NYC brothers and producers/DJs Anden follow up their stellar remixes of Great Good Fine OK’s “Always” and “Undertow” by Satchmode with a rich and potent remix of immensely talented NYC alternative vocalist Vérité’s “Constant Crush”, which in its original version appears in her recent EP Living. Vérité’s music is deep and full of conviction, and has a lot of edge in concert. Sometimes her songs are a matter of taste and not always suited to a dance beat. “Constant Crush” though completely basks in the deep house setting provided by Anden, while retaining enough flavour to keep her alt.rock fans engaged. Plenty of layers of busy instrumentation plus a relentless rhythm are here for your attention, and some simple-sounding vocal effects near the end help “Constant Crush” to a memorable end. Download it for free at the link above.
BOBBY NOURMAND featuring D.O.C. and Goodmorning, “D E E P in NY” (free DL)
There’s no doubt in my mind that L.A.-based producer/DJ Bobby Nourmand is one of EDM’s most inventive talents who should break more ground with tracks like “D E E P in NY”. It’s based on his previous release “D E E P”, which I wrote about a while back, a fan favourite which now receives this amazing transformation into a compelling mix of hip hop and EDM, featuring vocalists D.O.C. and Goodmorning. While it retains mid-80’s house elements of the original, which also skew some British house flavour, this redux is highly cutting edge and will draw in fans of Drake, Bryson Tiller, Anderson.Paak and more – this is often an entirely different and younger audience, and they’ll just love it. And aside from clubs embracing it – which should be easy 🙂 – it could make for interesting late night radio fare too. “D E E P in NY” is Bobby Nourmand at his creative best. Download it for free above and you’ll be all smiles 😀
Baltimore’s Joe Maye is one of the rare contestants on the US edition of “The Voice” who got a second chance. In Season 9 his fine performance was, to the aghast of many viewers, dismissed by the coaches because he got too wrapped up in dancing which they said affected his singing. But returning in Season 10, his performance was more refined and he ended up on Christina Aguilera’s excellent team – to me he would have finished in the Top 10 had her team not been so strong. But in the aftermath, Joe has now made his cover of my fellow Canadian Avril Lavigne’s classic 2002 hit “Complicated” available for free download. And it’s a fine introduction for those who did not see his performances on “The Voice”. “Complicated” shows how Joe can take a song everyone knows, and then run with it in his own style. Thus he removes the gritty, rebellious aspects of the original and replaces them with a convincing, emotional, soulful side completely unlike the original. It’s a great choice to cover after 14 years and should continue to send Joe Maye on his way as someone with unique talents to offer. Listen below and download it for free!
DAVID USHER featuring MARIE-MAI, “Black Black Heart”
After reuniting with Moist in 2014 for an album and a cross-Canada tour – including a top-notch show that I saw in Toronto – David Usher returns to recording his own music by reintroducing one of his most famous songs, but in French. This rerecording of “Black Black Heart” – my favourite song by him – with reknown Quebec singer Marie-Mai (who recorded an alternate version of it previously with him) is a terrific idea, which will help you ponder how language can affect and perhaps alter a song. For this version of “Black Black Heart” is not a direct translation of the original, it has new lyrics written by Marie-Mai and Fred St-Gelais, and I’m going to have to brush off the rust on my own bilingual skills to try and tackle what they are singing about. And this is key to David’s upcoming album Let It Play, where he is releasing English adaptations of songs recorded in French. It sounds fascinating and he tells you all about it on his websiteright here. I can’t wait to hear it, and in the meantime we now have another version of “Black Black Heart” to dazzle us.
