Brandyn’s next EP itself is on deck now for June 24, but its title song has arrived. It’s one of Brandyn’s most different songs, a song that he started to write as a kid and finished as an adult. It’s cool that the same basis for the song has resonated that long. The song is pensive, positive alt.rock with soulful edges about looking for a better way of dealing with everything, and sometimes knowing that parts of that change must be made hand-in-hand with someone else, creating a more enjoyable ride as two. As always Brandyn receives excellent musical support and vocals ring nothing but sincere. On a side note, I think Win & Woo and Kiso Armic could tackle another remix here 😉 Pick up “State I’m In” on iTunes ahead of the EP’s release.
Want a song to put some krazy BOOOM into your dance floor party mix? You’ve been warned: look no further than “Bottle Swervice” by Herobust as madeover in inventive fashion by remixers MNYKR and Snøwmass. The song is pretty wild in the first place, mixing up aggressive hip hop with futuristic EDM. But MNYKR and Snowmass take it several steps further into a deep down and dirty trap place that may make you a tad anxious with its massive goings on while it all just breezes by. Play it loud, startle your crowd, and make ’em bounce – mission accomplished! Døwnløad it før free at the link abøve.
This is the ‘moving house’ edition of the BILLCS Top 30 😛 And there are four Canadian artists in the Top 10!
The Top 10
Connor Phillips’ “Lost”, in a complete makeover through the Young Bombs EDM remix, retains the top spot quite handily but we’ll see if that extends to the rest of June in two weeks…
With “Twenty-Something” already on deck as the next single from Super, Pet Shop Boys move up a notch to #3 with “The Pop Kids”. It’s their second biggest song in this chart’s history next to 2013’s #1 “Vocal”.
“So Bad” by Brandon Skeie is one of those instantly likable songs that you’ll be singing all summer long. You might also be grooving to its amazing EDM remix courtesy of EDWYNN x TIKAL and Spirix. “So Bad” climbs to #4.
Elephante’s “Closer” (featuring Bishøp) has had another official makeover, courtesy of remixer Aash Mehta, which makes it into a romantic end-of-evening song. It rises 8-6.
It’s taken a while since I first heard it last Fall, but after its official release, Embody’s summery “Dreamin'” (featuring Camden Cox) is closing in on the Top 5, moving up 11-7.
The fastest riser on the chart is a remix that transforms the original song into a mysterious, deep house track. Canadians Sterling Grove and Ellyn Woods have “Sound Of Home” in an intriguing Snøwmass remix, which vaults 16-8.
Toronto’s Dan Talevski scores his third consecutive Top Tenner here with “Knock Me Off My Feet”, climbing 12-9.
Jenaux’s funky and fresh “Get It On” is wasting no time making short work of the chart, as it climbs 18-11. Do check out his recent remix of 3Lau’s “Is It Love” too!
re The Chainsmokers the EDM performers of 2016 already? When they’re not performing, at a party, or on a plane, they are recording. “Don’t Let Me Down” featuring Daya is already amazingly as equally big a hit as “Roses” and rises 17-12.
It’s another fantastic week on this chart for British producers/remixers Kat Krazy. Their official remix of Tom Odell’s magnificent “Magnetised” jumps 21-15, while their original pairing with Texas singer Johnny Stimson “Run Run” soars 24-17.
Sandwiched in-between Kat Krazy tunes is Christofi’s classic-house inspired “Don’t Need You” (featuring J-VEN) (19-16), which has already been followed up by “Higher”, which I wrote about recently.
Rounding out the Top 20 could be Ariana Grande’s biggest song to date, “Into You”, which climbs 25-20.
Four Debuts
It’s already been a #1 Billboard dance club hit, but “So Happy” by Tony Moran and Jason Walker will pervade dance club playlists throughout the summer. It’s a beautiful song to which you can just let it all go and smile. It bows at #23, and is Jason Walker’s second chart entry following 2014’s splendid high energy cover of Taylor Dayne’s “Tell It To My Heart” (#3).
Rain Man’s “Bring Back The Summer” (featuring Oly) has been around since last Fall, but numerous remixers were asked to do their thing, and now the song is everywhere in different shapes and forms. My preference thus far is for INSTRUM’s futuristic take on the song, which arrives at #24.
Just as his remix of SNBRN’s “Beat The Sunrise” departs the chart after peaking at #5, the Steve Void edit of London-based German-born Nik Ernst’s “Stronger” debuts at #25. It’s classic British deep house that breezes by and is available at the link below for free!
