Tag Archives: disco

#BILLCSTop30 #485 – June 13, 2016

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.

    https://youtu.be/dNbQpjafJ_8

Movin’ On Up

  • 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!
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsHKyAkxqic

    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 detailed web 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 Spotify :) BILLCS Top 30 Songs

http://www.planetradio.ca is 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:)

#BILLCSTop30 #484 – May 30/16

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 🙂

https://soundcloud.com/maxrmusic/freeze-time-feat-alice-berg-maxr-remix

  • 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 detailed web 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 Spotify :) BILLCS Top 30 Songs

http://www.planetradio.ca is 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 🙂

#BILLCSTop30 #483 – May 16/16

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.

https://soundcloud.com/maxrmusic/freeze-time-feat-alice-berg-maxr-remix

  • 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 detailed web 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 Spotify :) BILLCS Top 30 Songs

http://www.planetradio.ca is currently improving its technology and my two features, “Bill’s Top 10” and “Pick Of The Week”, will return soon!

Wild and funky! “Get It On” by @Jenauxmusic

JENAUX, “Get It On”

Not long ago, I brought to your attention a savvy remix of The Chainsmokers & Daya’s “Don’t Let Me Down” by rising NYC-based producer/DJ Jenaux.  He’s dropped a new original called “Get It On” and it’s one wild and funky ride.  I often have trouble getting past wacky vocal effects but there is so much going on in “Get It On” in terms of gritty groove and deep house flavour.  It all somehow mixes in with all of the wild goings on including 70’s funk (think Parliament-Funkadelic), disco (Chic for sure), and 80’s new wave (Rio-era Duran Duran?) to provide a festive feast for your ears and feet.  “Get It On” is what the BOOM in your speakers is all about and Jenaux pulls out all of the stops.

“So Happy” by @Moranmusic & @divaJasonWalker is joyous club music at its best

TONY MORAN featuring JASON WALKER, “So Happy”

Sometimes there’s a club song that draws you in just because its main duty is to make you feel great.  “So Happy” by club veterans Tony Moran and Jason Walker is just that, and it’s deservedly already a Billboard Dance Club Play Chart Top 10 song.  While Jason went full throttle with his range in notable covers of Taylor Dayne’s “Tell It To My Heart” and The Temptations’ “Ball of Confusion” (also with Tony) two years ago, his voice in this original reminds me of a mix of Boy George and Andy Bell emphasizing a lower tone which is out to win you over instead of dazzling you with his vocal acrobatics.  The melody is carefree, suitable to big open spaces (like in the video above) as well as your home stereo 🙂

@JaneBadler goes tribal EDM in a @djTracyYoung remix of “Black Silk Stockings”

JANE BADLER, “Black Silk Stockings” (Tracy Young remix)

Jane Badler, the actress and singer, is so adept at jazz and pop stylings that it’s always a riveting treat to hear her in a crazy dance music setting.  “Black Silk Stockings” is perhaps her wildest EDM dance venture yet, just when you think that remixes of her previous theatrical foray “Yesterday’s Tomorrows” were just shy of over the top.  Let it be said that “Black Silk Stockings” is way over the top, with an instantly memorable video full of costumes, effects, a weird mad doctor, drag queens, and even her son Harry Hains in DJ form  (you may have seen him in “American Horror Story: Hotel” briefly) – but still all eyes on Jane and her commanding presence over the proceedings.  It’s great to hear yet another fine remix by Tracy Young – I still revel in her 11 minute remix of Stevie Nicks’ “Planets Of The Universe”.  Could “Black Silk Stockings” send Jane Badler into international clubs at last?  Crank it up to 11 and see why it should!  I look forward to its official release.

#BILLCSTop30 #478 – March 7, 2016

A scorching new #1 and 4 debuts highlight edition my 478th bi-weekly chart since 1998 🙂

The Top 10

  • MAX Schneider’s “Wrong” hangs in long enough to score an appearance at the top 🙂  I couldn’t let all of those Prince-ly high notes get away just yet!  This is because MAX has already released a video for a song from his upcoming album Hell’s Kitchen Angel, out on April 8.  Check out “Holla” below.

