Tag Archives: electronica

Tuned-On! Top 30 #366 – November 21/11, plus new Elouise and Boy Banned

Only two more personal charts to go in 2011, and my year end list is in the works.  Years ago this list was of 100 songs, then it got whittled to 75, then to 40, and then back up to 50.  There has been so much great music this year – and so many songs that didn’t end up on my chart – that I may increase the list again.  We’ll see, gotta save some surprises for you!

You can view the full chart using the link under ***BILL’S PERSONAL CHART*** to the right, or you can click right here. You can hear all of the songs on the chart or watch their videos by clicking on the pics on the chart page.

So the top of the chart remains static, but that’s not a bad thing by any stretch.  Frankmusik and Colette Carr get another chart at the top with one of the glorious songs of 2011, “No I.D.”.  I’m still waiting for that release of “Memorize Me” by Rune RK & Databoy to happen… all good things in time… meanwhile the song holds at #3.  Trust me it will be MASSIVE, and  you can listen to it right here.  “Bloodstained Heart” by Darren Hayes anchors Secret Codes And Battleships at #4, while “Pull The Trigger” by Adam Tyler becomes the singer’s third Top 5 entry on my chart.  

While this song is in full electronica mode, Adam occasionally dips into more minimalist settings from time to time, and – hot off the presses – posted an extremely well done acoustic version of “Turning Tables” by Adele today that truly shows off his voice.  You remember his cover of Natalie Imbruglia’s “Torn” from a while back?  “Turning Tables” matches it.  Listen right here and watch for a video of it soon.

The rest of the Top 10 continues to be busy as “Can’t Help Myself (Keep Dancing)” by The Netherlands’ Matt Blue should find its way into the Top 5 in two weeks.  It’s followed directly by Audio Playground’s Canada-wide hit “Famous” at #7, the party-itis of “Block After Block” by Matt & Kim at #8 (note that these Brooklyn faves are playing New York City for New Year’s Eve), and the powerful Eurodance of “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” by Agnes at #9.

There’s plenty of competition for Top 10 entries next time with indie guys Kyle Brylin and Nick Hagelin sitting at #11 and 12, while rising starlet (and somewhat of a Stevie Nicks soundalike in spots, doncha think?) Lana Del Rey climbs to #13 with “Blue Jeans”.  Kyle’s new and humorous video for “That Bad” is video #1 at the bottom of this paragraph.  Adam Cohen’s “What Other Guy” moves to #14 as he winds down a tour of Europe, Israel, and the UK, and his new video for “Like A Man” (a simple but powerful idea full of great faces too) is video #2 below this paragraph.  Penguin Prison is the Fastest Riser with “Don’t Fuck With My Money” soaring 22-15.  Make of it what you will, but the official video for “Money” is set smack in the middle of the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations – watch it as video #3 below this paragraph.  Also continuing their rise are the highly danceable “White Horse” by Jessica 6 at #16, and “Then I Go Twisting” by Erasure at #17.

Ahead of the debuts, we find the remainder of last week’s newbies off to a good start.  Fastlife by Joe Jonas is a great album to crank up in your car on a sunny day with its brushes with electropop.  But “Just In Love”, a soulful ballad, is a dazzling alternative that rises to #20.  Jon McLaughlin’s “Promising Promises” is the song to hear on his Forever If Ever release, and it’s up to #21.  Then Darren Hayes’ sad but compelling “Black Out The Sun” moves up to #22, and Jeronimo’s winning “Somebody Who Loves Me”, a Top 40 hit in the Netherlands, jumps to #25.

The three debuts are no surprise, as I’ve written about all of them.  The album I’m currently waiting for, at least for another 9 days or so, is Saade Volume Two by Eric Saade.  His duet with Dev on “Hotter Than Fire” simply sizzles as it lands at #23 for a starting point.  Mika is currently wrapping up recording for his upcoming album The Origin Of Love, and he threw a free concert in L.A. to conclude his time there.  I blogged about his French song “Elle me dit” back in June, but better late than never, this French singalong with a fantastic video (below – only the French could make this one, with a great set of character actors) is at #24.  Then at #26 is Toronto quartet The Midway State, who are touring the heck out of their second album Paris Or India and the second single from it “Fire!”.  I’m hoping to catch them in Toronto in December for a show (I saw them last in 2009) as I have not been able to catch the band while they’ve been in town.  The video for “Fire!” (also below) is a terrific showcase for a concert performance by the band.

