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.
SNBRN featuring ANDREW WATT, “Beat The Sunrise” (Steve Void remix)
L.A. producer/DJ SNBRN has a club winner with “Beat The Sunrise”. And in this Steve Void remix, the 19 year old Dutchman takes this dreamy road song, with a gentle vocal by Andrew Watt, and trades the deep house beats of the original song for high end tropical-sounding percussion. This gives the song an incredibly happy and carefree vibe, not unlike Embody’s recent (and still unreleased) “Dreamin'” (which I wrote about recently), making it more for partying on the beach all night long. You can’t go wrong with either version, and you can look for SNBRN on tour with the likes of Shaun Frank. But major props to this remix which truly stands out in a crowd. Get it for free using the link above (at over 600,000 listens already!).
San Diego producer/DJ Rad Cat (aka Christian Ariza) first came to my attention late last year with an unusual but memorable remix of Call Me Karizma’s “Euphoria”. “All I Do” is something totally different – a bright, swinging, swaying future bass instrumental which easily gets under your groove and lets you bounce, and then before you know it it’s finished and you want more! This is music for sunny days at the beach and shiny disco balls at night. I think “All I Do” could easily catch the ears of dance club noteworthies, so head over to Hype Machine and show it some love. Download it for free at the link above and bounce away!
Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, aka Pet Shop Boys, have contributed significantly into how dance music is shaped today. And even while the lads’ music has been eminently listenable since their late 80s, early 90s heyday, they found an entirely new niche to trailblaze in 2013 with their album Electric, their first outside of Parlophone/EMI. From one of my favourite albums that year, their song “Vocal” was my #1 song of 2013. So PSB continue where they left off, teasing us with a mainly instrumental introduction to their upcoming album, appropriately titled Super. “Inner Sanctum” is one of those club powerhouses carried by lush, detailed synths and a somewhat disembodied vocal. But there’s no mistaking this as anything but Pet Shop Boys music. Watch out clubland for another dose of classic PSB dance music to come!
What impresses most about this INSTRUM deep house remix of “Gone”, the new single by L.A. singer/songwriter Monogem (aka Jen Hirsh), is how it seemlessly bridges genres without becoming a chaotic melting pot of ideas. The Brooklyn NY producer/DJ keeps the pop flavour on top of the mix, allowing the deep house rhythms to flourish and take over in a sometimes future-style sweep, and adding a hip hop undercurrent that keeps it fresh. The song itself is a pop earworm that shouldn’t be overlooked. Pick up the original version on iTunes; download the remix at the Soundcloud link above and follow INSTRUM on Spotify.
A R I Z ON A “Let Me Touch Your Fire” (Snøwmass remix)
I enjoy finding out about new songs through remixes. New Jersey trio A R I Z O N A has just signed to Atlantic Records and are off to a great start with “Let Me Touch Your Fire”. I call this one a ‘hit-in-waiting’ because it’s not the kind of song that will strike you as being perfect for radio, it sort of sneaks up on you! Songs like this create a slow burn at the start and then BOOM! Look at Mako’s “Smoke-Filled Room”, one of my favourites which I found out about through Elephante’s great remix, a Top 5 Dance Radio Airplay hit out of nowhere. “Let Me Touch Your Fire” has an 80’s flavour to it that reminds me of synth ballads like Mike + The Mechanics’ “Silent Running” or Cutting Crew’s “I’ve Been In Love Before”. And remixer Snøwmass is on a roll, taking “Let Me Touch Your Fire” into a chilled out future trap direction featuring a break that will make dancers glitter under the strobe lights. It’s a terrific remix to break up a busy set which will lead to some always welcome romance on the dance floor. Pick up the original on iTunes and download Snøwmass’ remix for free on Soundcloud above. And remember where you read about it if you hear it on the radio!
