Tag Archives: electronica

A sparkling @TheRealEelEye remix makes “Dead Eyes” by @JaneBadler club ready!

JANE BADLER, “Dead Eyes” (Eel Eye club mix)

It started off as a haunting, deliberately paced song from Jane Badler’s recent album Opus.  The singer, who of course is also the internationally known TV and movie star, has once again joined forces with Ninthwave Records for the Eel Eye club mix of “Dead Eyes”.  The remix takes none of the mystery away from the original and manages to enhance it for not only your personal late night dance club party but an electric nightclub experience.  So club DJ’s should make room on the dancefloor for “Dead Eyes” and allow Jane’s vocals to captivate club goers (like last year’s “Losing You”) in a remix that really helps the song ignite.  Listen to the previews above and pick up the “Dead Eyes” EP (which also includes the album and demo versions) on iTunes.

#BILLCSTop30 #461 – July 13, 2015

The summer months start off with a very busy and active Top 10 and three new entries 🙂

The Top 10

  • #1 is showing no indication of leaving the top any time soon.  It’s Brandyn Burnette’s glorious “I Wanna Be (Free)”, a song that contains a lot more to it than meets a casual listening ear.  And the outstanding video is perfect representation of the song, which is from Brandyn’s upcoming EP Made Of Dreams.

  • I think “Shine” by Years & Years got shortchanged in the revamp of the UK singles charts being compiled on Fridays instead of Sundays, and it ended up debuting at #2.  Not to say that it might not get to #1 though!  It’s on its way there on my chart too, but will definitely have to wait for “I Wanna Be (Free)” to give it up first.  “Shine” rises 9-3.  The trio’s debut album Communion also finally saw release last Friday 🙂

  • “Can’t Deny My Love” by Brandon Flowers was just too good to have anything but a Top 5 ranking on my chart.  It advances 6-4 amid fierce competition.

  • It’s one of the most different but appealing dance songs around, even in its radio edit!  “Sensation” by producer/DJ Antonio Giacca moves up 8-5.

  • It’s always nice for bloggers to be recognized by rabid fans of certain performers.  I’m pleased to have the #Glamberts on board as “Ghost Town” climbs 10-6 for Adam Lambert, from his excellent album The Original High.  More to come from that album in terms of hits but let’s give “Ghost Town” its time!  Remixes are now available on iTunes!

  • It’s Top 10 hit number two here for Giorgio Moroder, this time with Sia, on “Deja Vu”, the title song from his very fine album, which also begs for more single releases.  “Deja Vu” rises 12-7.

  • The fastest riser on the chart is turning out to be one of the surprise earworms of 2015.  It’s the sinewy “Guilty As Sin” by Toronto’s Dan Talevski (video up top), which storms the Top 10, up 18-8!
  • The last but hardly least new Top 10 entry allows Eurovision 2015 to live on in the form of Serbia’s entry “Beauty Never Lies” by Bojana Stamenov, advancing 14-10.

Movin’ on Up

  • And right behind Bojana are two other songs that have had a bit of a long haul waiting in the ‘teens before moving up.  Lawson’s “Roads” climbs 15-11 as the band will be opening on a US tour in support of Australia’s Sheppard, while Canada’s Smashing Satellites continue to attract North American attention with their album Sonic Aluzion and the upbeat single “What It’s All About”, which moves 16-12.  The new lyric video is below.

  • Last week’s debuts waste no time making their presence known.  Dance smash in-the-making “East Side Bay” by L.A. producer/DJ – and here, singer! – Mi Disguise jumps 24-19; Fall Out Boy’s just plain fun “Uma Thurman” rises 26-21; and Eric Saade’s follow up single to “Sting”, “Girl From Sweden”, charges up 29-22.