I’ll finish up with two more new songs.  UK chanteuse Elouise has transformed her “Little Belter” shows in London into something festive for the season called “Santa’s Little Belter”.  She’s released a new EP of the same name, available on iTunes, and I hope to show off the other songs to you over the next while.  For now, here’s a taste of her warmly gorgeous redux of Judy Garland’s “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” to get you in the Christmas spirit.

And don’t say you weren’t warned, if you are suddenly charmed, boy-band style, or rather Boy Banned-style.  The quartet has been acquiring quite a following in the UK, and if there’s a song to seal the deal on drawing in more fans it’s “The Stars Are Saying Yes”.  This is when you kind of wish that North American radio wasn’t so limited and would just get back to playing good ol’ songs like this.  Even better: The iTunes single features an acapella version!  Enjoy 🙂

Superfraiche NYC: Simon Curtis, Databoy, Sky Ferreira

Combine it with a need for a quick getaway from the daily routine and the opportunity to see Arjan Writes’ Superfraiche featuring a set by Simon Curtis… I had no choice but to go 🙂

So despite tremendous flight delays from Toronto due to bad weather on the east coast and in New Jersey, I got to the show via LaGuardia airport instead of Newark at around 9:30 pm (I was supposed to be in NYC around 3:30!!).  New duo She’s The Queen was already performing and I couldn’t focus in on their set, but with beverage in hand my day of travelling finally finished!


(stunning photo courtesy of Gabi Porter/Metromix New York)

LA-based, Oklahoma-raised Simon Curtis played his first ever New York City show as part of the Superfraiche series, this time held at the Galapagos Art Centre in Brooklyn – the lovely intimite but open concept setting was great for the performers.  Simon’s set of powerful dance pop songs from last year’s 8-bit Heart and the forthcoming R∆ was indeed raw and intense in so many ways.  Highly emotion-charged new songs like “Pit Of Vipers” and “Enemy” worked the audience over, while 8-bit fans heard “Don’t Wanna Be Alone” and a medley of the always rousing “Beat Drop” and no holds barred “Diablo”.  Best of all was “Laser Guns Up”, which I have a terrible time getting out of my head – all it needed was some actual laser effects!  And with props to Ms Spears’ release of Femme Fatale, Simon’s vocal prowess was showcased in an acapella sing-along of “…Baby One More Time”.  All in all, our Simon has more than enough stage cred to get into the major leagues.  The hot, aggressive new songs from R∆ will help get him there.  And as a side note, the amazing photo above from Metromix New York speaks volumes.  See more pics from the evening right here.

Simon’s set

Don’t Dance (first single)

Pit of Vipers

Don’t Wanna Be Alone

Chip in Your Head

Beat Drop/Diablo medley

Enemy

…Baby One More Time

Laser Guns Up


The evening was full of surprises for me.  Immediately before Simon, Austin duo Cameron Maxwell and Adam Bailey, who comprise Databoy, performed a four song set of playful, energetic, and smart electronic dance/pop.  In fact they could have used some fun props to fill some of the space on stage as they bounced and danced.  You may have already heard the deliriously catchy “Stupid” and can certainly get this single on iTunes.  There’s more lyrically to this song than meets the ear.  The rest of the set included “Click”, “Only Human” (featuring a prominent sample of Toto’s “Africa”), and my favourite of the night, “Just Once”, which embodies a high voltage “here comes summer” spirit.  Good things are coming from these guys soon so keep your eye on their website.

Headliner 18 year old actress/singer Sky Ferreira won me over with her magnetic stage presence.  The sound was a bit off – when she spoke I couldn’t really hear from where I was in the room – but her singing was spectacularly on-point, showcasing songs from her new Capitol Records EP As If! (in advance of a full album release this summer) including a top notch single “Sex Rules”, plus “99 Tears”, and “108” (there’s even a bit of Canadiana in there, with “Traces” co-written and produced by Toronto’s Colin Munroe).  Sky came across alternately vulnerable and sexy, and the crowd could have watched her all night.