I’ve long felt that Toronto’s The Midway State were one of the finest, most sincere and approachable bands from Toronto to acquire some national success between 2008 and 2012 with the release of two solid albums, and I’ve written about them extensively. That time frame also saw them perform with Lady Gaga on the MuchMusic Video Awards and singer/songwriter Nathan John Ferraro to be nominated for a Juno Award for songwriter of the year. The quartet – also consisting of Mike Wise, Mike Kirsh and Daenon Kael – performed regularly throughout Canada, and after 2012 everything about The Midway State on social media went quiet. So I was surprised to find that a new song, “Crystallized”, had surfaced inauspiciously with the band rebranded as Nathan John & The Midway State. The deeper, electronic sound marries successfully with the anthemic qualities that the band lend to many of their songs, while not being as understated as some of the songs from their 2011 release, the Coldplay-ish Paris Or India. With songs like “Crystallized”, I don’t think previous fans will waste any time welcoming back and spreading the word about the music of Nathan John & The Midway State, and I hope some live shows will be forthcoming soon.
It’s hard enough alone to keep eight members of a band in sync and focused on a consistent overall sound, but when it’s as tight and polished as what Toronto’s Gold Complex brings us with “Backbone” then you know you will have a great time with it. I can’t say what they offer is new – jazzy soulful pop – but it’s exceptionally well done. Lead singer Will Bowes has one of those riveting voices that makes his songs more powerful than if someone else sang them. The instrumentation, including all of those luscious horns, is all on-point, and “Backbone” is a fine example of a song about staying true in relationships that will resonate with the most casual listener. Watch the video above to get a flavour of what Gold Complex might be like in concert. “Backbone” comes from the recent deluxe edition of Gold Complex’s self-titled EP.
It may take a few listens, but it’s well worth it to discover the far-reaching powerful voice of NYC’s Stefan Alexander. “Skeleton” is the perfect introduction as he marries a slick, kicking R&B style with classic pop roots and percussive layers that will appeal to those who enjoy a diversity of dance music from Usher through to Mika. He also fits in nicely with the progressive soul style currently being popularized by the likes of Brandyn Burnette, Crywolf, and RKCB. Be sure to fit “Skeleton” into your Hallowe’en playlists and mixes – give it a listen above.
When Chicago’s Snøwmass picks a song and wants to make it ultra sick and dirty, watch out. So in his hands, “Bad Kids” by L.A.’s Convex featuring New Jersey hip hop vocalist Titus becomes “dirty evil EDM kids from outer space”. It’s a song that will get everyone out on the dance floor acting in whatever crazy fool way they want and no one will think the lesser for it. Between Convex’s slick synths, Titus’ commanding sneer, and the crunch of those Snøwmass wobble house beats, this is deep down dirty bass house at its finest. Download “Bad Kids” for free above and if you find yourself trying to bust moves that you’ve never tried before… don’t say you weren’t warned first!
“Thrill” is a playful new song that knows how to make EDM swing. I really don’t know anything about its mysterious artist TRI, but no matter the droll French lounge jazz vocal married with some simple but standout horns and swinging percussion all work very well together. But adding some well-placed electronic effects gives the song added dimension and helps direct “Thrill” to an entirely different audience. “Thrill” is as quirky and adventurous as what Toronto’s Uninvited Guests attempted to do last year with updated renditions of classical Glenn Gould songs (read my post). It’s full of spirit and sustains its four minutes well. Be sure to give TRI’s “Thrill” a listen at the link above.
Just after the New Year, the BILLCS Top 30 will reach its 500th chart! Now I suppose if I had been posting it weekly it would be well over 1,000 editions by now. In this edition, there are so many hot new songs that several get caught in a mid-chart log jam while others continue to flourish near the top. And don’t discount the four new songs that arrive either!
The Top 10
“Closer” by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey will always be a hard act to follow now that it’s one of the biggest hits of 2016. So that’s all the more reason why Alex and Drew should release another single! Below you can hear “All We Know” featuring Phoebe Ryan.
(free download!)Both “Native Son Prequel” by Gramatik featuring Leo Napier in a Jenaux remix (holding at #2) and “Balance” by The Him featuring Oktavian (up 6 to 3) are positioning themselves nicely to succeed “Closer” at the top. But which one will do it, or will something else beat them to it? Aussie teen Joe Mason is already scoring on this chart with his remix of “Elevated” by RKCB at #13, but check out his remix of “Balance” below (free download!).
