“Warriors” is a fun, jazzy R&B instrumental from NYC’s Too Many Zooz that becomes a showy dance floor filler with astute additional production from UK producer KDA, who appeared on my personal chart last year with a more classic house mix of “Just Say”. Too Many Zooz make the most of power from their horns and bass drum, whose joyous live sounds frame the glorious announcements of the trumpet and the dirtier, more aggressive sax tones, with the percolating fast-paced house backdrop from KDA. It’s all very reminiscent of 90’s American groups like Us3 or Arrested Development who brought similar elements to the table, though I think KDA also adds some 80’s UK classic dance to the party, influenced perhaps by records like Bomb The Bass’ “Beat Dis” as well as British house music of the day. You can also check out the original version of “Warriors” in its entertaining video below (ya never know what goes on deep in NYC subways!). “Warriors” is a definite grower so watch for it.
ACADDAMY & DOUBLE AGENT and QUAILS, “Hearts On Fire”
One can never underestimate the dance music that comes out of Australia, often on a completely different bent from the rest of the world and standing out in a mix. “Hearts On Fire” definitely fits that picture with the pairing of producers Acaddamy and Double Agent, bringing the versatile voice of Quails to the proceedings. “Hearts On Fire” is one of the more fast-paced house songs I’ve heard in a while, and it works and flows really well, nary bringing it down for only a few seconds only to rev back up again. Add “Hearts On Fire” to your Don’t Stop Won’t Stop house playlist using the Spotify link above.
Miami’s Alyx Ander isn’t as crazy-prolific as many of his counterparts, but when he drops a track, the fine quality is all in the listening, and of course, dancing! Thus a production with Dutch duo Redondo allows another team up with singer Maria Z, yielding, “Casually”, a follow up to last year’s captivating “Wake Up For The Night”. Stylistically, “Casually” is a real throwback to classic 90’s house while staying slick and contemporary to vie with the best of today’s house music. The theme here is a breezy instant love story and the playful vibe of “Casually” aims to please anyone who listens and feels compelled to dance – and it works quite well indeed.
SEX WHALES & HI I’M GHOST and CLUDA, “Journey” (free DL)
It starts off sounding like what might be a classic medieval tale similar to songs by progressive art-rockers of our past. And while “Journey” unfolds with an elegant Amy Lee-ish vocal by Slovenia’s Cluda, it segues neatly into a crunchy dubstep backdrop courtesy of the production team of Israel-born Sex Whales and L.A. duo Hi I’m Ghost. Dubstep and EDM fans in general will be more than pleased with the mix of hard and busy rhythms with a lovely pop vocal. It’s a production blend often featured in the hard rock or metalcore genres. Sex Whales and Hi I’m Ghost rev it up and bring it back down appropriately for an interesting, sometimes intoxicating release. Get your taste of this inspiring “Journey” for free at the link above.
No, it’s not a cover of the smash Clean Bandit song from a few years ago, but I think “Rather Be” by Germany’s Blinded Hearts featuring UK singer Cammie Robinson has instant appeal for pop and dance music fans alike. Blinded Hearts is on a roll. Every song he releases seems to be catchier and more appealing, and having the distinct voice of Cammie capture the many joyous sentiments to which anyone can relate is such a big bonus. “Rather Be” is indie pop at its finest, with plenty of opportunity to watch couples sway on the dance floor to it as well. Some remixes might draw out more firepower for clubs, but “Rather Be” is a song to soak in for everything it has to offer and more.
Summer’s almost here for those of us in North America, and I can visualize dance clubs jumping all over “Back The Funk”, the latest by rising Estonian producer/DJ Madison Mars. Its intense production is an immediate draw to dance music lovers, and it contains all of the familiar bells and whistles (almost literally haha) to make you want to hear it many times over. It’s kind of nonsensical overall but that becomes awfully secondary next to booming future bass and production that is primed for a party atmosphere. At 2:54 “Back The Funk” is a bit tidy but perhaps some creative remixers with the same party-hardy bent will accentuate the proceedings. Add “Back The Funk” to your Massive Beats playlist using the Spotify link above.
“Off To Get Lost” is an ideal song to end off an evening of clubbing, where you might head off into the night, with or without others, to wander among the darkness and light, and gear up for that 24 hour diner breakfast that awaits. I can’t say that French duo Kultur (more members of the Slow Hours collective) really offer anything new here, taking a lot of cues from progressive electronic and ambient music that might go back to the early 80’s. But “Off To Get Lost” is a very well produced instrumental indeed with trippy vocal effects and melody that will draw out some positive and emotional reactions. Check out “Off To Get Lost” at the link above.
You’ll recall how impressed I was recently by Alex Preston’s retooling of Marvin Gaye’s classic rendition of “Heard It Through The Grapevine”into a contemporary house track. It’s followed up by an EP of house originals, Get It Started, and the Australian producer/DJ is game for setting the tone to your party on the right note. Take it to the clubs, and a couple of these songs would sound massive. The EP gets better as it goes along – the title song is the weakest, but good for kicking things off; “That’s How I Feel” impresses with some fine guitar work; “Around” features a soulful vocal sample that seems awfully familiar, and will have club goers lip-syncing to its sassy chorus; but best of all is “Take It Easy”, an excellent feel-good song for a Friday night to get your weekend going full tilt, again with some fun sampled dialogue to give the song its theme, and some horns that make it memorable (not sure if I’m hearing a Pigbag sample or not in this one). Alex is clearly very talented at what he does, definitely one to follow, recalling at times an Aussie veteran who I’ve written about and respect greatly named Late Nite Tuff Guy. Check out the EP at the link above but it’s “Take It Easy” that comes highly recommended most out of all of the songs.
