#BILLCSTop30 #617, July 5/21

The new chart is so chockful of my favourites that it seems pretty static, with only a few songs making decent-sized moves. But if you’ve followed this blog or my chart, then you’ll know that this is temporary.

With this chart, I’m pleased that my number one song is “Myself In You” (above) by Italy’s Lordnox and NYC’s Victor Perry.  Victor’s music has been appearing regularly on the chart since 2016 and this is his first trip to the top, and almost certainly not the last!  I was delighted that Lordnox could capture the glory and diversity of Victor’s vocal in this particular song. It makes the song just so much fun!  Victor has a second entry on the chart with French producer Kislaw called “Slip Away” (below), which climbs 20-17.

Making an impressive move from 7-4 is the emotional electronic whirlwind that is “Sideways” by Illenium, singer Valerie Broussard and fellow producer Nurka.  Illenium performed his first three albums in concert in Las Vegas as his “Trilogy” show this past weekend, which is quite an amazing accomplishment.

Glass Petals’ infectious deep house track “Heartbeat” is making short work of its time in the Top 10, rising 9-6.  One half of Glass Petals, Juno Award-winner Felix Cartal, released his latest album Expensive Sounds For Nice People, which is chock full of many of his single releases of the past two years.

To no surprise, the dance floor banger “The Feels” by Cash Cash featuring Alex Newell advances 12-9 – for now!

The darker and deeper house track from Australia, “Unnatural” by Needs No Sleep and Jeremy Beamish, is the other newcomer to the Top 10, up 11-10.

Whenever I play Greyson Chance’s “Hellboy”, I am stuck humming it for hours on end. This quirky track from his album Trophies climbs 16-11.

The Fastest Riser on the chart was the Highest Debut two weeks ago.  It’s “Can’t Stay Away” by Sweden’s Darin, which is now accompanied by a zesty, splashy video loaded with cool choreography. It soars 22-14.

Another banger from England to keep your ears on is “Give Me That” (23-19) by producers Charlie Lane and Gold 88 with a stunning vocal by Kate Wild.

While it’s already been to the top of the dance charts, “You” by Regard, Troye Sivan and Tate McRae (27-21) is also headed to the Top 10 of Top 40 radio.

The Highest Debut on the chart is also a first on the chart. In the over 23 years that I’ve published it, a completely redone version of a song originally recorded by the same artist has never charted – until now!  Moby’s “Natural Blues” reached #5 on my chart in 2000, and 21 years later he has re-recorded it and some of his other best known songs on his album Reprise.  “Natural Blues”, featuring the stellar vocals of Gregory Porter and Amythyst Kiah arrives at #24.  Some chart geekery: Because it was re-recorded, it is not considered to be a re-entry.

Next up at #26 is India’s Ashwyn with the guitar-soaked “Sell My Soul”.  This single preceded his latest, more progressive rock-flavoured one “Deja Vu” , which I wrote about recently.  Ashwyn is also the second artist from India to appear on my chart, following DJ Shaan’s “By Heart” which reached #10 earlier this year.

My third debut at #27 is the second chart appearance by Australia’s Beamish Brothers called “Anxious”.  Ben and Jeremy previously were featured on “Black Gasoline” by Mark Mendy, which got to #6.  And Jeremy is currently charting at #10 with Needs No Sleep.  Their music keeps on getting better and better so this is their first appearance on the chart as lead artists.  In fact I just wrote about their newest single “Privilege” this past weekend, so check it out too.

The last of four debuts at #28 is “Gone Tomorrow” by Southern California producer Jay Bird with vocalist Clay Agnew.  This is definitely in the Illenium/Trivecta vein and is exceptionally well done as an independent release. Jay Bird recently got to #4 with “Escape”.

Announcements

NEW AND STARTING JULY 10!! I’m pleased to announce that I will be your weekend announcer on Halton Hills Online and Radio GTA  for my show “Your Weekend Music Mix”.  The show will air Saturday and Sunday afternoons on Halton Hills Online and Saturday and Sunday evenings on Radio GTA.  Be sure to check it out next weekend!