The final debut features the unexpected appearance of singer/actor Jesse McCartney on an EDM track that has loads of pop potential. It’s brought to us by Built For Titan and is called “Dangerous”. The video seems to be part of a multi-episode martial arts short film. It bows at #26 and is Jesse’s 7th entry and first since 2009!
Listen to the songs or watch the videos using the links on the pictures on the pretty and detailedweb 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 SpotifyBILLCS Top 30 Songs
http://www.planetradio.cais back! Listen for my Pick of the Week at 2:20/6:20/10:20 AM/PM EST Monday through Sunday (that’s 42 times in a week!), and my flashbacks to a Toronto Top 10 of yesteryear on Tuesday evening at 9pm EST
Brooklyn denizens Matt and Kim will always keep me coming back to their songs and their shows because we are as much a part of it all as they are. “Let’s Run Away” is from their recently dropped 4 song 10 minute long EP We Were The Weirdos, and in the video above they take full advantage of a device called a Centriphone (think of a selfie stick camera gone wild) for three-plus minutes of crazy fun. I can just picture the silly string instead of balloons at their next shows… Can’t tell you anything else, just watch and enjoy 🙂
PISTOLS & PINTS featuring DAVEY NATE & PRYVT RYN, “The Last Chance”
I’m fortunate to hear a lot of evolution happening in the wings with EDM with a move towards including live instrumentation alternating with washes of synths. “The Last Chance” is a 90’s rock inspired track that marries the essence of Red Hot Chili Peppers to the adventurous EDM sound of a rising dance act like Mako. Pistols & Pints is actually L.A.’s Alex Gabrielian’s space for a collaborative, well-thought out sound that will make you hear something different on each listen. Davey Nate’s voice totally suits the song and Pryvt Ryn’s guitar work shines throughout. But it’s the uplifting vibe of the song – and it’s so very much L.A. – that will win you over, and it’s no wonder that it’s being featured in the upcoming surf film “7 Miles of Paradise”. So don’t just catch the wave, ride it! Listen to “The Last Chance” above and pick it up on iTunes.
We have a gorgeous, emotional new #1 which will be challenged in a few weeks by some new tunes not too far below… 484 editions later, here is the new BILLCS Top 30!
The Top 10
The top spot this week belongs to Young Bombs’ stunning remix of fellow British Columbian singer/songwriter Connor Phillips’ “Lost”. What is originally a 2 minute acoustic song is completely overhauled to become a mesmerizing and emotional 3+ minute EDM song that will stop people in their tracks when they hear it. Plus the after effect is that you will want to give someone a great big hug. A one-of-a-kind record for sure!! And it’s still available as a free download 🙂
Max R’s progressive remix (and free download) of Manse’s “Freeze Time” (featuring Alice Berg) helps it advance 4-3, while continuing to keep Pet Shop Boys at bay at #4 with the affectionate retrospective of “The Pop Kids”.
Brandyn Burnette collects his 7th Top 5 hit on the BILLCS Top 30 with the Win & Woo x Kiso remix of “Made Of Dreams”. It’s a different approach to the song from Brandyn’s original on his same-titled EP but it’s a total winner with a happy, sunny vibe that hits a home run. Brandyn’s new EP State I’m In is coming soon!
The fastest riser on the chart belongs to Brandon Skeie with “So Bad”, in its pensive original or the fantastic EDWYNN x TIKAL & Spirix remix (a free download – 1.6 million listens!). About to become one of the best of 2016, “So Bad” soars 15-6.
I just wrote about a vibrant alternate take by remixer Aash Mehta (free download!) on Elephante’s “Closer” (featuring Bishøp), but the original lands in the Top 10, moving 14-8 🙂
Rounding out the Top 10 is the Two Friends remix of Mako’s “Way Back Home”, climbing 13-10, and helping create an entirely new adventure for that song 🙂
Movin’ On Up
It’s your late night date song for a night on a Caribbean beach. “Dreamin'” by Embody featuring Camden Cox moves up 19-11.
Toronto’s Dan Talevski has been appearing on Canadian TV recently performing his latest, an 80’s R&B-influenced hit called “Knock Me Off My Feet”, which rises 18-12. Look for Dan to be out and about this summer promoting his music!
While Eric Saade’s “Colors” continues to climb 16-13, he’s released a follow up already which is decidedly different called “Wide Awake”. Check it out below.
