You already know her distinct tones from being the lead voice of one of the best records of 2016, Elephante’s “Closer”, so Portland’s Bishøp is back with her own single “FFY (Feeling For You”) courtesy of L.A.’s Thrive Music. Similar to another one of the year’s breakout singers, Rozes, Bishøp’s vocal confronts the emotions of the song head on, which are then met with bursts of release with some creative drops and stand out vocal effects, which give it instant appeal for club DJ’s. “FFY” is one song you will want to hear again and again, and with Bishop’s growing pedigree in the dance music world, the song has potential to follow up “Closer” at dance music radio nationally. Listen above and pick it up on any digital platform.
Here’s a song where you can see all of the colours you want, even blindfolded. French producer Kidswaste gives us “More Colors” featuring the distinct vocals of Chelsea Cutler, with whom he’s recorded before but you know more recently from appearing on Chet Porter’s “Stay”. “More Colors” is deliberately easy-paced downtempo EDM that might even draw from some classical influences, designed to make you reflect when listening and sway when dancing. It will appeal particularly to fans of Porter Robinson, Jack Ü, and M83. It’s from Kidswaste’s forthcoming EP, for Ultra Records no less, called Spleen – which may seem like a strange title, but given that he’s from France, I’d say that he may have read Charles Baudelaire’s poetry… Give “More Colors” a listen at the link above.
I’m not one for often giving a second post to a song, but exceptions are always made, especially in the case of one of my favourites of 2016, Elephante’s “Plans” featuring Brandyn Burnette. Those Instant Karma gals have put their sunny spin on the song, which accentuates the hopeful lyrics with some big, joyous drops. So like Win & Woo and Kiso’s tropical take on Brandyn’s own “Made Of Dreams”, everyone comes out a winner with their “Plans” in Instant Karma’s world. “Plans” is a classic example of why people should be open to remixes, whether they be for the Dance/EDM crowd or not. A great song remains a great song here with a bit of something extra that you wouldn’t expect in the first place 🙂 Download it for free at the above link.
PHIL GOOD, “Sleeping In” (Sean Turk remix) (free DL)
If you’re looking for a chilled out mix of a song that will keep you snuggly on a cold, late winter evening, then Sean Turk’s remix of “Sleeping In” by L.A.-based singer Phil Good is for you! It’s got a totally different vibe from the original mix, leaving more to the imagination about what exactly is going on when “Sleeping In” (I don’t think it actually has to do with sleeping 😉 ). Aside from that added bonus to his “Bedroom Bass” style, “Sleeping In” has a great, comfortable groove for you to fall into on the dance floor, backing up Phil’s soul-tinged vocal nicely, making it perfect as a late night track before everyone goes for their 3 a.m. breakfast after clubbing. Best of all, you can pick up “Sleeping In” for free at the link above.
Møtions is new Finnish production duo Tommi Vatanen and Tuomo Korander who have found enough initial significant success in Europe to score a Universal Records release with “Money On Me”. Like with songs from The Chainsmokers, “Money On Me” skews pop and EDM stylishly with added impressive vocals by Germany’s Michael Schulte, who was a contestant in that country’s version of “The Voice”. Drawing from immediate Coldplay inspiration for the lyrics, “Money On Me” revvs up with an insanely catchy festival-drenched chorus which won’t let go. The rich, tight production makes “Money On Me” go by almost too quickly at only 3:15. Listen at the Spotify link above and pick it up on iTunes 🙂
Here’s something a little different for regular readers of this blog!! Tipsy Records and BILLCSMusic.blog present Adam Foster’s Dialect Radio Mix 001, featuring two totally spiffy half hour dance mixes to get your club-hopping evening underway. The Miami producer/DJ offers up his contemporary British house-inflected set first, kicking off with his own brand new deep house single “Go”, and including his remix of “Pigalle” by DJ Snake & Moksi, which you read about in these very blog pages. Next up is Halifax’s Famba, currently cruising the upper reaches of the BILLCS Top 30 with “Right Here Right Now”, and his set full of classic disco, dance, house, soul and hip hop rhythms and vibes. It also includes his new single “The Beat”, as well as another current BILLCS chart favourite, “Be My Love” by Mahalo featuring Cat Lewis. Check out Dialect Radio and subscribe at the iHeart Radio link by clicking the title of this post. You can also hear it on Soundcloud below, accompanied by links to “Go” by Adam Foster and “The Beat” by Famba, both limited free downloads 🙂
The top of the chart becomes unzipped after a slew of long-lasting favourites give way, resulting in some huge moves, and other favourites depart, meaning that there are six debuts on the new chart, giving us a good sign of what’s in store for 2017 🙂
The Top 10
#1 and #2 duke it out and once again “Starboy” by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk stays ahead of “Plans” by Elephante featuring Brandyn Burnette. What a fine pair of songs to lead a very busy pack below!
The fastest riser on the chart belongs to Halifax’s Famba, whose fun and mainly narrated “Right Here Right Now” soars 16 to 3. The song would make a good mix with 90’s hits “The Rockafeller Skank” by Fatboy Slim or “People Are Still Having Sex” by LaTour, to name two tunes that come to mind…
Amid the three songs that vault into the Top 10, “Just A Dream” by Molly Moore featuring Brandyn Burnette finds its way to #4, from Molly’s terrific Now You See Me EP.
