PAUL VANICE & DAN BOUJEE and THOMAS RODENBACH, “Closer”
“Closer” is the new fast-paced and uplifting dance single by German producers Paul Vanice & Dan Boujee, who return after a bit of an absence with a rock-tinged track that complements some edgy vocalizing by fellow German singer Thomas Rodenbach. Though the song itself lyrically doesn’t offer anything new, “Closer” offers tight production that creates a driving melody that plays to the outdoor party life in summertime. Its rock flavours are welcome throwbacks to me to the 1982/83 new wave of A Flock Of Seagulls and Duran Duran, which you don’t hear too often in today’s dance music.
Dutch producer Russo has been making music for many years and has been supported by just about every major DJ and producer. With “BTTF” he transports us “back to the funk” of the 70’s with some kool Curtis Mayfield-types of vibes and then transports us through to the 80’s, where funk-meets-house and creates a happy union that will continue to last. The production in “BTTF” is slick and dance floor ready, and should be an easy sell to club DJ’s around the world.
“Sanctuary” is on its way to becoming one of my favourite songs of 2021 for a variety of reasons. The pairing of relatively new 20 year old Dutch producer Howen and “American Idol” Top 16 finalist Robbie Rosen is fantastic and is representative of how a great record can be put together remotely these days. Making it even better, is the song itself. While Robbie continues to crank out great music just about every week, this is one of his older songs but has been well worth the wait! Its warm, welcoming, and caring lyrics and totally committed, passionate vocal make it rise up above its competition. Topping it off is the gentle melody which Howen works into a glorious house mix that includes many defining moments. All in all, “Sanctuary” is one song you don’t want to miss.
I’ve written about the music of Southern California-based producer Elephante many times in the last several years, and watched an evolution from a talented remixer and producer, into a vocalist and musician who continues to carve out his own lane. While he hasn’t released much music over the last two years, we have been fortunate to see Elephante (aka Tim Wu) perform in a number of online concerts this past year or so, where he continues to show his confidence as a DJ/producer who is also now a singer and guitarist. “Holy Ghosts” follows up singles “High Water”, “Diamond Days” (on which he introduced his voice), and “Chameleon” (with Mako) right where they left off, with alternative rock flavours and melodies that have moved away from the bigger synth sounds of earlier releases. While the synths are cleverly restrained, the live instrument elements add a more personal richness to “Holy Ghosts”, which is about someone trying to escape his past phantoms/demons while seeking comfort and love from a special someone. I expect these singles are leading up to a third full album, which will undoubtedly be quite a different Elephante experience from his past releases.
“Hiding In The Blue” is an exceptional electronic dance release that straddles the line between future bass and fanciful, progressive-sounding pop/dance. It’s not quite like anything else out there, which is a good thing, especially for fans of veteran German producer and You Tube star TheFatRat (Christian Büttner) and Canadian singer/co-writer RIELL. The sophisticated melody and arrangement take you on a sci-fi/fantasy ride into the sky, where it’s safe and everything is calm and right in the world while other forces terrorize your world and you wait for your lover to find you again and bring you home. This is the stuff that cool movies and mini-series are made of, with instrumentation that sounds like it wants to transport you alternately backward and forward in time. TheFatRat is accustomed to using powerful voices for his releases (such as Laura Brehm and Anjulie), and RIELL has been a familiar vocalist in the dance music genre for the last several years, so “Hiding In The Blue” ends up being a stellar showcase for them both.
With underlying anthemic touches and heart-stirring lyrics, be sure to check out “Flame” by British pop/dance duo Voix. Relatively new on the music scene, Voix (Andi Anderson and Mike Smith) have released several singles in the last year or so, but “Flame” stands out as the sum of all of its fine parts. The warm lead vocals are also augmented by 30 background vocalists who happen to be fans of the group – that’s pretty impressive fan engagement! Those voices – and of course “Voix” means “voices” in French – certainly give an unexpected lift to “Flame” which has a steady rhythm and radio-friendly vibe. Remixes could help draw in more fans of the electronic dance genre, but “Flame” impresses right out of the gate.