Toronto-based singer/songwriter Joël continues to move up with his great story song that is still available as a free download. “You Fucked Up”, rising 20-15.
“Don’t Let Me Down” looks like it will become one of the songs of summer ’16 for many folks. The Chainsmokers and Daya have a huge winner which moves 22-17.
Aside from Brandon Skeie’s “So Bad”, all of the rest of the last chart’s debuts move up in due order, which are all free downloads:
Canadians Sterling Grove and Ellyn Woods have their pop/jazz song “Sound Of Home” transformed into a gritty, mysterious EDM number by Chicago’s Snøwmass, and it rises 21-16.
Jenaux’s funk and disco-inspired “Get It On” advances 23-18, while the classic house riffs of “Don’t Need You” by Christofi featuring J-VEN allow it to climb 26-19.
Koni’s inspiring tropical remix of Bryce Fox’s “Burn Fast” send it moving27-20.
Debuts
The lower reaches of the chart have gone Kat Krazy as the London duo’s remix of Tom Odell’s affecting “Magnetised” arrives at #21, while the pair’s own “Run Run”, featuring Texan singer Johnny Stimson, bows at #24. These are Kat Krazy’s first appearances on the chart since 2013 when their remix of Natalia Kills’ “Problem” reached the Top 15, and prior to that, “Never Will Be Mine” by Rye Rye featuring Robyn got to #10 in 2011.
The third debut goes to the slinky and dirty-sounding “Into You” by Ariana Grande at #25 from her Dangerous Woman album. This is probably the best I’ve heard the singer to date. She’s appeared twice on the chart before, but it’s been some time – as featured on Mika’s reissued “Popular Song” in early 2013 (#17), followed by her own debut with Mac Miller on “The Way” that Spring (#8).
Listen to the songs or watch the videos using the links on the pictures on the pretty and detailedweb 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 SpotifyBILLCS Top 30 Songs
http://www.planetradio.cais back! Listen for my Pick of the Week regularly, and this week I’ll have my flashback to a Toronto Top 10 on Wednesday evening at 9pm EST 🙂
I’m loving the previews from Brandyn Burnette’s upcoming EP State I’m In. Preview #3 is “Karma”, in which Brandyn continues to posit his older-than-his-years-wisdom through song. What I also enjoy about “Karma” is an arrangement that switches it up several times and keeps you guessing as to where it might be heading. What starts as what might seem like a fairly straight forward pop song segues into an electronic backdrop with subsequent additions of some streetwise R&B vocals from Brandyn, and ultimately ends with a slight synthpop flourish. The flavours and vibes are all here folks, keeping you entertained as you chill. Even if you have your own definition of “Karma” you’ll definitely appreciate how Brandyn can make you relate. While State I’m In is not long to arrive, you can pick up “Karma” right now on iTunes.
Molly Moore’s EP from last year, Shadow Of The Sun, had so many strong originals (such as “Blood. Sweat. Tears.”) that I sometimes forget that she also included her own enticing alternative pop version of Frank Sinatra’s “Come Fly With Me” in that release. New Virginia duo New Immunity (aka Tyler and Garret) have recognized “Come Fly”‘s special qualities and chose to add their own flourishes in a remix that is even three or four shades of different from Molly’s version. Alternately symphonic and lush, and ear-popping and psychedelic, New Immunity shows that even a classic like this can be reconfigured and electrified. Yet it takes nothing away from the intent of Frank’s original or Molly’s rework. I’m very big on enhancing and reinventing and New Immunity does it in style. Download it from the link above.
Dance music has always been present on my chart but seems to arrive in waves but also in droves. There is so much great dance music out there, probably as much as there was around 2002-04 when worldwide flavours became more prominent thanks to online exposure. So in edition #483, there are SIX debuts (about which I’ve already written), all in the EDM/dance vein, remixed or not!
The Top 10
“Care For Me” by Toronto’s Dzeko & Torres (currently touring in Europe) and Sweden’s Hellberg, and the emotional Young Bombs remix of “Lost” by B.C.’s Connor Phillips still lead the chart neck-and-neck. Both songs are two of my most favourites of 2016 thus far.
Manse’s “Freeze Time”, featuring fellow Swede Alice Berg on vocals, may have come out in 2015, but MaxR’s progressive remix (available for free download above) has kept it much alive in 2016, as it climbs 6-4.