Following up his powerful recent single “Second Guess” is French producer Khamsin with “My Way”. It’s as equally catchy as “Second Guess”, anchored by the determined attitude in the vocal by rising L.A. singer MOONZz. The punchy backdrop of drums and percussion gives “My Way” a resolute and tribal sensibility, fusing with its equally interesting story. Khamsin once again offers tight production that is as pop-friendly as it is for dance club audiences. Enjoy all the drama – “My Way” is a well-crafted package with lots to offer. Khamsin is part of the electronic collective Slow Hours (also featuring Kidswaste and Rusty Hook among others) that is overdue for some music of its own!
A busy Top 10 on the new chart leaves some songs stranded behind current favourites, but that should change in two weeks. Plus, among the four debuts, we find two by much respected performers with multiple chart appearances.
The Top 10
Holding at the top for an impressive three appearances (six weeks!) is “Smile”, the quirky alt.electronica song by Norway’s Dyrisk and England’s Nik Ernst. Think Massive Attack meets MGMT, and you have a strangely fun, sarcastic, and very different winner. Nik has a new solo release coming in June that is going to be the bookend to “Smile” 🙂 Way to go Tipsy Records!
My favourite song that I heard coming out of Miami Music Week in March is Mercer’s “Satisfy”, which advances 5-2 and is a shoo-in for #1 next week. It features a spot-on vocal by Chicago’s Ron Carroll on what is otherwise a top notch Eurohouse track.
The Chainsmokers’ latest songs have gotten big thumbs up from fans like me but I don’t think the audience that loved “Closer” or “Paris” has tapped into them just yet. Both “Everybody Hates Me” (8-6, above) and former #2 “Sick Boy” contain very real sentiments about observations The Chainsmokers have obviously made in achieving their success. I truly enjoy this other side of them, but if a club banger might be due, then bring it on 🙂
Like The Chainsmokers, Canadian producer Robotaki has ended up with two songs in the Top 10 on this chart. “I Want You” rests comfortably at #3 while the entirely different, gritty, soulful “Butterscotch” (featuring singer Jamie Fine – of the duo with Elijah Woods, who were one of the winners of Canada’s TV competition “The Launch” – and producer Falcxne) zips into the Top 10, up 14-7.
Rounding out the Top 10 are no strangers to the chart. Dutch producers The Him climb 12-8 with “White Lies”, their 4th Top 10, while England’s Years & Years advances 13-10 with “Sanctify” from their upcoming album Palo Santo (both above). You can check out The Him’s recent collaboration with Jay Hardway called “Jigsaw” and Years & Years’ bubbly new single “If You’re Over Me”, below.
Movin’ On Up
Last week, Jesse McCartney announced his U.S. tour which will take him to just about every major city, so watch for dates near you. His latest single, “Better With You” rises 18-13.
The fastest riser on the chart happens just as the artist’s song “Prisoner” drops from its #7 peak. L.A.’s Bobby Nourmand has a dark winner with his Subterranean EP, which contains two songs, the title track and the deep and dangerous “Estranged” (both above), which move up together 26-15.
As Martin Garrix established almost 5 years ago, the clever dance producer under 20 is a real and more frequent thing these days, and Chicago’s Whethan has his share of fans which helped get him to collaborate with New Zealand duo Broods for “Be Like You”, which rises 22-17.
Fresh off of his appearance at Canadian Music Week on Friday is British Columbia native Tyler Shaw with “Cautious” in its remix by Halifax’s Famba, which climbs 24-18.
Debuts
Not only is his new single “Run” his 13th solo chart entry here since 2014 – that’s outside of his collaborations with Molly Moore and Elephante and his side project with Molly, Cosmos & Creature – Brandyn also co-wrote Jesse McCartney’s #13 “Better With You” with Molly and Jesse. “Run” is the introduction to the story that led Brandyn to where he is today, from his upcoming album Emanate, and arrives on the chart at #22.
Australia-based singer/songwriter Troye Sivan’s star continues to rise and rise with beautiful songs like “Bloom” which bows at #26. “Bloom” may have a specific meaning at its source, but it really is a song that anyone can relate to when you find yourself in a position to give yourself to someone in a relationship. Troye’s upcoming album is also called Bloom, and this is his 6th chart entry including his collaboration with Martin Garrix on “There For You”.
A new chart upstart to watch who has been making great house music in Florida these last few years is Adam Foster with “Time”. You’ll notice instantly that “Time” features the voice of Marvin Gaye. It’s essentially a clever rework of Marvin’s 1969 hit “Too Busy Thinkin’ Bout My Baby” – one of my personal all time faves – and somehow transforms it into a new song by working its way around the original’s chorus. “Time” drops onto the chart at #27.
I’m fortunate enough to meet and see in performance some very nice and kind folks in the industry from time to time, and two happen to be Norwegian producer Matoma and US singer/songwriter MAX (Schneider). Then the unthinkable happens – an unanticipated collaboration, which turns out to be golden! So we have Matoma and MAX with “Lonely”, with an insanely catchy instrumental hook and another brilliant vocal by MAX. It premieres at #28. It follows Matoma’s 2016 Top 10 “False Alarm” and is also MAX’s 6th appearance on the chart as either a lead or featured vocalist. Matoma also is the third Norwegian on the chart – the others being Dyrisk (#1) and Alan Walker (#11).
View the full BILLCS Top 30right here! Click on the hyperlink on the song titles to hear the songs or watch the videos!
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