Planet Radio Canada is currently on hiatus for a few weeks and will return!

The music from this chart and blog are also featured regularly on the online radio station Radio GTA. You can hear their Big 20 on Wednesday evenings, also with ‘The Musicman’ James Rogers, and listen for songs from the chart too 🙂Scroll down the station’s main page to listen to lots of variety from across the decades!   You can start by joining Radio GTA’s new interactive Facebook group too!!

View the full BILLCS Top 30 right here!  Click on the hyperlink on the song titles to hear the songs or watch the videos!

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

Check out and ‘like’ the BILLCS Music Projects Facebook page 🙂

Australia’s Beamish Brothers return with more catchy, slick dance pop with a message in “Privilege”

BEAMISH BROTHERS, “Privilege”

Jeremy and Ben Beamish are definitely on fire with three releases in a row that command your attention.  “Privilege” is the latest, following up “Dollar In The Heart” and “Anxious”, which both reflect personal and global themes such as greed, money, corporate domination, mental health, and more.  “Privilege” is the light-hearted one of the bunch, but continues to offer soulful vocals and funky rhythms to support the fine lyrical content.  As shown in the video above, “Privilege” comments on those well-off, privileged individuals who are just wrapped up in their own lives in a self-made vacuum – the world revolves around them.  Each of the lads continue to sound better and better with vocal registers totally on point, and another well-made, direct and interesting video too.

Dance diva and Broadway star @MOYAangela collaborates again with UK/Canadian producers @realFutureKings on “Peace”

MOYA x FUTURE KINGS, “Peace”

“Peace” is a celebratory anthem for everything that is good in the world, that I’m counting on the dance community to embrace.  Reteaming for this banger are dance diva and Broadway star MOYA and UK/Canadian producers Future Kings, who kicked off 2021 with the memorable “Laser Beams” with Moguai for Spinnin’.  The only other belters to come along this decade that I can think of who hold their own with MOYA’s fierce voice are fellow Broadway star LaChanze (from “The Donna Summer Musical”) and Glee’s Alex Newell (currently blowing the house down with “The Feels” with Cash Cash).  “Peace” is bouncy and jubilant and bubbling with old school disco flavours, with everything that you need in a magnificent summer anthem.

Chicago’s @AashMehtamusic will light up the dance floor with “Back To You” with fellow producer and newcomer ephem

AASH MEHTA and ephem, “Back To You”

Aash Mehta is a familiar name to readers of this blog who have enjoyed his ethereal, romantic and reflective electronic pop and dance tracks over the last five years.  Breaking out of that mold for now, Aash returns with a fun, bass-laden house track called “Back To You”, which introduces fellow producer, Charlotte, N.C.’s ephem (aka Nilay Ghatlia) to the scene.  With its punchy rhythm, echo-ey vocal call backs, and a solid uncredited female vocal, “Back To You” is an engaging surprise, the kind of song that’s placed in a set midway through the evening deliberately to keep dancers on the floor.  The strong results in “Back To You” signal that this collaboration between Aash and ephem is worth repeating.

NYC dance producer @MattFX delivers the good with “A Love Beginning”

MATT FX and MELIKA, “A Love Beginning”

Matt FX not only is an up and coming producer and DJ from NYC, he’s also the music producer behind soundtrack to Comedy Central’s “Broad City”, and is also an accomplished chef, known for his “underground fried chicken sandwich racket” DUBPLATE NYC.  Music wise, Matt is onto something with his latest single about a night out in a club that just might go somewhere called “A Love Beginning”.  Definitely peppered with vibes you would associate with songs by Disclosure and Gorgon City, “A Love Beginning” is all about relishing those preliminary moments about what could happen next after you spot someone on the dance floor that you would like to get to know better.  Melika’s vocal is alternately flirty and sultry, and before you gasp at the song’s length (5:11), note that it is paced so evenly that you’ll happily want to hear more. 