MAX gets his second Top 5 hit on this chart with the Two Friends remix of “Lights Down Low”, which vaults 9 to 5. And if you missed my blog post on his new project called Party Pupils, with their cover of OutKast’s “Ms Jackson”, you can check it out right here.
The remixes keep arriving for “Rainbows” by Victor Perry, which continues to advance 8 to 7. Check out Zewmøb’s bright and funky remix below (free download!).
I’m very happy that two EDM acts that continue to break out happen to land in my Top 10 at the same time. Tritonal’s “Broken” (with Jenaux and featuring Adam Lambert, above) climbs 12-9 and “False Alarm” by Matoma featuring Becky Hill (below) moves up 13-10. Matoma put on a heckuva show on September 23 in Toronto , where the audience was very drawn to the variety in his set… imagine what he could do with a stadium-sized audience! Tritonal has their turn coming up in my city on October 14 🙂
Movin’ On Up
The fastest riser on the chart this week belongs to young Norwegian singer Jesper Jenset whose wickedly catchy “High” scores in a Young Bombs remix, climbing 22-15 ahead of some pretty fierce competition!
Also making a key move on the chart this week is Steve James collaboration with duo RKCB on “In My Head”, which like “High” has a drop that’s hard to beat. “In My Head” moves up 20-16.
Rihanna’s “Love On The Brain” advances 21-19 but fear not, it’s just caught in that log jam of great new songs and should break loose in two weeks.
Liquid Diet’s “Luminary” from the trio’s debut album Double Life rises 24-20, while they’ve released a hilarious and raucous NSFW video to their song “My C**t” (below) – if you’ve seen something like it before, think less wild and Austin Mahone (also below) 😉
Rod Thomas, aka Bright Light Bright Light, has now proven three times that he can make great albums and not just great singles. Each of his albums has excellent deeper tracks, and in particular those are the ones that register with me more on Choreography. His collaboration with Scissor Sisters’ Ana Matronic “I Only Want To Please You” is up 26-21.
“Just A Dream” is a dark, hallucinogenic feast for the ears by Molly Moore and featuring Brandyn Burnette in one of their best vocal pairings yet. Culled from Molly’s upcoming EP Now You See Me, “Just A Dream” climbs 27-22.
And They Keep On Comin’ … Four Debuts
Arriving at #23, why it’s Brandyn Burnette again (four times in this chart 😀 ), this time fronting Elephante’s song “Plans” from the I Am The Elephante EP. “Plans” shows incredible versatility from both performers, just when you think there’s not another side that can be showcased, here it is! Just a beautiful song, too.
If it didn’t get you from first listen – for shame! My fellow Torontonian The Weeknd surprised everyone with the immediate release of “Starboy”, featuring none other than Daft Punk, and then its compelling video. It should be topping charts everywhere in the next two weeks, and bows here at #24.
L.A. quintet Satchmode write some pretty interesting songs, and one of them, “Undertow” was recently remixed by NYC brothers Anden, which got it featured on Tiesto’s Club Life mix. Anden gives it a late night cruising-down-PCH feel to it, and it premieres at #27! My original post about it is right here. It’s a free download too!
One of the most inauspicious instrumentals of 2016 received a winning remix this summer, which got it to #1 on the Hype Machine charts. The song is “Vague” by Fabian Luttenberger, as remixed by none other than Saxity’s talented Stan Sax – so yes, do listen for the highlight that is the saxophone break! “Vague” is one sultry affair that will be stuck in your head for days (check out my original post right here), and is new to the chart at #28. It’s another free download!
View the full BILLCS Top 30right here, and be sure to click on the photos to hear all of the songs.
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
Listen for me with my Pick of the Week at 2:20/6:20/10:20 AM/PM EST onhttp://www.planetradio.ca most days Monday through Sunday, and my flashbacks to a Toronto Top 10 of yesteryear Tuesday evenings at 9pm EST
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