Debuts

  • Looking to make a huge impression on this chart is “Kiss Me Quick” by The Wanted’s Nathan Sykes at #20.  Like Adam Lambert’s fans, Nathan’s fans have rallied around my original post about “Kiss Me Quick” and subsquent tweets.  Good to have his fans on board 🙂  This is an amazing start, unleashing the skinny soulful beast from the boy band trappings 🙂

  • Being an independent release should not stop Janet Jackson with even more success than her 2008 album Discipline, which yielded “Feedback” (a #4 on my chart).  This time we have sultry and classic R&B keepin’ you up all night with “No Sleeep” at #25.  It’s from Janet’s forthcoming album Unbreakable.  She’s on tour throughout the late Summer and early Fall, so check your local concert listings!  Watch the lyric video below.

  • The final chart debut belongs to “Summertime” by Trevor Guthrie at #27.  I wasn’t about to let this fine summer song slip away!  It’s Trevor’s first appearance on the chart since 2013’s massive and Grammy-nominated “This Is What It Feels Like” (#6, with Armin van Buuren).  Of course he appeared several times on the chart with his early 2000’s band soulDecision, the first three from debut album No One Does It Better, and the next four from funky/jazzy sophomore pop album Shady Satin Dress (partially produced by Nile Rodgers!):
    • “Faded”, #1, 2000
    • “Ooh It’s Kinda Crazy”, #7, 2000
    • “Gravity”, #8, 2000
    • “Cadillac Dress”, #4, 2004
    • “Don’t Dance Close to Me”, #5, 2005
    • “Kiss The Walls”, #20, 2005
    • “Hypnotize”, #12, 2005

The Full Chart

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 🙂

Progressive EDM meets Hip Hop on “First To Know” by @DAPdabeatx featuring @RiverTiber

DA-P featuring RIVER TIBER, “First To Know”

I enjoy songs which infuse different styles which arrives at a well-crafted pop song.  So Montreal producer DA-P has done just that with trippy, hippy and melodic songs on his EP Sapphire.  One of those songs happens to feature River Tiber, who I gush about fairly often – sometimes a live performing Toronto band, but usually on record the talented multi-instrumentalist also known as Tommy Paxton-Beesley, who is not only Justin Nozuka’s right hand guitar player, but also contributor to the recent BADBADNOTGOOD album and creator of the basis for Drake’s “No Tellin'” (actually River Tiber’s recent single “No Talk”).  So DA-P and River Tiber’s idiosyncratic styles mesh beautifully, with Tommy’s voice up front, to form a song that takes its time getting going with its hypnotic EDM hip hop mix but then could easily have gone on for another minute or so, it sounds that effortless.  Well done to all, and more, please 🙂

2015’s Summer song is “Summertime” by @TrevorGuthrie

TREVOR GUTHRIE, “Summertime”

One of the first (and most read) blog posts I wrote back in 2009 was about the whereabouts of ex-soulDecision singer/songwriter Trevor Guthrie.  Well of course eventually Trevor made his way to new, if unanticipated heights in 2013 as featured in Armin van Buuren’s dance classic “This Is What It Feels Like”, which became a massive radio hit in Trevor’s native Canada too.  “Soundwave” followed last year as Trevor once again embraced dance music, and this year it’s “Summertime”, which I first heard when Trevor performed during Canadian Music Week.  It’s a no brainer – honest-to-goodness feel good music for your summer partying pleasure.  That it’s sung by Trevor in his friendly and engaging style makes it even better.  “Summertime” is 2015’s summer song! 🙂 Watch the lyric video above.

#BILLCSTop30 #460 – June 29, 2015

It’s been a busy few weeks in my household both at work and at home, so now it’s time to get caught up with new music on edition 460 of my personal chart 🙂

Listen to the entire chart on Spotify!!

https://soundcloud.com/brandynburnette/i-wanna-be-free

The New #1

  • I’m a few days early in advance of the official video, but Brandyn Burnette garners his second #1 of 2015, moving from 6-1, with the thought-provoking, dreamy, and laid back “I Wanna Be (Free)”.  It is definitely one of my key songs for the Summer of ’15, and I hope it might turn into one of yours (listen up top).  It’s from Brandyn’s much-awaited forthcoming EP  Made Of Dreams.  Show your support and pick up this one on iTunes!  One of my favourite parts of the song is the piano especially during the first minute 🙂

The Top 10

  • With “I Wanna Be (Free)” taking over at #1 so quickly, that left “No Words” by Erik Hassle nowhere else to go but to #2.  I’m still hoping this song will catch on at radio for the summer months.