Dance to this: “Shooting Stars” by @Widemodemusic with singer @KyraGrove10

WIDEMODE and KYRA GROVE, “Shooting Stars”

“Shooting Stars” is a rather unassuming European house track by Italian duo Widemode featuring California-based singer Kyra Grove that really takes hold when the instrumental hook takes hold. If you recall a huge worldwide hit from 2010 called “Stereo Love” by Edward Maya, then that to me is your comparison.  Like “Stereo Love”, “Shooting Stars” has a potent dreamy hook that is likely violin-sounding synthesizers.  It helps draw you into the lyrics, written by the three artists, which has designs on taking you on an adventure in love.  “Shooting Stars” is definitely one of those songs that makes you ask “hey, what is this song?” while you’re dancing the night away.

The vibrant dance music sounds of L.A.’s @TwoFriendsmusic continue with “Useless” and singer @EmilyVaughnx

TWO FRIENDS and EMILY VAUGHN, “Useless”

“Useless” has arrived from Two Friends and Emily Vaughn just in time for Matt and Eli to start playing clubs again, for their music is meant to be enjoyed and played loud in person.  Having the increasingly familiar voice of Emily Vaughn aboard to lend an engaging and sympathetic vocal on “Useless” is a huge bonus – she recently sang on Taska Black’s Top 20 dance hit “Easier”, as well as on Smallpools’ cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Everywhere” and Gareth Emery’s “You Are”.  Her voice plus the vibrant synth arpeggios, which are getting to be a trademark of many of Two Friends’ releases, are what will pull you in and keep you there.  Summer is here and Two Friends will make you sweat it out to their distinct brand of fun. All three performers feature prominently in their “day at the pool” video up top.

India’s @Ashwynmusic is back with progressive rock-flavoured electronica called “Déjà Vu”

ASHWYN, “Déjà Vu”

Back in early May, I wrote about Indian producer Ashwyn‘s rock flavoured electronic track “Sell My Soul”, which features awesome guitar work and an intriguing story sung with a committed vocal.  Continuing to find gaps to tell his own musical story, Ashwyn has followed up “Sell My Soul” with the decidedly different “Déjà Vu”.  This one is likely to appeal to rock music fans even more than “Sell My Soul”, while still capturing progressive electronic music fans’ attention with its rich production which would sound fantastic in a stadium setting.  With a big nod to Pink Floyd, the song starts with two minutes of instrumentation before Ashwyn’s vocal kicks in to tell the story about looking outside of the box while routine and history repeat themselves. Amid the beautiful instrumentation are the sounds of a live string quartet orchestrated by Spanish composer Pedro Osuna. “Déjà Vu” is all about mystery, quality and experience, and the real instruments give the song warmth and depth. It’s hardly what you might have expected after “Sell My Soul” and might be a transitional release as a result, but there’s no denying that Ashwyn’s music can stand apart from the rest and hold its own.

There’s plenty of gritty and soulful dance pop in “Nature” by producers #Dubio and @Toniiamusic with singer/songwriter @BrandonRogersLA

DUBIO, TONIIA and BRANDON ROGERS, “Nature”

“Nature” is out to grab your attention from its first few bars and a standout blend of pop, dance and soul.  It’s brought to you by the global collaboration of Portuguese producers Dubio, German producer Toniia, and American vocalist/ songwriter Brandon Rogers, who many of you will remember as a Top 12 finalist on “American Idol” in season six (Jordin Sparks won that year).  The style here is edgier and grittier than the usual dance release, but it’s a perfect match for its backstory about being at ease and comfortable as yourself, with all of your strengths and weaknesses, which helps put anxieties and self/society-inflected pressures at bay. Brandon is also an eloquent and powerful songwriter – he co-wrote Troye Sivan’s “Happy Little Pill” among others.  Dubio are relatively new faces to the dance music world, having established themselves out of Portugal with some major label releases. The more seasoned Toniia, whose own “Only Human” was recently remixed by Brazil’s RAMAH, added his distinct, progressive touches, making for a compelling release that still goes down easy.