The summer dance hits keep-a-coming, although, as you may have noticed in some recent blog posts, my ears have been swayed away from beats in favour of a good pop or rock song too, so you never know what will catch my attention for the most part. Also, make sure you read about myONLINE RADIO AFFILIATES(see details after the post) – all kinds of online radio projects now keeping me busy!
Today, Illenium announced his initial Fallen Embers tour, in support of his new album of the same name, and it will hit eight cities, including his own home town Denver, plus San Francisco, Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis, and Orlando among them. His single “Sideways”, featuring the voice of Valerie Broussard and additional production in collaboration with Nurko, gets a second appearance at #1! But there are several challengers brewing below.
Up until “The Feels”, NYC’s Cash Cash had never been on my chart before, and neither had singer Alex Newell, but that song brought them together on Cash Cash’s album Say It Like You Feel It, and “The Feels” climbs 4-2. I’ll say it again – WHY isn’t this a single???
Sweden’s Darin soars 7-3 with “Can’t Stay Away”, which matches his highest peak on the chart, remember 2008’s “Breathing Your Love” (with Kat DeLuna)? “Can’t Stay Away” is one of the brightest and bubbliest songs of Summer ’21.
I thoroughly enjoy Greyson Chance’s “Hellboy” every time I hear it, and it becomes his second Top 5 on this chart moving up 8-4.
The solid British house represented by “Give Me That” by Charlie Lane, Gold 88 and Kate Wild zips into the Top 10, rising 11-6.
The warm tones and strong melody of “You” send it up the chart 15-9 for Regard, Troye Sivan and Canada’s Tate McRae. It’s Troye’s first time in the Top 10 since 2019’s #1 “i’m so tired…” with Lauv.
As former #1 “Myself In You” slides to #13, NYC’s Victor Perry replaces himself in the Top 10 (again!) with “Slip Away” with French producer Kislaw, moving up 13-10. You can check out Victor’s new cover of Ne-Yo’s “So Sick” with producer Boehm below.
To no surprise, Ed Sheeran’s massive hit “Bad Habits” climbs 20-12, definitely another great song of Summer ’21.
The Fastest Riser on the chart, climbing 28-19, is “Mon Cheri” by acclaimed dance duo Sofi Tukker and fellow Grammy nominees, Mali-based duo Amadou and Mariam. This incredibly catchy song is from the charity album Red Hot + Free, and I’d love to see it net a Grammy nomination itself!
“Back To You” by Aash Mehta and ephem is not wasting any time finding its place on the chart. It soars 30-22.
Jay Bird’s future bass anthem “Gone Tomorrow”, with vocals by Clay Agnew, climbs 25-20. You can get a different taste of what Jay Bird has been working on with his new pop/house track “Energy” featuring Jessica Chertock, below.
And speaking of Jessica Chertock, the NYC singer/songwriter is also the vocalist on the Highest Debut on the chart. This time she tackles Noah Cyrus and late fan fave XXXtentacion’s 2017 release “Again”, and totally slays it in the process. With production by Russia’s Purple Guns and rap and harmonies by Florida’s Young Jae, this is one cover that’s better than the original and should not go unnoticed. It arrives with a splash at #23.
UK rocker Sam Fender is back with his first new song in two years, the title track of his upcoming album called “Seventeen Going Under”. It’s a great anthem for young adults in our time with Sam’s voice halfway between Tom Chaplin of Keane and Paul Weller. It’s Sam’s second chart entry, debuting at #25, following “Will We Talk” (#14).
“Break Me Down” is a moody but slick deep house track – the drop kicking off the chorus is a killer – from two Chicago dance production duos, Autograf and Win & Woo, which bows at #26 featuring vocalist SINGA. It’s Autograf’s second showing on the chart following last year’s “Ain’t Deep Enough” (#3) and Win & Woo’s third, following last year’s “Sleepwalking” (#9).