  • It’s taken longer than usual for a Brandon Flowers song to make its presence known on my chart but “Can’t Deny My Love” is on its way to the Top 5 following a pair in 2010 – #1 “Crossfire”and #3 “Jacksonville”.

  • Producer/DJ Antonio Giacca’s riveting and funky instrumental “Sensation” bounds into the Top 10 at #8.  Do check out the head-scratcher of a video which totally suits the song 🙂

  • It’s kind of no surprise but “Shine” by Years & Years is indeed the fastest riser on this chart, vaulting 19-9 to become the trio’s third Top Tenner.  And I’m so glad I’ve got a ticket to their September 14 show here in Toronto 🙂 I’m not so sure why North American audiences aren’t warming up to Years & Years as the rest of the world.  Olly Alexander’s vocal on “Shine” is one of the best of the year, and the video keeps you glued as to what’s happening next!

  • Rounding out the new entries to the Top 10 is Adam Lambert’s “Ghost Town” at #10.  Not all of the songs on his album The Original High are successful, but man, what a production, which zeroes in on making Adam’s voice more versatile than ever.  Gone are the days of the limiting “American Idol” image.  Watch the “Ghost Town” video below but also check out my other current favourite which is the bass-laden “The Light”.

Movin’ On Up

  • Another album I’m enjoying is Giorgio Moroder’s first album in 30 years, Déjà Vu.  The title song featuring an alternately wistful and powerful vocal by Sia rises to #12.  The album succeeds in some places that I didn’t expect – the songs featuring Kelis and Marlene, as well as his update of “Tom’s Diner” with Britney Spears – whereas the songs featuring faves-of-mine Mikky Ekko and Matthew Koma are either dull or maybe just need a few more plays.  Plus there are Giorgio’s instrumentals “74 Is The New 24” and “La Disco” which showcase his definitive sound.  But my next favourite after “Déjà Vu” and “Right Here, Right Now” (his previous #4 hit with Kylie Minogue) is “Wildstar” featuring none other than Foxes!  Listen below.

  • The chart would be many plays less fun if it wasn’t for Matt & Kim’s “Hey Now”.  The song has taken its time but moves up to #13.

  • Just as bold as her vocal, Bojana Stamenov’s Eurovision entry for Serbia, “Beauty Never Lies”, advances a whopping 20-14, with eyes firmly on the Top 10!

  • Another song not moving up as fast as it could due to competition is Lawson’s “Roads” at #15.  It recently became the band’s latest Top 15 hit in the UK, peaking at #11.

  • The triple-threat of some guys with great voices who debuted two weeks ago makes its impact as all songs advance into the Top 20.  Torontonians Dan Talevski and Francesco Yates are back to back again at #18 and #19 with “Guilty As Sin” (with its spicy video!) and “Better To Be Loved” respectively, while ex-Gentlemen Hall singer Cobi Mike climbs 26-20 with his indie release “Walking Through The Fire”.

Premieres

  • It’s taken a little while to arrive on the chart after I wrote about it in the Spring, but L.A.-based producer/DJ -and in “East Side Bay”, vocalist! – Mi Disguise gets his second chart entry at #24.  It follows his #15 collaboration with Adam Tyler from earlier in the year, “Alive”.  “East Side Bay” really gets going after a minute.  Still with it as Mi Disguise’s vocal has a unique charm about it that totally suits the song.  I’d love to see club DJ’s get behind this one like they did ZHU’s “Faded” (though that got major label support too) 🙂

  • Making their first appearance on my chart is Fall Out Boy!  The quartet borrows the surfer-guitar riff from the theme from the 60’s show “The Munsters” for “Uma Thurman”, and between the lyrics and musical antics, the fun just doesn’t stop while the song’s playing.  It’s a great summer tune, from the quartet’s latest album American Beauty/American Psycho, and arrives at #26.

