BILLCSMUSIC BLOG

ElectroPOP! @DaveAude & @AndyBell_info “True Original” and @Spraypopmusic & @KidKasio with “It’s Not Enough”

Is there a mini-revival going on am I just imagining it? I’m talking about British electroPOP. Granted performers from other countries also did well in this dance music genre, but no one did it like the Brits in the 80’s.

DAVE AUDE featuring ANDY BELL, “True Original”

There are too many performers to mention, but electroPOP came along during the New Wave era, and stayed long past. Erasure is one of the originators of this style, and the duo of Vince Clarke and Andy Bell came back big time last year with The Violet Flame album, yielding three Top 10 club hits with “Elevation”, “Reason”, and “Sacred”. In a side partnership with the renown producer deluxe Dave Audé (who seemingly remixed just about everything in 2015) , Andy was the vocalist on Dave’s #1 club smash “Aftermath” as well. And so this pair are back with pure, no-nonsense electroPOP with “True Original”, which has already vaulted into Billboard’s Top 25 Dance Club Play songs. It’s a splendid, happy song for the mid-winter blahs and should quickly soar to the top of the dance club charts. Like with “Aftermath”, Dave’s production has brought out the best in Andy’s voice as in Erasure’s halcyon days. Though I’m not crazy about its video, “True Original” is slick, bouncing, beautiful, electroPOP bliss.

SPRAY + KID KASIO, “It’s Not Enough”

Although this other duo hasn’t been around as long as Erasure and haven’t had chart success like them or Dave Audé, the bold and prolific Spray – Jenny McLaren and Ricardo Autobahn, noted for songs such as “I Am Gothic”, “You Can Always Go Home” and even “Everything’s Better With Muppets” – can ride this electroPOP train with one of their best efforts to date called “It’s Not Enough”. Featuring fellow Brit Kid Kasio, this partnership also sounds just fab together. Great vocals, a powerhouse chorus, and enough high-end to leap out of the speakers make “It’s Not Enough” memorable enough to grab you by the feet and keep them glued to the dance floor. Pick it up on iTunes.

Feel good and be yourself: “Love Me Lessons (Imma Be)” by @LucienDante (featuring Lu Reads)

The video for “Love Me Lessons (Imma Be)”has taken me by as much surprise as when I first heard Chicago singer/songwriter Lucien Dante’s “Black Water” some months ago. The laid back, intriguing vibe of that song helped get it to #5 on the BILLCS Top 30, and I subsequently wrote a blog post about his album Our Of We.

While I mentioned “Love Me Lessons (Imma Be)” as a highlight in that post, I really didn’t come back to the song much. But the singer has nailed it with this video. You won’t be able to help but smile after watching it, and if you know anyone who’s feeling down about themselves they should watch it too. It’s messages are very simple. You’ve gotta love yourself for who you are, and enjoy life and have fun because it’s contagious. Just do it!!

What’s even more impressive is that the singer directed the video and co-edited, and I must say his vision and the flow of the video work so very well. Also, the hip hop flavour that Lu Reads gives to the song for some reason works a lot better in this visual context. So I’ll definitely be revisiting “Love Me Lessons (Imma Be)” thanks to the insight that the video has created. You can pick up the song as well as the Our Of We album on iTunes. Lucien Dante is a multi-talent to watch!

It’s a sonic R&R blast from @SmashSatellites with “Gamblin’ Man”

After last year’s successful and diverse Sonic Aluzion release, Toronto quartet Smashing Satellites rock out harder with new single “Gamblin’ Man”. If you’ve seen them in concert you know that this is where their heart is and this song is a signal for more great music to come. Salvatore Costa and band have crafted a song that to me is so much of a throwback to the late 90’s – I’m thinking of bands like Days Of The New, Smashing Pumpkins, The Tea Party, and especially Moist. There were many great popular rock songs that got replaced with faceless dance music. “Gamblin’ Man” like many other Smashing Satellites songs has a great story and a vocal that shifts and plays along with the lyrics to make it an interesting tale. Keep your ears peeled for more new Smashing Satellites songs! Get it on iTunes 🙂

@TheKnocks are on a huge roll scoring with @Wyclef on “Kiss The Sky”

The Knocks’ upcoming album 55 and their concert this coming week in Toronto are looking to be pretty special if new single “Kiss The Sky” featuring none other than Wyclef Jean is any indication. “Kiss The Sky” should by all rights be a massive pop hit, giving the wintery months for the western world a bright summery vibe. While forever busy, Wyclef, the former Fugees member, has been MIA from the pop charts since “Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)”, which was in 2007, so this is a timely return. The Knocks are one talented pair with great ears for both music and production. If you loved “I Wish (My Taylor Swift)” (with Matthew Koma), then you will be over the moon for “Kiss The Sky”. Pre-order 55 and get the song for free!