“Don’t Want Perfect” is the first appearance on the chart for Quebec producer Kayliox, and he’s paired with dance go-to vocalist Robbie Rosen, who keeps replacing himself on the chart – continuously since February – as “Waves” is about to depart. “Don’t Want Perfect” is a top notch showing for both artists and debuts at #27. You’ll read more about another new release by Robbie in the week in my blog pages!
View the full BILLCS Top 30right here! Click on the hyperlink on the song titles to hear the songs or watch the videos!
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Radio GTA– listen to The Big 20 from 10pm to Midnight EST as “The Musicman” James Rogers and I bring you the latest in new songs mixed with classics and songs you haven’t heard in a while. And on Saturdays and Sundays from Noon to 6pm I bring you “Your Weekend Music Mix” six hours of commercial-free music from the 2000’s including many song choices from this blog.
Halton Hills Online– “Your Weekend Music Mix” has a second home on Saturday and Sunday evenings from 8pm to Midnight! It’s a different mix from Radio GTA’s show, and like that one it is also commercial free, proudly brought to you by Symposium Cafe Restaurant & Lounge in Georgetown, Ontario!
Planet Radio Canada – currently on hiatus but returning this month, listen to the “3D Variety Show” with “The Musicman” James Rogers. I’m featured every Tuesday between 7 and 7:30 pm with my New Music Pick of the Week, and I also join occasionally for looks at music from our past as well as the occasional live segment.
SONNY FODERA & KOLIDOSCOPES and SINEAD HARNETT, “Nah”
One memorable phrase that music fans can never seem to get enough of is “nah nah nah”. And it’s with the triple threat talents of Australia-born Sonny Fodera, L.A. based British soul singer Sinéad Harnett, and rising Aussie producers and songwriting talents KOLIDESCOPES (Joel Corry & MNEK’s “Head & Heart”), who make the most of it all from a legitimately fun place. Sinéad’s knowing vocal puts the subject of this end-of-relationship song in their place, kissing off all of the braggadocio and leaving it swimming in deep water with nowhere to go. The production really sparkles, which means that “Nah” should impress the hell out of fans, club DJ’s, and radio programmers alike after Sonny’s recent success with Just Kiddin and protégé Lilly Ahlberg on “Closer”.
CHEAT CODES, LITTLE BIG TOWN and BRYN CHRISTOPHER, “Never Love You Again”
It may look like a big question mark on paper, but there’s no denying that “Never Love You Again” is a solid dance pop release that has hit potential all over it. L.A. based trio Cheat Codes have come such a long way in the five years that I’ve known of their music (and seeing them open for Matoma), supporting The Chainsmokers on tour, recording with Demi Lovato, and recently scoring a dance radio hit with Tinashe with “Lean On Me”. Add the talents of multi-award winning Nashville country quartet Little Big Town and British go-to dance music voice and pop/R&B singer Bryn Christopher, and you think that too many ingredients might spoil the proverbial musical broth. But they don’t – all of the voices blend seamlessly and lift what might otherwise seem like a routine leave-you-with-no-regrets song to much greater heights. Kudos to all and radio programmers need to make note of this one especially when collecting listener opinions about it.
It’s been a hot moment since we’ve had music from Revelries, the Emirati dance producers who really hit their stride in 2019-20 with creative bangers like “Don’t Think Twice” (which reached #2 on my personal chart), “Fall-Out” (also #7 on my chart) and “End Up Like That”). “Heatwave” doesn’t miss a step, a zesty house track that could fit in so well with any mid-evening house set in a club. The uncredited female vocal is a fine match for the deep rhythms and beats, and Revelries are so good at always adding other sounds discretely into the mix that you don’t really notice how effective they are at rounding out the song until after two or three listens.
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