NYC singer Reigen previews upcoming new music with his unique take on Foreigner’s “I Want To Know What Love Is”. It’s a bold move, considering that this was a massive Grammy-nominated 1985 hit that’s much loved today. I probably appreciate the song more now than back then. Reigen, whose aching EDM ballad “Come Back To Me” was my #13 song of 2015, manages to keep the same wonder and fascination about love intact with his interpretation. But he takes away the big, almost over-the-top choral power of the original, and breaks the song into pieces, rendering a subtler vocal here, and a more emphatic one there. The arrangement poses many questions on first listen, so Reigen succeeds at making you listen a few more times to figure out how he’s restructured this classic. To me it works beautifully, though I think the casual listener in love with the original will probably not appreciate this kind of reimaging. Reigen is a versatile and creative talent whose music challenges you every time, which makes his upcoming project well worth the wait. You can buy “I Want To Know What Love Is” on iTunes.
Is there a mini-revival going on am I just imagining it? I’m talking about British electroPOP. Granted performers from other countries also did well in this dance music genre, but no one did it like the Brits in the 80’s.
DAVE AUDE featuring ANDY BELL, “True Original”
There are too many performers to mention, but electroPOP came along during the New Wave era, and stayed long past. Erasure is one of the originators of this style, and the duo of Vince Clarke and Andy Bell came back big time last year with The Violet Flame album, yielding three Top 10 club hits with “Elevation”, “Reason”, and “Sacred”. In a side partnership with the renown producer deluxe Dave Audé (who seemingly remixed just about everything in 2015) , Andy was the vocalist on Dave’s #1 club smash “Aftermath” as well. And so this pair are back with pure, no-nonsense electroPOP with “True Original”, which has already vaulted into Billboard’s Top 25 Dance Club Play songs. It’s a splendid, happy song for the mid-winter blahs and should quickly soar to the top of the dance club charts. Like with “Aftermath”, Dave’s production has brought out the best in Andy’s voice as in Erasure’s halcyon days. Though I’m not crazy about its video, “True Original” is slick, bouncing, beautiful, electroPOP bliss.
SPRAY + KID KASIO, “It’s Not Enough”
Although this other duo hasn’t been around as long as Erasure and haven’t had chart success like them or Dave Audé, the bold and prolific Spray – Jenny McLaren and Ricardo Autobahn, noted for songs such as “I Am Gothic”, “You Can Always Go Home” and even “Everything’s Better With Muppets” – can ride this electroPOP train with one of their best efforts to date called “It’s Not Enough”. Featuring fellow Brit Kid Kasio, this partnership also sounds just fab together. Great vocals, a powerhouse chorus, and enough high-end to leap out of the speakers make “It’s Not Enough” memorable enough to grab you by the feet and keep them glued to the dance floor. Pick it up on iTunes.
The video for “Love Me Lessons (Imma Be)”has taken me by as much surprise as when I first heard Chicago singer/songwriter Lucien Dante’s “Black Water” some months ago. The laid back, intriguing vibe of that song helped get it to #5 on the BILLCS Top 30, and I subsequently wrote ablog post about his album Our Of We.
While I mentioned “Love Me Lessons (Imma Be)” as a highlight in that post, I really didn’t come back to the song much. But the singer has nailed it with this video. You won’t be able to help but smile after watching it, and if you know anyone who’s feeling down about themselves they should watch it too. It’s messages are very simple. You’ve gotta love yourself for who you are, and enjoy life and have fun because it’s contagious. Just do it!!
What’s even more impressive is that the singer directed the video and co-edited, and I must say his vision and the flow of the video work so very well. Also, the hip hop flavour that Lu Reads gives to the song for some reason works a lot better in this visual context. So I’ll definitely be revisiting “Love Me Lessons (Imma Be)” thanks to the insight that the video has created. You can pick up the song as well as the Our Of We album on iTunes. Lucien Dante is a multi-talent to watch!
The Knocks’ upcoming album 55 and their concert this coming week in Toronto are looking to be pretty special if new single “Kiss The Sky” featuring none other than Wyclef Jean is any indication. “Kiss The Sky” should by all rights be a massive pop hit, giving the wintery months for the western world a bright summery vibe. While forever busy, Wyclef, the former Fugees member, has been MIA from the pop charts since “Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)”, which was in 2007, so this is a timely return. The Knocks are one talented pair with great ears for both music and production. If you loved “I Wish (My Taylor Swift)” (with Matthew Koma), then you will be over the moon for “Kiss The Sky”. Pre-order 55 and get the song for free!
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