Who’s the loser now? @callmeKarizma gets his big diss on with “u suck”

KARIZMA, “u suck”

Sometimes songs just leave you smiling long after they’re over, and that usually means there’s some staying power behind them. Such is the case with “u suck” by Minnesota’s Karizma, whose music, as you may recall from an earlier post, I got acquainted with when he opened up for MAX (Schneider)’s show in Toronto. Behind the self-deprecating, sincere, and humourous personality, Karizma has some wicked smart talent in concocting his songs. Not only is there infectious, downright funny Eminem-styled patter in this big diss of a song, but there’s a heavy rock guitar backdrop, and most prominently of all there’s either a sample or an excerpt of a cover of a little song I know by Peggy Lee called “Why Don’t You Do Right”. I haven’t heard that song in years and to hear some of it used in “u suck” is a special and clever case of contrast which works perfectly. “u suck” comes from Karizma’s upcoming album called Loser. In Karizma’s eyes we’re all losers and he wants to get to know you, too, loser! Be sure to catch his show when it comes to your city.

Karizma plays The Garage, in Burnsville, MN for his Loser release party on Saturday January 30 – tickets are going fast!

Bounce to this, Portuguese-style: “Matadora” by @SofiTukker

SOFI TUKKER, “Matadora”

NYC duo Sofi Tukker, aka Sophie and Tucker, continue their fascination with Brazilian poetry with “Matadora”. Like the addictive first single “Drinkee” (sitting pretty at #9 on the BILLCS Top 30), “Matadora” is sung entirely in Portuguese using poems by Chacal as its jump off point. The result is a percussive toe-tapper which like “Drinkee” will yank people out of their seats and onto the dance floor. They even use a rare string instrument called a charango to augment the unique sound of the song. Sofi Tukker now have an EP on the way called Soft Animals. Still can’t wait for the imminent dance craze.

Sofi Tukker opens for their label-meisters The Knocks in Toronto at the Mod Club on Friday, January 22 – see you there!

UK hit “When The Bassline Drops” puts @CraigDavid (featuring @BigNarstie) back in form

CRAIG DAVID featuring BIG NARSTIE, “When The Bassline Drops”

It’s like a homecoming when a talented performer finds the right song to get his groove on again. Such is the case with “When The Bassline Drops”, which would be no special event had the stylish vocal not been by Craig David, who deserves a place back on international radio with this one. It’s slick business that would sit comfortably next to Craig’s earlier smashes “Fill Me In” or “7 Days”. UK hip hopper Big Narstie’s break is not out of place and helps move the song along. Remixes could help this one get to the top of dance club charts too. Do yourself a favour and pick up this surprise on iTunes.

#BILLCSTop30 #474 – January 11, 2016

It’s a new year, beginning with a new #1 by a performer who holds both #1 and #2 spots, and six debuts make their presence known. Some recent EP’s and albums are causing multiple appearances by the same performers, after a year like last year where multiple entries by the same performers didn’t occur too often.

The Top 10

https://soundcloud.com/brandynburnette/nothing-at-all

As I’ve been tweeting the past few days, if you missed Brandyn Burnette’s one-of-a-kind audition on American Idol last Thursday, you need to see it so go to the link right here. So while Brandyn got his golden ticket, he also starts off 2016 with a bang on this chart, with the alternative old soul of “Nothing At All” ascending to the top, while the song he performed in his audition, “Lost (Stripped)”, advances 5-2. 2016 shows every sign of being a great year for Brandyn, and he has one other entry further down on the chart, though his fourth from two weeks ago, “Life’s A Beach” drops off. A video for “Nothing At All” will arrive very soon!

