Their friendly and hook-filled style has had me listening for more than a year now, and L.A.’s Two Friends production duo (Matt and Eli) brings us their first all-original three song EP, Out Of Love. It’s at this stage when musicianship takes over and we have before us three quite different songs which show that Two Friends are not at all stuck to the frenetic EDM of many of their fine remixes.
And what would Two Friends do of course but to bring along more friends! I’ve already written abouttheir collaboration with Brandyn Burnette and Molly Moore, aka Cosmos N Creature, on the title song. A second collaboration with the immensely talented MAX (aka Max Schneider) on “Pacific Coast Highway” follows their sparkling redux of MAX’s “Lights Down Low”. It’s a wistful EDM remembrance meant for a late night drive down that long highway or one similar. But the best of the lot is the harmonica-laden “Mona Lisa Eyes”, which sort of celebrates what Avicii brought to the EDM fold five years ago with country flavour and takes it a number of steps further. It also happens to be a gorgeous song with an amazing vocal by an uncredited singer.
Pick up Two Friends’ Out Of Love EP at your favourite digital store.
So help me, everything that WRLD touches lately just glitters! “Stranded”, the Dutchman’s collaboration with Floridians SMLE for Heroic, is big and bold and will smack upside between the ears. The song wastes absolutely no time hooking you up with big beats that give way to quieter moments to let Kiddo AI’s pitch-perfect vocal really soak in, which in turn gives way to more huge sounds that end with a resounding high note that will make you want much more. I think another record with WRLD, SMLE and Kiddo AI is in order. “Stranded” has all of the right pieces in place to slide from dance music clubs and radio and onto the pop scene. Don’t say you weren’t told! Listen above on Spotify and pick it up on iTunes.
Regardless of what you think of The Chainsmokers after their 2016 successes, including a Grammy win for “Don’t Let Me Down”, you had to know that the only way was up in 2017. So they’re touring in Europe and headlining some of the biggest festivals. Yet they always find time for the fans and the up-and-coming producer/DJ’s who would like to taste even a modicum of what they’ve accomplished in a short period of time. Those who knew them before the “#Selfie” days must be gleaming.
So this week on the BILLCS Top 30, The Chainsmokers have the distinction of having the top two songs. The reflective “Paris” (above) remains at #1 by a hair, but the second single from their upcoming Memories…Do Not Open album co-written and performed with Coldplay, the anthemic singalong “Something Just Like This” (below), bows at #2 and is set to succeed “Paris” in two weeks. It’s the first time in a year since the same performer held the Top 2 – currently-charting Brandyn Burnette did it in January 2016 with “Nothing At All” at #1 and “Lost (Stripped)” at #2. And it’s Coldplay’s first appearance on this chart, their 8th in total, since 2008’s #1 “Viva La Vida”.
And with this feat, half of the Top 10 changes…
Four More New Entries in the Top 10
German producer/DJ/guitarist Koni soars 13-3 with the glorious pop tune “Mad About You” featuring a delightful vocal by Danelle. Had The Chainsmokers hits not come along, well, you can do the math!
The sultry and evocative “Memories Of You” by Alyx Ander featuring Srey Davi bounds 15-7 in this release for Nettwerk Records.
Following the #4 “Just A Dream”, Molly Moore follows it into the Top 10 11-8 with “Imaginary Friends”, from the EP Now You See Me, with fine remixes by Pluto and TelyKAST.
Heroic Records lands in the Top 10 for the first time thanks to German producer JPB and British singer Luke Cusato with the lovely “For You” rising 12-10.
Set to follow “Cake By The Ocean” into the Top 10, DNCE gets “Naked” moving 14-11.
The fastest riser on the chart belongs to a third German producer/DJ, Levi, but featuring the gorgeous tones of American singer Victor Perry on “Sail”, which vaults 24-13.
Crywolf is in the midst of his North American tour, and a new EP Skeletons is due next week. The epic “Windswept” climbs 20-14.
The Toronto pairing of Loud Luxury and Ryan Shepherd is responsible for a killer deep house redux of Craig David’s “Fill Me In”, retitled “Something To Say” (and also remixed by none other than Tiësto!), and it leaps 25-15.
While The Chainsmokers and Coldplay’s high, high debut kind of steals some of its thunder, totally catchy in a different way is “WTFYWF” by Mahalo featuring Cat Lewis. And yes, this collaboration is still riding high in the Top 10, moving to #9 with the exceptional “Be My Love”. “WTFYWF” is a ribald, no holds barred party song which debuts at #22.
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 onhttp://www.planetradio.ca live on Tuesday evenings, and with my Pick of the Week segment throughout the week at 2:20 6:20 10:20 AM/PM EST
LONELY KID featuring JOSH CARTER, “Dancing Just To Be Cool”
While Canada has a fierce EDM scene, some people wouldn’t associate the east coast with dance music. And following Halifax’s Famba (the insanely catchy “Right Here, Right Now”) comes Prince Edward Island’s Lonely Kid with on-point pop/dance tune called “Dancing Just To Be Cool”. It’s a celebration for the nerd in all of us to get up and let loose, though most of us are guilty of doing exactly what the title says (and to heck with it, says I 😛 ). The song is at its best when the tempo soars and Josh Carter’s voice becomes its most expressive, bringing out the vibrancy in the song. Through Tipsy Records, Lonely Kid will be making many, many more friends in 2017 if he has more tricks up his sleeve like “Dancing”. Give it your attention at the link above.
