The frenetic pace of “Love Is Never Ever Wrong” will be absolute gold to rave lovers, who are missing their regular electronic music fix. It’s another offering from the prolific Italian producer DJ Mirko B, who follows up his recent techno rework of his own song “Let Me In”. “Love Is Never Ever Wrong”, featuring a captivating uncredited female vocal, is a crazy fusion of Italohouse and techno, and it will leave you breathless, particularly if you’re used to a little headbanging at electronic dance shows. With “Love Is Never Ever Wrong”, you won’t be sitting still for long!
WHETHAN and OLIVER TREE, “Freefall” (Tchami remix)
More so over the last few years than ever, electronic dance music has been mingling quite favourably with other genres of music. One could say, for example, that the ‘sadboi’ style is a fusion of progressive rock and electronic dance. Chicago producer Whethan released his album Fantasy last year, which spans the gamut, featuring a variety of other artists. Like last year’s infectious “All In My Head”, which featured Canadian singer/songwriter grandson, “Freefall” is alt.rock at its roots, this time relying on vocals by the often outrageous Oliver Tree. Masterful French producer Tchami has managed to temper the rock flavours in favour of a dynamite deep house mix, and it works extremely well. In fact, the remix likely turns “Freefall” into more of an emotional anthem than in its original version, since it leaves Oliver’s vocals intact and surrounds them with big, super fun beats. So you can call “Freefall” new alt.rock electronic dance fusion at its best!
During the past year of so, more and more 90’s-inspired techno has been finding its way into today’s electronic dance music. And when this mix works, it’s an absolutely refreshing blast. Faster than you can say The KLF and 808 State, “Laser Beams” is a pretty manic production led by German veteran producer Moguai, who has most recently worked with people like Tomcraft and Cheat Codes. Add relative newcomers, UK/Canadian production duo Future Kings, who saw releases last year with a pair of superstar vocalists, Karen Harding and Kelli-Leigh. But the wild card whose voice totally buys into these fun shenanigans is Broadway star and America’s Got Talent semi-finalist MOYA. Her potent vocal takes control and makes you imagine a wacked out disco where laser beams ignite the dancefloor. It’s not for everyone, but “Laser Beams” is a good one for club DJ’s and festival performers to remember once they return to business.
In its original form, “Slow” by Australian producer Bankii and fellow Aussie ‘dream pop’ vocalist Billy Otto is a beautiful and quiet electronic song with ethereal qualities. New Swedish producer mak. elevates the song with some pitch changes, additional layers of unintrusive synths, and at times a faster tempo. He manages to keep the dreamy, exotic elements of the original intact which makes it appealing to its fans. mak. has already had some streaming success with his remix of Coopex’s “Don’t Look Back”, and with “Slow” he definitely continues in a positive and progressive direction.
2020 favourites are gradually departing the chart to make room for what’s new and fresh. There are five debuts on the new chart, a few that have been waiting through the heavy holiday period to find their way onto the chart. There’s lots of great music coming in January alone, so the competition for future charts will be particularly fierce.
“Give It Back” by NYC producers The Disco Fries and L.A. production trio Giiants with vocalist/songwriter Allison Park continues its reign at the top. This one leads the way in the ‘dance banger’ department for me right now, though there are other fun ones further down the chart.
Could “Nobody” by Norway’s NOTD and Catello be the one to succeed “Give It Back” at #1? Currently experiencing one of the longest stays at #1 on US dance radio in recent memory, I hope “Nobody” is also promoted to pop radio. It climbs 6-2.
“No One But You” (above), the quiet, beautiful R&B/pop ballad by Toronto’s Justin Nozuka with UK singer/songwriter Mahalia climbs 5-4 from an upcoming EP that will be released in the Spring. Justin’s latest peaceful and tranquil new single is “summer night 08” – check out the video below.
Like “Bad Decisions”, “Late Night Love” by Toronto’s Francesco Yates has long-lasting power. This funky, soulful, naughty jam climbs 7-5 to match the peak of “Bad Decisions”.
With the release of their album The Good Times and the Bad Ones, L.A. quintet Why Don’t We arrive in the Top 10 with the rollicking “Fallin’ (Adrenaline)”, moving up 11-8.
Also new to the Top 10, somewhat belatedly, is “Chew On My Heart” by James Bay, which rises 12-9. James was last in the Top 10 with 2018’s “Pink Lemonade”, which peaked at #2.
Karen Harding is well on her way to having two Top 10’s in a row on this chart. Following last year’s #1 “Undo My Heart”, “Let’s Get Together”, a collaboration with Scottish producers Illyus and Barrientos, zips up the chart 17-12.
The fastest riser on the chart is by the venerable, influential dance group Faithless. They’ve returned after a long absence with a new album called All Blessed, and “Synthesizer”, featuring singer Nathan Ball, soars 24-16.
With its rather obtuse, mythical-sounding lyrics and futuristic production, Deadmau5 looks to have his biggest hit to date with “Bridged By A Lightwave”, featuring the commanding vocal of Kiesza, up 25-19.
Another innovative production that throws back hard to 90’s techno is “Sinnerman” by England’s Hot Since 82 featuring vocalist/songwriter Ed Graves. From Hot Since 82’s new album Recovery, “Sinnerman” climbs 27-20.