“I Wish (My Taylor Swift)” by The Knocks and Matthew Koma stays put at #3, and a third New Yorker, Penguin Prison, has remixed the song in his own inimitable style, stripping away the SoCal vibe of the song and turning it into something more NYC club ready. Give a listen above. I’m very happy to be seeing The Knocks on January 22 in my city 🙂

I was beginning to feel lonely in my enjoyment of Mako’s “Smoke Filled Room”, but in fact the song soared into Billboard’s Dance Radio Airplay Top 5 over the holidays, so the cat is out of the bag. Members Alex and Logan have a standout beauty here with this song, particularly in the Elephante remix, and it climbs 6-4. A new video for the song is coming too!

MAX Schneider is working double-duty on the chart this week with songs from each of his recent EP’s. Not only does his collaboration with Jared Evan, “Ms Anonymous” (above) rise 7 to 6, but his new club-banger-in-waiting “Wrong” (below), featuring Lil Uzi Vert, is the fastest riser on the chart, zooming 22-13 and is set to close in on the upper reaches in a few weeks.

The only new entry to the Top 10 belongs to the crazy vibe and Portuguese lyrics of “Drinkee” by NYC duo Sofi Tukker, climbing 12-9. The duo will also be on that January 22 bill for The Knocks I mentioned above.

Movin’ On Up

There’s so much activity below the Top 10 besides MAX’s “Wrong” as the fastest riser that I won’t be able to write about all this week.

Suffice it to say, one’s feet can continue dancing past New Year’s Eve. The songs to do just that for you as they eye the Top 10 in two weeks? “The Shadows Of The Moon” (above) by the venerable veteran Rozalla along with producers/DJs House Of Virus, advancing 14-11, along with German DJ/producer Final DJS wisely working with Bright Light Bright Light on vocals for the free download of “Lost In Feelings” (below), which moves up 16-12.

My dream team of Brandyn Burnette and Molly Moore appropriately have songs side-by-side on the chart. Molly’s touching and incisive “Blood. Sweat. Tears.” (above) could be a Jessie Ware song in disguise from her EP Shadow Of The Sun and rises 25-20, while her beau Brandyn’s third song from his Made Of Dreams EP, “Down” (below), jumps 28-21.

Six Debuts!

I’ve had to save most of the space in this post for our six stunning debuts, one of which sneaked onto the chart after only being released on Thursday at midnight.

Wither “Hello”, slipping from 1 to 5 after 4 appearances (8 weeks) at #1, but certainly not forgetting about other songs from the knockout album that is 25. “All I Ask” (above) is almost equally as beautiful and touching, with another amazing vocal… can’t seem to find enough adjectives for this one! It bows at #17, while subsequent single “When We Were Young” (below) also has no trouble finding its way onto the chart at #25. Any performer signed to a major label with access to funds should aim to create as wonderful a record as this, style and genre notwithstanding. 25 is a once-in-a-long-time album experience for anyone.

Crashing onto all platforms on Thursday at midnight was the immense surprise that is Super 8bit Heart, the album redux of 2010’s 8bit Heart, one of my favourite releases of the decade by Simon Curtis (read my blog post from yesterday right here). It’s not at all the same as the original and has its own highlights, but I’m so glad that “8bit Heart” was remade with the same warm touches as the original. “8bit Heart” already reached #1 here in 2010 and remained on the chart for its maximum 10 appearances (20 weeks). But I’m treating this new recording as a brand new entry and I sincerely hope it becomes the focus song for promotion of the new album. So the redux of “8bit Heart” arrives at #19.

After listening to its initial singles, an album that I’ve grown to enjoy thoroughly over the holidays is South Africa-born, Australia-raised singer Troye Sivan’s Blue Neighbourhood. Not only are the songs compelling, but the boy-next-door performance with so much improved vocals by Troye make them so unique next to what’s on the radio. It’s no wonder listeners are flocking to his sold out shows and that people like Betty Who worked with him on the album. I’m currently wrapped up in both “Talk Me Down” (above) and “Wild” (below), so each arrives on the chart, at #23 and #26 respectively. Never did I think that Troye would grow so much after his You Tube performances. He is indeed a talent to watch!

The last debut is “Age Of Innocence” by L.A.-based DJ/producer Elephante featuring Trouze and Damon Sharpe, which I wrote about not long ago and lands on the chart at #27. Club DJ’s are totally on board with this one, currently in Billboard’s Dance Club Play Top 25. The song is actually still available as a free download on Soundcloud too (below). Elephante is one of those talented guys with great ears who we will see playing huge venues with superstar talent in the next year.