If this were almost any other year, “The Pop Kids” by Pet Shop Boys (7-5) would be #1 on this chart. But the songs above are preventing that from happening so a lower placing will happen, though it’s one of their best songs in years. PSB tour North America later this year, and chances are that tickets are already gone for most of those shows (I’m going 🙂 last time I saw the lads perform was in 1991!).
Win & Woo and Kiso created such a warm and charming remix of Brandyn Burnette’s “Made Of Dreams” that it continues to climb 10-7. It’s all in anticipation of more music from Brandyn’s upcoming EP State I’m In.
Miguel is touring with label-mate Sia on her upcoming tour to a city near you, and “Waves” lands in the Top 10 this week, rising 12-10.
Movin’ On Up
The fastest riser on the chart this week is Elephante’s stunning original “Closer” which grows with each listen thanks to a compelling vocal by Portland, Oregon’s Bishøp. It vaults 21-14. Listen to the busy, futuristic remix above for free download by Virtu!
Dan Talevski’s “Knock Me Off My Feet” is one of those songs that just stands out when it’s played on the radio, so I hope that movement spreads to the U.S. It climbs 23-18.
It’s one of the most engaging pieces of storytelling of the year, so you’d be best to download “You Fucked Up” by Toronto-based singer/songwriter Joël LeMay before it disappears! It rises 26-20.
It’s as much of an EDM anthem as “Roses”, and not surprisingly “Don’t Let Me Down” (featuring Daya) is cleaning up the pop charts for the ever-busy Chainsmokers. It moves up 28-22.
SIX DEBUTS
Brandon Skeie is a name and voice to watch! “So Bad” is an immediate singalong to which anyone can connect and a cool video for the song has arrived too. Brandon has an amazing voice which will make you smile when he uses his high register. Watch it above and check out the dynamic free remix by EDWYNN x TIKAL and Spirix above too. “So Bad” arrives halfway up the chart at #15!!
Ever since I heard this song last Fall, I was hoping it would see official release (as its singer Camden Cox has reassured me!). And it has so be sure to pick up “Dreamin'” by Britain’s Embody on iTunes and show your support. It’s a perfect song for a summer night on the beach, and it bows at #19.
It’s very reminiscent in some ways of the bigger Everything But The Girl hits of the 90’s but “Sound Of Home” by Montreal’s Sterling Grove and Ellyn Woods in its remix by Chicago’s Snøwmass has its own mysterious qualities that are likely more rooted in jazz. The remix kicks up the original quite a bit and makes it irresistible for clubs. “Sound Of Home” premieres at #21.
There are more and more producer/DJ’s showing their talent as performers and songwriters and I think that’s great. Jenaux’s “Get It On” is totally rooted in 70’s funk and disco via 80’s new wave like Duran Duran and is meant to hit you square between your ears. It arrives at #23.
“Don’t Need You” by Christofi is a gorgeous R&B-influenced house music original at its best, thanks to a fine vocal by L.A.’s J-VEN. It debuts at #26.
It’s been around for a while yet, but “Burn Fast” by Bryce Fox is long-lasting thanks to a spiffy progressive tropical mix by Koni. “Burn Fast” lands on the chart at #27.
Listen to the songs or watch the videos using the links on the pictures on the pretty and detailedweb 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 SpotifyBILLCS Top 30 Songs
http://www.planetradio.cais currently improving its technology and my two features, “Bill’s Top 10” and “Pick Of The Week”, will return soon!
After writing about Toronto band River Tiber often these four years, it looks like Tommy Paxton-Beesley and company are about to make their big splash with the upcoming album Indigo. Also featuring last year’s “No Talk”, River Tiber previews the album with the engaging “Acid Test”. It’s a hefty blend of the R&B and hip hop flavourings that Tommy has incorporated into his songs by working recently with the likes of BADBADNOTGOOD, Daniel Caesar, Pusha T, Kaytranada, and producer Frank Dukes., as well as the striking and often dreamy, layered progressive sounds of past songs like “The Stars Fall” or “The City”. Here beats, cello, keyboards, and percussion all have a vivid home, and it all has a kind of surreal,psychedelic effect in the end, while still being quite accessible-sounding and ear-catching with one of Tommy’s most compelling vocals yet (particularly after the 2 minute mark). I can’t wait to hear the rest of Indigo, which you can now pre-order on iTunes, and be sure to put River Tiber on your radar for the summer of 2016.
River Tiber opens for Kaytranada at the Danforth Music Hall in Toronto on Friday May 20.
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