It only has one lyric – “check this out”, so ubiquitous for the last 30 years in dance music – but Argentinian producer/DJ Fernando Lopez Piña has lots of good stuff brewing in “Chek!” through Balmung Digital Recordings. It’s a majestic theme to an unmade spy movie where you can visualize the car/boat chase, the attractive couple escaping from danger, and of course the inevitable explosions. And all of that imagery of course makes “Chek!” an extremely fun song for dance clubs. It doesn’t have any deadly drops but instead gets under your skin with early 2000’s techno influence which currently seems to be happily in vogue. Though the middle gets a little repetitive, which means the song likely could have been 30 seconds shorter, you’ll likely find yourself wanting to hear more of “Chek!”. Hear it in full on Spotify above.
Now based out of Chicago, producer/DJ Aash Mehta firmly establishes a unique approach to EDM with his new 6 song EP Stardust on release by Casual Jam Recordings. It’s lush and romantic to be sure, with songs telling stories out of personal experience, initiated by the instrumental introduction “Welcome To Stardust”. It’s also light and playful, echoing sentiments that one does feel in a romantic relationship.
The music often relies on repetitive synth effects to accentuate joyfulness, and there are a number of fine vocalists showcased throughout the EP. Best of all, I’m so glad “Wings”, featuring a beauty of a vocal by Jess Forman, is included. I wrote about this particularly outstanding song back last summer and it has even more potential these months later. Also key is the effortless-sounding “Friendzone” featuring another top notch vocalist with whom Aash has recorded before named Lydia Kelly. Aviella carries two songs brimming with emotion, “Hold Onto Me” and “Never Gonna Stop”, while the remaining track “In Your Eyes” features Bri Tolani and Zephure. All of the songs glide by in the best of ways but I think your attention will be stuck to “Wings” and “Friendzone”. Stardust is a great start to a full body of original music by Aash Mehta.
Given the many varied remixes Aash concocted in 2016, Stardust represents a significant turn-of-the-page with loads of possibilities for what’s next in 2017. Be sure to pick up Stardust at your favourite digital store.
With five years of big success under his belt, including a Grammy and working with the diverse likes of Lady Antebellum and Troye Sivan among others, Zedd continues to see reinvention as a big thing as “Stay” should slay pop and dance radio, as well as clubs. After her Juno Award wins last year, it also offers my fellow Torontonian Alessia Cara one of her best and more playful features yet. The giddy bounce is what really makes “Stay” come alive, quite the alternative to the more lush melodies of Zedd’s biggest hits like “Spectrum” and “Clarity”. As readers know, I don’t write about many big stars anymore, and while it’s been around three years since I last wrote about one of Zedd’s songs (“Find You” to be exact!) I do like to follow up on progress and change when my blog is an early believer of the performer. One of the good guys in the biz, Zedd is on his AA-game with “Stay”, which you can hear at the link above.
This one’s been a while in the waiting (thanks Ruth for the early preview!) but such good things do come to fruition as “Wasted My Love” by L.A.-based singer/songwriter Axel Mansoor certainly proves. It’s a mid-tempo EDM ballad that portrays cool confidence as the singer leaves behind a love story that wasn’t meant to be. Axel has a beautiful high end to his voice that reminds me of Charlie Puth. The song takes its time winding its message through this smart and stately performance, and it only makes you want to hear more. But for now “Wasted My Love” is where it’s at for Axel Mansoor, and I think it will have many friends joining along over the next few months. Check it out at the link above.
He had a great year in 2016 opening for The Chainsmokers as well as remixing for them, as well as for Elephante and Marshmello, and then releasing his own top notch originals like “Awake, Asleep” and “Wide Awake”, so L.A.-based Speaker Of The House (Dylan Orvell) continues with new originals with the progressive-influenced instrumental amusingly titled “Hi”. Quite different from his other songs, this one takes ear-catching simplicity like we heard with Hellberg’s “All The Way” and makes it bright and joyous-sounding, with unobtrusive vocal samples, which is sure to put a smile on your face. I really enjoy how the melody progresses and the song structure unfolds, which keeps you interested with its 4 minute plus length. Give it a good solid listen at the link above and sway away!
It’s been a while since we last heard from San Diego EDM producer/DJ Convulsic (Erik Hale) after two outstanding songs from this time in 2014 which both landed in the Top 10 of my personal chart,“Love Space” and “The Day You Left”. But he’s back and shifting his soundscape to keep it current and gritty for dubstep lovers with “Darkside”. Convulsic’s usual array of impressive sounds and edits will keep your ears attuned along with incorporating some hip hop elements in “Darkside”. If you like your EDM busy but full of flavour then Convulsic’s “Darkside” might just be what you’re looking for right now. Give it your attention at the link above.
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