The Full Chart

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

You can hear me online on http://www.planetradio.ca every Monday at 9:00 pm EST counting down a Toronto Top 10 chart from yesteryear, and then again every Tuesday in a rebroadcast at 7:00 a.m. EST on WROCK http://www.wlor.net!

2016 begins with the blast of “Super 8bit Heart”, a redux of “8bit Heart”, by @simoncurtis

SIMON CURTIS, Super 8bitHeart

No music could be more welcome in 2016 than the songs of the 2010 free download album 8bit Heart by L.A.-based singer/songwriter Simon Curtis. Before you read further you might want to check out my original post on 8bitHeart right here – some of my opinions have changed, obviously, as have some facts (no autotone – it’s all Simon!). Simon has essentially created a new album of these songs called Super 8bit Heart to set the stage for his upcoming series of Boy Robot books, to be published by Simon & Schuster starting in November, which are based on the songs from 8bit Heart.

I have some personal anecdotes about 8bit Heart before I comment on the new album. 8bit Heart arrived as I was going through probably the most difficult period of my life. The 3D songs revolving around the Boy Robot character with themes of loneliness, desire, humanity, hope, and sex, were the perfect distraction for me at the time, and the huge Twitter campaign behind the record was first massive social networking experience for me. So many people like me absolutely adore these songs and I’m glad Simon chose to go back to revisit them and launch his publishing career with their stories. Songs from 8bit Heart dominated the BILLCS Top 30 in 2010 – “Beat Drop” #1 of that year, plus #1’s for the title song, “Delusional”, and #3 for “Joystick”. I was fortunate enough to meet and see the singer himself in concert in NYC the following year. Subsequent releases from R∆ and his Wrathschild project with Bad W0lfy continue to be active in my iTunes playlist 🙂

Super 8bit Heart must be taken totally separately from 8bit Heart, which simply stands on its own. I expect the new album is essentially the electronic soundtrack to Simon’s Boy Robot books, and the edgy anger and pointed swearing in some of original songs are now muted for a wider audience. They will certainly fit in with current dance music in clubs and I would love to hear remixes.

The big emotion of “8bit Heart” (below) is the highlight, and the new music backdrop is highly complimentary. To me this is the song to focus on with its universal message. I kind of miss the lonely simple piano of the original but it’s easy to treat the two versions separately. As with the original songs, Simon’s far-reaching voice is stunning as ever. Other highlights include “Super Psycho Love”, “Delusional”, “The Dark”, “Diablo” (which has been lengthened), and “Brainwash”, which all benefit from more current arrangements which suit their powerful lyrics. On the other hand, I must stick with the originals of “Beat Drop” (also lengthened), “Joystick”, and “Don’t Wanna Be Alone” – the new arrangements for these songs take them in a different direction and don’t work for me.

Super 8bit Heart will never replace 8bit Heart for me, and the original is still available for free download from Simon’s website. But it’s your opportunity to get to know the songs in new renditions particularly if you hadn’t discovered the originals previously. These songs deserve more fans to help to continue and champion Simon’s many talents and of course to support his on-deck side career as an author. Welcome back to the songs of 8bit Heart and Simon Curtis 😀 Pick up Super 8bit Heart on iTunes.

“Vicious Girl” by @Calvoofficial generates worldwide club buzz!

CALVO, “Vicious Girl”

Those of you who might want a change from the late 80’s early 90’s trend in dance music that’s happening right now will want to hear Calvo’s “Vicious Girl”. The song is already generating huge worldwide club buzz by the likes of people like Avicii, Don Diablo and Firebeatz for the German DJ/producer. It’s a real throwback to the late 90’s with slightly sped-up vocals not overwhelming the swinging house rhythm and party vibe. A bonus for this one for you regular readers of this blog is that the song was co-written by Daniel Volpe (aka Zorro Blakk and one half of The Crush Boys songwriting team)! And while I’m not sure lyric-wise why the girl in the song is so vicious, the video above spins an interesting story as some older femmes mysterieuses hit the dance club. Calvo’s “Vicious Girl” should be smashing the dance club charts soon as brought to you by Armada Music (Armin van Buuren, etc.).