Thanks once again to the charming and personable Arjan Writes for curating the Superfraiche series, you sir have a great thing going.  I was also thrilled to meet and chat with Simon after the show too.  Superfraiche is a great way for the spotlight to shine on new performers on the bubble in a classy setting.  I’m sure I’ll get to another one of these events – I’m a big city boy, and Los Angeles or New York can call me back anytime 🙂 (Toronto could use one of these events too 😉 )

I took some photos but they are trapped on my blackberry, which has decided not to work properly.  Once I get them off of it, and if they turned out decently, I may post a few in this space.

Winter Popervescence Goes Poptronic!

If it wasn’t for huge anticipation of upcoming releases from Frankmusik (still TBA for Do It In The A.M., but Vince has been posting some amazing free downloads that show positively MAJOR potential to be unveiled), Penguin Prison (now scheduled for April), and new UK pop/R&B sensation Jamie Woon (March), I don’t think I would be getting signals that 2011 more than ever appears to be a year in which Pop and Electronica are fusing more to commercial appeal.  To support this, we are getting some terrific fusion both on the pop charts and in some potential new talent.

I currently enjoy Enrique Iglesias’ music much more than 10 years ago when he won fame as a balladeer.  Lately Enrique’s been on a really fun club sound bent, and though huge pop hit “I Like It” burned on me after a while, and ballad “Heartbeat” with Nicole Scherzinger turned into a minor European hit, it looks like “Tonight (I’m Fucking You)” is going to be even more massive.  Credit that to the busy and infectious electronica backdrop that sets the song firmly in Clubland… and radio has jumped on the more, erhm, polite version “Tonight (I’m Loving You)”.  I think the appearance of a Ludacris rap is kind of unnecessary but is playing to both radio and street cred.  So is North American radio finally set to embrace a steadier diet of Poptronic sounds, or is this just a one off?  We’ll see later this year.

Then we have the latest case in point from UK’s Patrick Wolf, whose songs have alternately been darker, alternative affairs and fantastic bursts of pop/dance.  The vibrant, catchy pop of 2007’s “The Magic Position” won me over, wondering what Patrick would offer next.  It’s taken till now for something equally brilliant to surface, but the free download of the Richard X mix of “The City” signals good times are ahead for Poptronics.  Watch the feel-good video above, which captures the essence of the positivity in the song, and download the Richard X mix below while you still can.


Australian duo Bag Raiders signal the first signs of Western world summer – though for Aussies they are well into it right now in the East – with their latest song “Sunlight”.  What makes this sparkling song even more special is the presence of Poptronics whiz Dan Black on vocals, and the result is summer beach party central.  I can’t wait for what Mr. Black has to offer us next, and this kind of collab will help bridge that gap in time.  Be sure to get this one for free right here!

Blu Eden is a new pop/dance vocal duo who have already started to achieve some notoriety in London with some live showcases.  Comprised of vocalist Nora Blu and partner/producer Richard Eden, the duo combines a UK soul and club sound with edgy electronics, which are featured prominently in the crunchy production in the extended version of “Rip It Up”, the original version of which you can hear on their official website.  Songs like “Rip It Up” make the UK dance sound seem fresh all over again, and club DJ’s in particular should find favour with Blu Eden’s songs.

Lastly, 21 year old Toronto-based producer/DJ Volta! is a name to watch both for experimental electronica and Poptronics.  His Soundcloud page is full of interesting ideas fleshed out with swirling electonics.  You won’t be able to deny the infectious appeal of one of the songs remixed by Kash Jay called “Conan”.  The original song appears on Volta!’s Soundcloud page and doesn’t really sound too similar to the remix.  But the remix definitely gets planted in your head and stays there.  It works fine as an instrumental but something tells me that a honkin’ female R&B vocal might suit the song in an alternate version.  Check out the free download below.