molly Moore is a couple of verses before that song has that resonating effect. “Easy” is her newest song, possibly from a forthcoming second EP following Shadow Of The Sun. It’s definitely a companion-piece to the songs from that EP, as well as her other recent song recorded by EDM producer/DJ Boehm called “Swallow My Pride”. The singer is in equally fine form vocally, intriguing in the song’s quieter moments and powerful when it’s louder. The percussive effects and EDM backdrop also create a persuasive atmosphere. If you’ve loved Molly Moore’s songs thus far then “Easy” is especially for you.

 

Soulful UK house music strikes again with “Stronger” by @Nik_Ernst in a @Voidmuzik edit

NIK ERNST, “Stronger” (Steve Void edit)

An intriguing retro early-2000’s sounding UK house number, “Stronger” by London producer/DJ Nik Ernst is given a slick ‘n tight edit by that hot young Dutch producer/remixer Steve Void, who is gracing the BILLCS Top 30 at #8 with his pre-summery remix of SNBRN’s “Beat The Sunrise”. This edit brings out the mysterious side that a dirty house song should possess, and it’s all done tidily in less than three minutes. “Stronger” shifts  along with its slinky groove and could easily be a candidate for some rabid dance music radio play. Don’t let this one slip by.

#BILLCSTop30 #481 – April 18/16

The Top 10

  • Toronto’s hot production/remix duo Dzeko & Torres along with Sweden’s Hellberg grab #1 from The Knocks in this edition with their free download of “Care For Me”.  It’s not only a beautiful song but it’s filled with emotion that will leave you soaring and bopping on the dance floor till you can’t have no more.  It vaults 10-1, so expect multiple chart appearances at the top.  Plus D&T’s other recent song “Home”, which I’ve already wrote about, is another chart contender 🙂  “Care For Me” is my New Music Pick of the Week this coming week on http://www.planetradio.ca (go to the bottom of this post for details!).

  • Fellow Canadians DVBBS and Dante Leon remain at #2 with “Angel” for a third appearance.  Still a hypnotic, catchy, futuristic house number – not sure why we haven’t heard more of it on dance radio or in the clubs.

  • European dance favourites “Fast Car” by Jonas Blue and Dakota, and “Faded” by Alan Walker both enter the Top 5, climbing 7-4 and 8-5 respectively!

  • Troye Sivan isn’t finished with my Top 10 yet as his third entry “Fools” rushes up 9-7!

  • The fastest riser on the chart is the glorious “Freeze Time” by Sweden’s Manse featuring Alice Berg (above), which soars 19-9.  It book-ends the other new entries to the Top 10, which are SNBRN’s “Beat The Sunrise” (11-8) and Call Me Karizma’s “u suck” (12-10).

Also Movin’ Up

  • Jon Hellberg can’t just settle for sharing #1 with Dzeko & Torres, his own wondrous dance tune “Synchronize”, featuring a stellar vocal by Aaron Richards, climbs 14-11.

  • Pet Shop Boys garnered a US #1 on the Electronic Albums chart with Super, and the lead single “The Pop Kids” is at least Top 5 bound, zipping up the chart 21-12.

  • #13 and #14 bring us double Brandyn Burnette in ways that perhaps you never thought possible.  His side project with has gal Molly Moore, Cosmos & Creature, provided Dutch duo Vicetone with a great song called “Bright Side” (17-13, above), while Brandyn had Win & Woo and Kiso Armic work remixing magic to bring out all of the happy side of “Made Of Dreams” (23-14, below).

Three Debuts

  • It’s one of the most unconventional but pleasing ideas of the year – transforming a 2 minute acoustic song into an emotional, sweeping EDM track.  I’m talking about Connor Phillips’ beautiful “Lost”, which arrives at #21 in a way outside-the-box remix by Young Bombs (a free download no less!) which could easily be your conversation piece for the day.  It may also give you moist eyes – have tissues handy and let those emotions overtake you.