  • Congratulations to The Knocks for their excellent long-awaited album 55, which was released this past Friday.  The Wyclef Jean-led “Kiss The Sky” climbs 4-2 and undoubtedly more songs from 55 will prevail on this chart 🙂

  • Troye Sivan is a vivid force on this chart with three showings:  “Talk Me Down” (below) glides 7-5, while “Wild” climbs 9-6 and “Fools” rises 17-13.  All songs are from his continually impressive Blue Neighbourhood album.  “Youth” is beckoning from outside of the Top 30 too.

  • While Simon Curtis’ redux of “8bit Heart” slips to #4, the Super 8bit Heart version of “Super Psycho Love” continues to climb 10-7 as Simon’s “Boy Robot” novel gets an earlier October release!

  • Fun on the dance floor continues as Craig David & Big Narstie arrive at #9 with “When The Bassline Drops”.  It’s Craig’s first Top Tenner here since “7 Days” in 2002.

  • The fastest riser on the chart has its designs on #1 – soon!  Canadians DVBBS and Dante Leon should be all over dance club charts – and maybe even pop charts too – with the irresistible “Angel”, which soars 23-10.

https://soundcloud.com/dvbbs/angel

Movin’ On Up

  • The Voice Season 10 has started up again with some interesting contestants, including Nick Hagelin, who I’ve written about many times and will be writing about soon again.  Clinton Washington gave an excellent showing two seasons ago and has produced some beautiful songs lately.  Despite the emphasis on my chart towards dance music, his gorgeous ballad “Frozen” rises 14-11.

https://soundcloud.com/cloudchord/jamie-xx

  • The rest of the last chart’s debuts all break into the Top 20.  The joyous and anthemic Cloudchord remix of Jamie xx & Romy’s “Loud Places” bounds 24-17, and right behind it is the Norwegian EDM grace of “Faded” by Alan Walker (featuring the gorgeous voice of Iselim Solheim) up 25-18 (both above), and rising 27-20 is the both truthful and amusing “u suck” by Minnesota’s Call Me Karizma (below), featuring a cool interpolation of “Why Don’t You Do Right” as recorded by Bev Lee Harling.

Premiering

  • It takes a lot for me to enjoy a cover version as much as or even maybe more than the original.  I love the way that Jonas Blue and Dakota have made Tracy Chapman’s  huge 1988 hit “Fast Car” into this introspective song for a highway drive along a beach coast.  And of course you can dance to it too, so I’m looking forward to official remixes!  This Top 5 UK hit should do the same on North American shores.  I particularly enjoy covers when they don’t take anything away from the original.  This one expands on that and runs with it 🙂  “Fast Car” arrives at #23.

https://soundcloud.com/voidmusik/snbrn-beat-the-sunrise-feat-andrew-watt-steve-void-remix

  • Another song for warm, late nights and dancing on the beach is “Beat The Sunrise” by SNBRN featuring vocalist Andrew Watt, as remixed by Dutch producer/DJ Steve Void.  It’s all warm and good natured for middle-of-the-night grooving and bows at #24.
  • Sweden’s Hellberg is on a breakthrough with the emotional EDM of “Synchronize” featuring a fine vocal by American singer Aaron Richards.  This is just a taste of great things to come from this talented producer/DJ and debuts at #25.

  • Miguel’s Wildheart naughtiness has caught up with me and I have completely given in.  And it makes me ask, almost belatedly, why “Waves” isn’t all over everywhere yet?  It could still happen with new remixes by the likes of Tame Impala and one featuring Travis $cott.  But I like the sexy original best and it jumps onto the chart at #26.  It’s Miguel’s first appearance here since “Adorn” went to #1 in 2013 in his UK duet version with Jessie Ware.