  • As Eric Saade’s punchy “Sting” sails off the chart after peaking at #4, the Maroon 5-ish “Girl From Sweden” makes its debut at #29.  So now all you folks can go off to the Swedish countryside in search of Eric dancing with pretty girls in the fields…

The Full Chart

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 🙂

@TheBeatles gone electro: “Because” by @BobbyNourmand”

https://soundcloud.com/theninjaclayton/bobby-nourmand-because

BOBBY NOURMAND, “Because”

Yes, you read that right.  L.A. producer/DJ Bobby Nourmand has made The Beatles’ “Because” sound positively other worldly.  This version retains the romantic, easy going vibe of the original but sets it to a slight house rhythm and a percussive backdrop, and the results make it sound like the song should have ended up on an alternate version of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band rather than Abbey Road.  Definitely a head turner and foot tapper!  Even better, download for free at the Soundcloud link above.

BILLCS Top 30 #458 – June 1, 2015

The slow rise of some songs and sharp drops of others continue thanks to the bevy of great music out there!  But other songs make great gains as they become some of my favourites this year.

The Top 10

  • “Chasing Stars” by Corey Niles & Alex Lacasse has a solid grip on #1 for a second appearance at the top, but with River Tiber’s “No Talk” advancing 3-2 and “No Words” by Erik Hassle rising 6-3 – it’s getting pretty hot up top!

  • As his new single “Girl From Sweden” is released, Eric Saade’s “Sting” continues to climb my chart, rising 5-4.

  • Australia’s Parralox has its second Top 5 placing on my chart with the 80’s fan fest “Aeronaut”, moving up 9-5.  Dig all of that Paris scenery in the video too!

  • There’s no stopping CHIC reviving its classic feel-good 70’s disco sound on “I’ll Be There”, which is also now a Top 5 Billboard Dance Club hit.  It rises 12-6.

  • Years & Years is making some of 2015’s most recognizable music.  As former #1 “King” is about to leave the chart in its 10th appearance, now at #10, previous single “Desire” climbs 10-7.  And there’s more Years & Years to come…

  • With Jully Black just about appearing everywhere in Canada as fierce and proud as ever in 2015, plus being a Pan-Am Games ambassador in Toronto, it’s no wonder that she has her first Top Tenner on my chart since “Seven Day Fool” in 2007.  That’s “Fever”, from her upcoming album, climbing 11-8.

  • New Jersey’s Charlie Puth is better known as the vocalist on “See You Again” (at #16), but he and Meghan Trainor have concocted a delightful bit of R&B-oriented sock hop pop with “Marvin Gaye” leaping into the Top 10 17-9.

Movin’ On Up

  •  Five years after his debut solo album, Brandon Flowers has done it again with the first single from The Desired Effect called “Can’t Deny My Love”.  It’s the fastest riser on the chart, vaulting 20-11, and about to join the three songs that made the Top 10 from Flamingo, including #1 “Crossfire”.

  • After their rollicking and extremely fun concert almost two weeks ago, Matt & Kim’s “Hey Now” from their latest album New Glow jumps 22-17.

  • Their latest EP Roads has been released in the UK, but here in North America we have a single for UK quartet Lawson’s title song.  “Roads” moves up 21-18.

  • All three of the last chart’s debuts make short work of the chart and follow each other in succession.  So we have “Ghost Town” by Adam Lambert (26-19), “Déjà Vu” by Giorgio Moroder featuring Sia (27-20), and “What It’s All About” by Smashing Satellites (28-21, below) all about to take off.