It’s 10/10 #18: @JarodGlawe @RobinVanemusic @Autografmusic @WinandWoo #Aibai #ColbyHansen @AmyCorreaBell @BeatVent @Daysormay @iamrebelwill @djPromiseLand @DannyDeardenuk @MonsieurAdi #Shoby @wallflowerPerry @dirty__es

My10/10 feature is back with edition #18, the first 10/10 since April.  There are just so many fine releases out right now and I don’t want to cast any aside that deserve your attention.

For those not familiar with10/10,  I write about 10 hot and fresh songs in no particular order, for your kind consideration and attention.  I continue to write individual blog posts about certain songs.  That does not mean that songs in the 10/10 lists are any less than those featured individually, and they are not listed in any particular order.  Writing 10/10 posts means I can cover more songs in one shot.  So you get to learn about more new music that I hear but don’t always get a chance to write about.

I must say that edition #18 has quite the global variety of musical flavours for you to check out!

  • JAROD GLAWE and ROBIN VANE, “Belong To You”

Chicago producer/songwriter/engineer Jarod Glawe is still a relative newcomer to the music scene, but he’s moved very quickly to receive remixes by the likes of Thomas Gold and AMPM, and to start his own Sony The Orchard-distributed label, Blu Ember Music.  “Belong To You” is the first release, and you might has well start off with a bang.  It’s a gorgeous deep house track full of emotion that’s heavily reliant on the vocal by Dutch singer/songwriter Robin Vane.  Together Jarod and Robin are a dynamic force.  Outside of the song’s chorus, Robin’s voice at times reminds me of Dan Smith of Bastille when he sang “Happier”, but he has soulful edges that perfectly suit the warmth of this song.  “Belong To You” is a delightful surprise waiting for you to hear it.

AUTOGRAF and WIN & WOO and SINGA, “Break Me Down”

Two of Chicago’s finest house production teams unite for “Break Me Down”.  The duos of Autograf and Win & Woo have released some of their best music within the last two years, particularly Autograf’s “Ain’t Deep Enough” and Win & Woo’s “Sleepwalking” (both landing in the Top 10 of my personal chart last year), so it’s intriguing to hear the results of their collaboration.  “Break Me Down” is a fairly easy going but atmospheric chill house track with lots of interesting synth sounds and an expressive vocal by Philadelphia’s SINGA.  It would be fitting to play this song early on in a club set to get the crowd moving.  Autograf and Win & Woo have given “Break Me Down” lots of layers that pull you in and keep you listening (and dancing).

  • AIBAI and COLBY HANSEN, “Aura”

“Aura” is a lilting and melodic slice of electronic pop from Minnesota, courtesy of producer Aibai and singer Colby Hansen. While the song narrates a queer relationship about being smitten with a cute girl while out dancing and wanting to dance with her, it is easily relatable for all genders. It leaves to chance about whether or not to pursue your thoughts and feelings, and be caught up in the excitement of a first-time encounter. Colby’s dreamy vocal basks in the blurred circumstances, while Aibai’s production will keep your feet moving, though it sometimes overwhelms Colby’s vocal towards the end. Nonetheless these two young women have created a tight collaboration that works.

  • AMY CORREA BELL, “Fuck It I’m Good” ( Beat Ventriloquists remix)

I’ve said many times before in these pages that I’m a big believer in remixes, and how they can transform a song. “Fuck It I’m Good” by San Fernando’s own Amy Correa Bell isn’t a new song, in fact it was released three years ago until the singer got the brilliant idea to reinvent it during the pandemic with a variety of producer friends. The resulting Beat Ventriloquists remix is certainly a fun deep house rework with a funky edge that keeps you guessing where it’s heading, particularly beyond the three minute mark. The new mix adds more spice to the feisty attitude that Amy brought with the original. So if you like your house mixes on the adventurous and unconventional side then be sure to check this one out.