The highest debut is by a performer who effectively replaces himself on the chart. Illenium’s “Nightlight” (#8) departs in favour of new single “Hearts On Fire”, a collaboration with Canadian producer Dabin and Juno Award winning singer/songwriter Lights. Also coming in various remixes, “Hearts On Fire” charges on to the chart at #22. It’s Illenium’s 8th chart entry since 2018.
Premiering on the chart is young French producer Wizzay with the punchy house track “Jealous” at #25 from his debut EP “Who I Am?”. Chart trivia: The uncredited vocalist on this track also appears elsewhere on this chart as part of a group of producers…
His history on this chart has spanned almost 20 years. In fact, the first time he appeared on the chart, it wasn’t even under his own name. “Feel Something” by dance music veteran Armin van Buuren arrives at #26. His first appearance on this chart was in 2002 with the classic “The Sound Of Goodbye” (#4) under the name Perpetuous Dreamer, before Armada Records released its first record. “Feel Something” marks his 8th appearance under his name, with guest vocals by 2019 Eurovision winner Dutch singer/songwriter Duncan Laurence (“Arcade”).
Brits both, producer Bobby Harvey and vocalist Danny Dearden make their debuts with “Tell Me” at #27. It’s one of my favourite deep house tracks that had to wait a little longer than usual to premiere on the chart.
At #28 is the fun alt.rock track by Toronto’s grandson called “Dirty”. The Juno Award nominee reached #1 for three appearances (six weeks) last Spring as the vocalist/co-writer of Whethan’s “All In My Head”.
A reminder that the music from my chart and blog are featured regularly on the online radio station The New Radio GTA. You can hear their Big 20 on Wednesday evenings 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! I’m the new music consultant for the station so you can expect even more in 2021 🙂 You can start by joining Radio GTA’s new interactiveFacebook group too!!
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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“Escape” is a heart-wrenching, dreamy, soulful electronic ballad from SoCal producer Jay Bird, about whom I’ve written many times. Jay has been gradually moving into a more progressive, future bass style with his songs, and “Escape”, which has been released by Adept Records, is his best to date. And to think that “Escape” might not have seen the light of day. When Jay took some time away from music to regroup a few years back, “Escape” was written and almost forgotten. Rediscovering it, he added the glorious new voice of Chrxstal Sarah, and the transformation was complete. “Escape” has precisely placed beats and drops along with an undeniable hook. Chrxstal’s vocal is a stunner, totally nailing the emotion of the song that will truly resonate with fans of this genre.
Well this was an unexpected delight! I’ve been writing about the music of both Chicago-based producer Aash Mehta and NYC-based singer/songwriter Victor Perry each for almost five years. Little did I know that they were collaborating on new music, and “Weightless” is the first result. Completely in harmony with each of their styles, “Weightless” is a gentle but progressive electronic ballad that looks on the positive side of heartbreak for fresh starts. The singular piano riffs at the start leave you to believe you might be in store for something a little more acoustic, but the uplifting synths and beats kick in to underscore the importance of not being afraid of the unknown. Victor’s softer tones are in beautiful understated storytelling mode, and you will be able to easily visualize hearing “Weightless” amid lights and lasers once concert-going resumes.
“Gone” is the third single release from Berlin-based Irish singer/songwriter Dean Robert, former member of the Irish rock/R&B group IKONICS. It’s different and more introspective than previous Tipsy Records pop bops “Get Up” and “Morning”, with a slinky rhythm that will leave you wanting more. The lyrics unfold a story that some of us have faced – the relationship that could have been. “Gone” muses the regret behind not doing more to make it happen, but the bubbly melody gives “Gone” a real lift, and you can see Dean perform the song in the video above. I’ll pitch this one to fans of Years & Years and Troye Sivan.
“blue” evokes the images of a lonely city after a passionate relationship has ended. It’s brought to you in steamy glory by NYC-based singer/songwriter Reigen, a familiar name to these blog pages for his consistently solid, regular releases. “blue” is definitely one of his best – his voice shines in all of its glory with only the slightest of synths and guitar to accompany it, and when it lets loose, it’s dazzling. When “blue” shifts into mid-tempo, it may remind you of of the rhythm in Ariana Grande’s “break up with your girlfriend, i’m bored”. “blue” is all about atmosphere and loss, having had a wild, uninhibited relationship that is no more. Reigen presents it beautifully for you to indulge and enjoy.
For those who enjoy complex lyrics, with rich, melodic landscapes, then you should get to know the music of queer NYC-based alt.pop singer/songwriter Lisa Remar with “Fell Into”. The song is deep, melancholy and layered, with rhythms pointing to the ‘boom bap’ bass-and-drums hip hop style of the 80’s and 90’s, and a basic theme of what to do and think when encountering deceptive people who only care about themselves. That creates an altered perception of those people which can be sometimes surreal and makes you question your own good judgment. Taking cues vocally from artists like Fiona Apple and Lana Del Rey, Lisa has created somewhat of a maze of emotions in “Fell Into”. Half Japanese herself, in the above video shot in Japan, she finds herself alone in somewhat of a distorted reality as she comes to grips with her findings. And if complex songs are not entirely your thing, you will definitely appreciate the beautiful qualities in Lisa Remar’s voice – fans of the precision of Sinéad O’Connor, Mariah Carey, and Ariana Grande will enjoy.
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