Listen to the songs or watch the videos using the links on the pictures on the pretty and detailed web 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 Spotify 🙂 BILLCS Top 30 Songs

You can now hear me online on http://www.planetradio.ca every Tuesday at 9:00 pm EST counting down a Toronto Top 10 chart from yesteryear, and then again every Thursday in a rebroadcast at 7:00 a.m. EST on WROCK http://www.wlor.net!

 

#BILLCSTop30 #477 – February 22, 2016

I’m humbled by the amount of new visitors I’ve had recently to this blog and Twitter.  The BILLCS Top 30 is my personal chart of favourites which started out online in 1998 as the monthly Tuned-On! Top 10 and quickly grew into a bi-weekly Top 30 on a web page hosted by Geocities (remember them?).  Its focus over the years has shifted depending on what styles of music I’ve been drawn to the most.  It largely focuses on singles but album tracks are included.  Songs can only appear on the chart for 10 appearances (20 weeks) which keeps the new songs flowing.  In 2003, music was becoming much more globally in sync and I allowed songs to appear on the chart providing they were released … somewhere.  In 2009, a free download hit #1 for the first time.  A song must be ‘released’ (for pay or for free) in order to qualify to appear on the chart – a You Tube or Soundcloud post that is not consumable does not qualify.  Official remixes may chart instead of the original if that’s the version I prefer.

With that update provided, on to the new chart 🙂

simoncurtis_boyrobot

The Top 10

 

 

 

  • The ongoing revival of Simon Curtis “8bit Heart” continues to grow as the cover to his upcoming book “Boy Robot” (cover above) was premiered by Just Jared Jr.  The book would not be forthcoming without Simon’s original 2010 mixtape (still available for free at http://www.simon-curtis.com) which has recently been re-recorded as Super 8bit Heart and now available everywhere for purchase.  “8bit Heart” is still so much of a personal favourite, and continues at #1 for a second appearance in its delightful redux version.  The new version of “Super Psycho Love” joins “8bit Heart” in the Top 10, rising 16-10.

https://soundcloud.com/maxschneider/max-wrong-ryanexoe-remix-feat-taylor-bennett

  • MAX (Schneider) holds at #2 with “Wrong”.  Do check out the infectious remix recently unleashed online by RyanEXOE featuring Taylor Bennett, above.

  • Before my next chart, the album 55 by The Knocks will finally be on release and should be the soundtrack to the first part of 2016, given that I heard most of the songs at their Toronto concert in January.  “Kiss The Sky”, featuring a fantastic vocal by Wyclef Jean, climbs 7-4 and is definitely eyeing #1.

  • Coincidentally, The Knocks are back-to-back with their own label signees, Sofi Tukker.  The NYC duo holds steady at #5 with the irresistible “Drinkee”.  Yeah it’s all in Portuguese, but no matter!

  • This chart marks the mini-invasion of the Top 10 by songs by the latest boy wunderkind, Troye Sivan.  The glorious “Talk Me Down” advances 12-7 while the heart-wringer “Wild” climbs 14-9 (both above).  And Troye’s “Fools” (below, rounding out the Blue Neighbourhood trilogy of videos) is the fastest riser, movin’ on up a few notches below 26-17.  This only means one thing: If you haven’t heard Troye’s Blue Neighbourhood, you are missing out.  Troye is playing a sold out show at the Danforth Music Hall in Toronto next week.

More Songs Movin’ On Up

  • Brandyn Burnette’s hip hop flavoured “Down” from his Made Of Dreams EP rises 15-12.  He and his gal Molly Moore (sitting pretty at #8 with “Blood. Sweat. Tears.”) have joined forces as Cosmos & Creature and will appear as the featured voices in an upcoming song by dance music performer Vicetone called “Brightside”!  Watch for it!

  • Elephante’s original “Age Of Innocence” (featuring Trouze and Damon Sharpe) is one pumped up slice of emotional EDM with a melody that stays with you for days.  It moves up 18-15.