Debuting

  • More Years & Years??  Yes, please!!  And it’s kind of an unintended companion song to Erik Hassle’s “No Words” above, they have a very similar song structure and melody at times (play them one after another!).  “Shine” (at the top) appears on the trio’s upcoming Communion album and bows at #25.
  • I was really rooting for the incredible vocal performance by Bojana Stamenov to make her country Serbia’s entry to Eurovision 2015, “Beauty Never Lies”, the winner.  Alas the winner ended up being the also worthy “Heroes” by Måns Zelmerlöw, but nonetheless the song has opened the doors worldwide for the talented Bojana.  “Beauty Never Lies” arrives at #27.

  • It’s hard to believe that Maroon 5 has not appeared on my chart since 2011’s “Moves Like Jagger” but their latest single “This Summer’s Gonna Hurt Like A Motherfucker” is so irresistible in so many ways… and as atypical a song for the band as were some of those within their debut Songs About Jane 12 years ago!  “This Summer’s Gonna Hurt” is their 11th chart appearance and premieres at #30.

The Full Chart

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 🙂

 

 

Get lost on the dance floor with “Sensation” by @AntonioGiacca

ANTONIO GIACCA, “Sensation”

Italian producer/DJ by-way-of-the-U.S. Antonio Giacca landed on my chart earlier this year with the pop/dancetastic “Ignited”, which peaked at #6.  The prolific Antonio has certainly grabbed my attention with “Sensation”, which is essentially an instrumental with some soulful vocals which almost sound like they were from the 80’s Loleatta Holloway heyday.  It’s a unique, standout highly percussive-sounding track that’s accompanied by a real odd duck of a video that you’ll need to watch about three times before it makes sense, if that at all is the intention.  It reminds me in some ways of Martin Scorcese’s 80’s movie “After Hours” (one of my faves).  But I digress!  Regardless, dance club DJ’s will revel in this one and definitely anyone who’s interested in a truly modern sounding progressive house track will have a blast with it.  “Sensation” is available to buy on iTunes.

A Dancer on a mission: “Criminal Love” by @CarlManmusic

CARL MAN, “Criminal Love”

After travelling around the world for the better part of the year, I was anxious to hear what would be next for UK singer/dancer Carl Man.  For it was last year, that Carl’s voice graced two of my favourite 2014 songs:  “Music Gods” by German DJ/producer Davis Redfield and particularly the fairly obscure “Electrify The Night” by Houserockerz with Davis Redfield (refresh your memory below).

“Criminal Love” thank goodness is from the same lyrical genius (that is 2014 Eurovision winner Charlie Mason) as those songs, and Carl’s fine voice is once again in comfortable pop-leaning EDM territory.  The video has obvious “Beat It” inspiration and many fine dance moves; alas I think a few different scenarios proved to be a bit much and the results seem a bit choppy, though the story is consistent.  Nonetheless Carl’s on-camera presence draws you in, thanks to a fine song.  Watch and listen above.

Sing, sing, sing, yeah “Sing It All Back” from @Jeronimomusic with @JabranDeMoore

JERONIMO and JABRAN DEMOORE, “Sing It All Back”

Over the last few years, I’ve written a few pages about the diverse talents of Dutch singer Jeronimo, who topped my personal chart near this time in 2012 with the jaunty “One Kiss”.  He can move seamlessly from a touching ballad to a teen-oriented duet cover of Enrique Iglesias’ “Bailando” to a novelty song in Dutch like “Denk Denk Denk”.  This time he teams up with fellow Nederlander singer/MC Jabran DeMoore for “Sing It All Back”, which manages to capture all fine elements of a pop song before it shifts into arpeggio-laden EDM mode.  “Sing It All Back” catches you by surprise with its energy and good nature.  But if I were a club DJ I’d want a few remixes to bring out the Tiesto/Zedd flavour.  “Sing It All Back” is available worldwide on iTunes.  Watch the lyric video above (there are also several live performance videos on You Tube from Jeronimo’s concerts in his homeland).