Also sailing into the Top 5 from #17 is “D E E P In NY” by Bobby Nourmand featuring rappers DOC and Goodmorning. “D E E P” is a unique record, originally a house instrumental that has been taken to another level with the hip hop vocals, and has found a place on Pete Tong’s renown show! More to come I’m sure of it!
Pet Shop Boys look like they could be headed to the top with third single “Burn” from their album Super. “Burn” ignites and rises 18-6.
Hey even Rihanna is in the picture – her gorgeous “Love On The Brain” moves 9-7.
Also new to the Top 10 is NYC singer Stefan Alexander with his pensive “Skeleton” climbing 15-9.
The 5th debut in the Top 10 belongs to Fabian Luttenberger whose laid back grower “Vague” climbs 11-10 in a Stan Sax remix.
“The Thirst” is an infectious house track by Eric Sharp featuring vocalist Kenny Zhao that rises 20-14 with much thanks to some guitar effects which sound like Stardust’s classic “Music Sounds Better With You”.
“Brothers” by German duo Saxity featuring Norway’s Strøm on vocals is a sax-led dance track to warm your soul at this time of year. It soars 25-16.
“All The Way” by Hellberg continues to have long legs after premiering this past summer, climbing 26-19, and now the prominent Swedish producer has released a VIP mix to add to the fun. Check it out above.
SIX Debuts
What a way to lead a fine group of debuts than with American pop/R&B singer Victor Perry’s beautiful rendition of Everything But The Girl’s “Missing”. The piano-led cover bows at #23 and is available at Victor’s Soundcloud page above as a free download 🙂
It quickly scurried to #1 on Billboard’s Dance Club Play chart this past week, and like with its predecessor, the #1 “So Happy”, Tony Moran and Jason Walker have created another instantly memorable, fun, upbeat song with “Say Yes”, which arrives at #24.
Kid Cudi makes his debut on this chart with a somewhat provocative but good timey single “Surfin'”, featuring Pharrell Williams, and it premieres at #25, in advance of an album due next year.
I wrote about “Chemistry” by talented and affable young Dutchman Steve Void & No Mondays back in the Fall, but it has endured, and recently Epic Records picked it up for release! After winning a remix contest, Syence presented their version this past week too. “Chemistry”, featuring singer Clara Mae, bows at #26. Listen to the original and remix above:)
L.A. producer Mahalo and vocalist Cat Lewis are quite the pair with a great song called “Be My Love”, which lands at #27 out of the gate.
After a great year of songs it seems only fitting that Canadian Felix Cartal should appear on the chart with the pop radio-worthy “Drifting Away”, featuring frequent vocal collaborator Ofelia K. It debuts at #28.
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 this Wednesday (December 14) and next Tuesday (December 20) at 9pm EST!
CALL ME KARIZMA featuring AVALON YOUNG, “If I Had A Heart”
Minnesotan pop/hip hop vocalist, songwriter and producer Call Me Karizma has perhaps made his deepest most warmly personal song yet with “If I Had A Heart”, featuring pop/R&B singer Avalon Young. ‘Riz has no problems laying out exactly what he feels in his songs whether it’s with humour or a wink (“u suck” and “F U Till I F U”) or cutting and to-to-the-point (his recent “Disconnected”). “If I Had A Heart” is a bit more of an about face, turning to a more pop-oriented vibe and EDM flavour with poignant lyrics that share sentiments that most of us have felt more than once or twice. Like with “Disconnected”, ‘Riz continues to show what a fine singing voice he has as well. With every new song he creates, Call Me Karizma makes us think and go for a gut reaction, which is a great approach in finding out what his audience wants to hear. And of course he continues to want to get to know his fans, so do reach out and chat with him 🙂 Even better, be sure to check out Call Me Karizma’s show when he comes to your town! Listen to “If I Had A Heart” above and pick it up at your favourite online digital store.
Call Me Karizma and Avalon Young and friends play at Skully’s in Columbus, Ohio tonight, and then tomorrow at The Loft in Lansing, Michigan.
CADEN JESTER featuring CHRISTOPHER BLAKE, “Fireplaces”
If you like your EDM splashed with a smooth alternative R&B style but with enough topline rhythm to shuffle you out on to the dance floor, then “Fireplaces” is for you, courtesy of 18 year old San Diego producer/remixer Caden Jester and vocalist Christopher Blake via PRMD. I’m getting a bit jealous of all of these talented teens who have been producing great stuff in 2016 🙂 It’s definitely one to get cozy and personal with, a solid companion to other moody, romantic songs that might include ones by Bryson Tiller, Anderson.Paak, RKCB or Opia. Perhaps not as progressive or deep down soulful as other recent releases, “Fireplaces” still has plenty of positive, lazy vibes to enjoy, particularly if you’re in colder climates like me in December. Enjoy “Fireplaces” at the link above.
“Warped Tides” is a new progressive instrumental EDM track by relative newcomer, Boston’s CRVE U (aka producer/remixer Jared Rapoza) brought to us via Lowly Palace. It’s a layered, sometimes chilled-out track that takes its time to build, and could sound great in an early evening set to draw folks out on to the dance floor. It more than sustains its four minute length by coming on full throttle in the last minute when it’s so critical to hold people’s attention, after a middle part that might be a little repetitive. But stick with “Warped Tides” throughout – it’s one of those songs that you’ll want to hear multiple times before it sinks in. CRVE U is off to a fine start with this original and you can download it for free at the above link.
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