  • daysormay, “Ego”

Vernon, British Columbia trio daysormay tackle Sigmund Freud in their own unique way in “Ego”. The indie rock group take influences from the likes of The Beastie Boys and Blink-182 and roll it all up into a convincing package which is a lot of fun if – when it doesn’t wear out its welcome.  The video for “Ego” is clever, with eyes very hard not to be on lead singer Aidan Andrews, who lends a lot of inspired energy to the proceedings.  Twin brothers Carson and Nolan Bassett round out the group, and they are often hidden under masks when not in synchronized rhythm with Aidan. While obviously filmed on a budget, the video does have its moments (some scenes from The Art Of Noise’s “Close (To The Edit)” come to mind), but like the song itself, is simply too long.  Less is often more but this is a fine first look at daysormay, and I’m looking forward to more from them.

  • iamrebelwill, “Addicted”

iamrebelwill is a talent for the 2020’s.  A queer black singer born in Montreal but based in Toronto, he created “Addicted” as an anthem about being hopelessly in love – and being just fine with that – after spending his early years afraid of being himself.  He’s got an engaging voice and personality in this song, and influences seem to be drawn most from the late 90’s such as The Fugees, Lauryn Hill, and OutKast. With a tight groove and lyrics co-written by Tafari Anthony, whose own music has appeared in these blog pages, there’s a lot to enjoy about “Addicted”, and iamrebelwill is certainly a name worth remembering for future releases.

  • PROMISE LAND x DANNY DEARDEN, “You Turn My Love Around”

Veteran Italian duo Promise Land (Nazario and Fabio) team up with UK singer/songwriter sensation Danny Dearden for house music that oozes positive vibes in “You Turn My Love Around”.  Promise Land has been releasing music for about 12 years, and have had great success with many of their Spinnin’ Records releases, as well as with remixes for Fedde LeGrand, Flo Rida, and especially with Swedish House Mafia’s “Don’t You Worry Child”! Danny is becoming a go-to voice in dance music with his versatile tones and seasoned songwriting skills. “You Turn My Love Around” mixes 90’s European house vibes with bright synths. At times the production and its high synth notes seems to compete with Danny’s high register, but it’s a minor quibble in this quick but lively release.

MONSIEUR ADI, “Guardian”

In true surprise fashion, French-American musician/producer Monsieur Adi returns to the music scene rather inauspiciously with “Guardian”. In the former part of the last decade, Adi remixed songs by the likes of Katy Perry, Britney Spears, Ellie Goulding and Lana Del Rey, and also released a number of solo releases which often had vocals by others.  In 2014, he was the opening DJ on Beyoncé’s “Mrs. Carter” European tour, and was poised to break out with his rework of Soul II Soul’s “Back To Life” as “What’s Going On” (featuring A*M*E, which peaked at #2 on my personal chart). Since that time, he’s released a scattered few singles, so it’s nice that “Guardian” surfaced as some of our strange times are coming to an end. It’s a warm and mellow song, almost like a fable that unfolds about some unknown presence who is there to guide and perhaps look after you.  The vocal for “Guardian” is also by sung Adi for the first time and it’s a pleasing performance. Hopefully “Guardian” will be followed up soon with more new music from Monsieur Adi.

SHOBY & VICTOR PERRY, “Hero”

It’s not covered very often, but there’s no one else I could think of who could do Enrique Iglesias’ smash from the early 2000’s more justice than NYC singer Victor Perry.  It’s a faithful version of “Hero” which is turned into a mid-tempo house number spiced with a lot of sax sounds by German producer Shoby.  It was especially important to my ears to get the bridge down right and Victor embraces it right down to the quiver in his voice.  The pair bring the song up to date while paying homage to it, so be sure to give it a listen particularly if you’re a big fan of Enrique or the song itself. “Hero” has also been released through Warner Denmark, no less.

DIRTY RUSH & GREGOR ES, “The Rhythm”

Dirty Rush and Gregor Es are two Polish producer/DJ’s who have a pretty wild output of house-flavoured music. They are tamed somewhat in their latest release “The Rhythm”, which shows off their slick skills without needing to embellish them too much with effects or crazy ideas.  The beats are huge, with plenty of bounce, so it’s not hard to picture “The Rhythm” being played around midnight in a club to crank up the party.