  • Like “Hello”, it looks like Adele’s “When We Were Young” is about to dominate the dance charts in its remixed version.  But the still stunning original from the 25 album climbs 21-16.

  • Calvo’s “Vicious Girl” continues to be embraced by DJs throughout the world thanks to a memorable keyboard melody and an odd vocal that works quite well.  It jumps 27-20 and is well on its way.  It’s also a co-write by the talented Daniel Volpe (who as a performer is none other than Zorro Blakk).

Debuts

https://soundcloud.com/dvbbs/angel

  • It may be their best song yet.  Canadian bros DVBBS feature a Torontonian singer Dante Leon on “Angel”, which bows at #23.  DVBBS have previously charted with MOTi with “This Is Dirty” (#9) and with Sander van Doorn and Martin Garrix on “Gold Skies” (#3).

https://soundcloud.com/cloudchord/jamie-xx

  • A bit of summer is upon us courtesy of the driving beat of the Cloudchord remix of “Loud Places”, an alternative hit last year for Jamie xx featuring Romy, from Jamie’s Grammy-nominated album In Colour.  This tropical anthemic remix stands on its own and arrives at #24.

  • Sweden will simply have to share its current #1 with us.  That song is “Faded” by Norwegian producer/DJ Alan Walker, which originally started as an instrumental called “Fade”.  It premieres at #25.
  • And at #27 is “u suck” by Minnesota rapper/producer Call Me Karizma (aka Morgan Parriott).  Its clever featured chorus from the song “Why Don’t You Do Right” is sung by UK vocalist Bev Lee Harling.  “u suck” is a wonderful slice of what sounds like ‘new era rap’.

Listen to the songs or watch the videos using the links on the pictures on the pretty and detailed web 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 Spotify 🙂 BILLCS Top 30 Songs

Although it will not air this week, you can usually hear me online on http://www.planetradio.ca every Monday at 9:00 pm EST counting down a Toronto Top 10 chart from yesteryear, and then again every Thursday in a rebroadcast at 7:00 a.m. EST on WROCK http://www.wlor.net!

 

@Jamie___xx’s “Loud Places” as remixed by @Cloudchord becomes a tropical deep house anthem

https://soundcloud.com/cloudchord/jamie-xx

JAMIE xx featuring ROMY, “Loud Places” (Cloudchord remix)

It’s almost a year old and did very well in alt.pop and EDM circles last summer, but Jamie xx’s “Loud Places” gets a rollicking reboot courtesy of Austin TX producer/DJ/guitarist Cloudchord (aka Derek Van Scoten).  It’s transformed into a driving disco tropical house track full of additional instrumentation which helps stand it apart from other remixes.  Vocals by Romy so very much suit this reworked setting.  In a dance club, the first two minutes of “Loud Places” will create a perfect lead out of a soft set and into a set of club bangers.  It may go on a little long at 5 minutes plus, but don’t be surprised if Cloudchord’s remix of “Loud Places” sneaks up on you when you’re clubbing or listening online to dance music radio.  

Bounce to this, Portuguese-style: “Matadora” by @SofiTukker

SOFI TUKKER, “Matadora”

NYC duo Sofi Tukker, aka Sophie and Tucker, continue their fascination with Brazilian poetry with “Matadora”.  Like the addictive first single “Drinkee” (sitting pretty at #9 on the BILLCS Top 30), “Matadora” is sung entirely in Portuguese using poems by Chacal as its jump off point.  The result is a percussive toe-tapper which like “Drinkee” will yank people out of their seats and onto the dance floor.  They even use a rare string instrument called a charango to augment the unique sound of the song.  Sofi Tukker now have an EP on the way called Soft Animals.  Still can’t wait for the imminent dance craze.

Sofi Tukker opens for their label-meisters The Knocks in Toronto at the Mod Club on Friday, January 22 – see you there!