  • I’m not going to be tired of The Knocks’ 55 album any time soon.  One song that has grown on me immensely is JPatt and BRoc’s pairing with go-to songwriter Justin Tranter (also, of course, vocalist of on-forced-hiatus Semi-Precious Weapons) for “Tied To You”, which arrives at #25.  It’s a toe-tapper that will have you singing the chorus in no time.

  • The final debut at #27 is the second chart entry for L.A. based producer/DJ Elephante, featuring a fine new vocalist from Portland named Bishop on “Closer”.  Rich production and a fine, unique vocal make this one go down easy, and it should be a cinch for national dance club play as follow up to the Billboard Top 20 Dance Club Play hit “Age Of Innocence”.

Listen to the songs or watch the videos using the links on the pictures on the pretty and detailed web edition of my chart. Go on, have a look and listen/watch 🙂

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

Tune into the 3D Variety Show with the Musicman James Rogers on http://www.planetradio.ca Sunday to Thursday from 8pm to 11 pm EST.  My Pick of the Week segment has returned and plays at 10:20 pm EST.  I will be travelling during the next week and will return to Planet Radio Canada for one of Toronto’s Top 10’s of yesteryear on Tuesday, May 3.  

Pop! goes Spring! British Columbia’s Tristan Thompson (@tristantmusic) returns with “Man Of Your Dreams”

TRISTAN THOMPSON, “Man Of Your Dreams”

“Man Of Your Dreams” is the perfect song to put that Popervescence into your Spring months.  Tristan Thompson is the teenage singer I wrote about two years ago when his  single “Tidal Wave” (from his debut album Here For You) caught my ears at his young age of 15 with its infectious Michael Jackson flavour mixed with a solid pop foundation, scoring a #1 song on the BILLCS Top 30.  Songs from the album found their way to radio stations across Canada, including the hard-to-break Quebec market, as well as far away places such as New Zealand!  Tristan’s second album Love You Can Believe In is on its way, and “Man Of Your Dreams” is a great lead-in featuring a friendly video and a vocal that is only giving you a taste of what Tristan is capable.  The song is produced by veteran production team Boomtang Boys, and Tristan this time gets a co-write with Tylor Johnson, whose words and music Tristan brought to life on Here For You.  Radio stations that enjoyed previous singles such as “Burn Again” will find listeners responding to “Man Of Your Dreams” too.  Pick it up on iTunes.

@DzekoandTorres continue with more emotional dance/pop with “Home” featuring #AlexJoseph

DZEKO & TORRES featuring ALEX JOSEPH, “Home”

Toronto’s Dzeko & Torres are smashing it on the BILLCSTop30 with their collaboration with Hellberg called “Care For Me”.  They follow that up with an equally emotional track that could fare well on dance music radio called “Home”.  Also available in various remixes, “Home” features a memorable, earnest vocal by Alex Joseph which will remind you a lot of Ryan Tedder.  The layered production keeps the sound and vibe moving enough to be a captivating 3 minute single.  Watch for this one to do well in dance radio and club circles and pick it up on iTunes.

Dzeko & Torres return to play home base Toronto on Friday, April 29, 2016 at Uniun.

French remixers @Ofenbachmusic transform #PraiseCats “Shined On Me” featuring @theAndreaLove into a dirty house anthem

PRAISE CATS featuring ANDREA LOVE, “Shined On Me” (Ofenbach remix)

In the dance music world, you just can’t keep a good song down – the dance community has an elephantine memory!  So now, a few years after initial release, a bevy of remixes of Praise Cats’ “Shined On Me” are surfacing, and one of the best is by French duo Ofenbach.  They took the house basis of the record and expand it with low distorted vocals and a much more layered sound in stark contrast to Andrea Love’s classic Martha Wash/Simone Denny R&B vocal.  It works like a charm and will breeze by in clubs beckoning patrons to the dance floor.  Ofenbach revive “Shined On Me” with the essence of house with a difference.  Get it for free at the link above.