Tag Archives: house

“Por Qué” is top drawer Latin house from @RyShepherdmusic and @FitoBlanko

RYAN SHEPHERD x FITO BLANKO, “Por Qué”

Sometimes in dance music, some unexpectedly wonderful collaborations surface out of the blue.  So with “Por Qué”, the pairing is Toronto producer Ryan Shepherd along with Panama-born, Mississauga, Canada-raised and world-renown Latin singer Fito Blanko.  If “Despacito” is in your wheelhouse then you may find “Por Qué” equally if not more enjoyable!  Ryan takes a well-known bar of classic 80’s house and builds a percussion-oriented synth arrangement around it, to create an idyllic musical setting for a Spanish song (the title means “Why”).  Fito’s vocal is fun and dynamic, which will make “Por Qué” a must for Canadian dance clubs, DJ’s, and Latin dance music lovers everywhere.  Add “Por Qué” to your Shake It Up dance music playlist using the Spotify link above.

“Heartbeat” is breezy, summery emotional house from @officialAevion

AEVION, “Heartbeat”

“Heartbeat” is one of those fine summery house songs that you can blast from your car stereo while driving down the highway at night, or play at a beach party.  It’s got an emotional and affecting vocal from an uncredited female singer, and UK producer Aevion keeps the production and rhythm at an even keel, never overdoing things with effects in favour of free flowing enjoyment just under 4 minutes that goes by in a flash.  The noted quality of the Aftr:Hrs label is driving this one, so add “Heartbeat” to your “Breezy Summer” dance music playlist using the Spotify link above.

“Get Down” is a killer future house summer jam from @RetroVisionfr

RETROVISION, “Get Down”

“Get Down” by French producer RetroVision has been a killer future house summer jam in the waiting since last year when the likes of Alan Walker played it at Tomorrowland.  I’m pretty sure I heard it more than once when I was at events at Miami Music Week too.  For it’s the instantaneous draw of the hook from The Shapeshifters’ classic “Lola’s Theme” meshed with a sample from Rob Base’s “It Takes Two” that seals the deal within the first 20 seconds of “Get Down”.  The rest of the song is no less than creative and bouncy fun featuring some well-placed future bass grooves, no effort required, just do as the title says 🙂  “Get Down” is meant for big dance clubs and festivals and is a great summer companion to Madison Mars’ “Back The Funk” which I wrote about a few weeks back.  Add “Get Down” to your “Party Your A** Off” playlist using the Spotify link above.

#BILLCSTop30 #536 – May 28/18

Some recent favourites give way to new ones in a particularly competitive Top 10, and there are three debuts.  

The Top 10

  • It’s French producer Mercer who gets to #1 in his first appearance on this chart with the rollicking “Satisfy”, featuring a terrific vocal by Chicago’s Ron Carroll.  There’s no wonder why the best DJ’s were playing this one back at Miami Music Week, where I first heard it.

  • Last week’s songs 4 through 8 each move up a notch. About songs 3 through 5:
    • Also prevalent at Miami Music Week was MK whose “17” (above, up 4 to 3) was a Top 10 hit in the UK at the end of last year, and it subsequently became a Top 10 dance club hit in North America.  
    • Duo Sofi Tukker are happily straddling the pop and dance music worlds, and my favourite song from their album Treehouse remains “Baby I’m A Queen” (also above), which climbs to #4.
    • “Everybody Hates Me” by The Chainsmokers (below) is poised to make its key move in two weeks as it rises to #5.  The duo won three Billboard Music Awards last week in the Dance music category!  Bravo!!

  • Jesse McCartney gets his first Top 10 on this chart since 2009’s #6 “How Do You Sleep” with “Better With You”, which rises 13-8.  So great that it was co-written with blog faves Brandyn Burnette and Molly Moore!
  • Quickly following “Prisoner”, Bobby Nourmand racks up another Top 10 with songs from his EP Subterranean – the title song and the dark and eerie “Estranged”.  They soar into the Top 10 rising 15-9.

Movin’ On Up

  • He only just turned 19 but he’s already on his way to having a Top 10 record on my chart.  That’s Chicago’s Whethan, who got to feature acclaimed New Zealand duo Broods in the compelling “Be Like You”, which climbs 17-13.
  • While talented Canadian singer/songwriter Tyler Shaw already has a Top 20 national hit with “Cautious” (up 18-15 in its Famba remix), he already has a second single out from his upcoming album.  You can check out “Anybody Out There”, with female vocalist Amaal Nuxx, below.

  • Brandyn Burnette’s upcoming album is called Emanate, and the debut single from that album is “Run”, which jumps 22-16.  The second preview of the album is “Layup”, below.

  • Not surprisingly, the fastest riser on the chart is the title song from the upcoming album by Troye Sivan called “Bloom”.  It zips up the chart 26-17 to follow up the departing “My My My!”, #1 this past week on Billboard’s Dance Club Play chart!
  • Not far behind is Miami producer Adam Foster’s bold rework of Marvin Gaye’s classic hit from 1969 “Too Busy Thinkin’ About My Baby”.  Omitting the chorus, he makes a new one as he rechristens it “Time”, available as a free download, and moving up 27-19.

  • Norway’s Matoma and US singer/songwriter MAX are a joint force to be reckoned with in “Lonely”, which rises 28-24.  You can hear it now in 4 remixes, including one by Steve Aoki and another by MAX’s side project Party Pupils, below.

Debuts

  • James Bay has made a transformation from folk/rock troubadour to glamorous pop star in one fell swoop.  His new album, Electric Light, is one of the best of the year, so I am belatedly debuting its best song and second single “Pink Lemonade”, at #25.  It’s got unexpected 80’s influences all over it – I hear mid-80’s New Order for one.  The album is diverse and well-produced.  Don’t be surprised if other songs from Electric Light land on the chart in the coming weeks.
  • UK producer bvd kult arrives on the chart for the first time with the sunshiny pop/dance of “Let You Go”, featuring vocalist OT, which I wrote about a while back.  It debuts at #26.

  • Florence & The Machine gets its 6th chart entry with “Hunger” from the upcoming album High As Hope.  It has one of Florence Welch’s best recent vocals, and “Hunger” is also their first chart entry since 2012.  The band’s highest peak was attained with their first entry, the #2 “Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)”, back in 2009.

View the full BILLCS Top 30 right here!  Click on the hyperlink on the song titles to hear the songs or watch the videos!

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

Check out and ‘like’ the new BILLCS Music Projects Facebook page 🙂

 

“Cold Heart” is a convincing fusion of pop, techno and dubstep from L.A.’s @Prizmofficial

https://soundcloud.com/prizmmusicofficial/cold-heart

PRIZM, “Cold Heart” (free DL)

Quickly following up the more pop-flavoured “Lifeline”, which I wrote about earlier this month, is “Cold Heart” from L.A. producer Prizm.  It’s the start of learning more of what is indeed up this creative producer’s sleeves, as his new songs have been brewing for a while, having previously recorded under another name.  Here he fuses pop, techno, and dubstep, along with anonymous female vocal, to make a delightfully terse but still quite accessible song for dance fans.  The commanding but alternately irritating/compelling pulse throughout the song is reminiscent of Basement Jaxx’s “Red Light”, ultimately the heartbeat that is the constant for the melody, and everything is built around it.  Drawing from influences like Porter Robinson and K?d, you’ll know from “Cold Heart” that you’ll want to hear more from Prizm, so much that you’ll download the song (under the “More” tab) from the link above while you can!

“Misunderstand” by UK singer/songwriter @Jazz__Mino surrounds a breakup with a sparkling melody

JAZZ MINO, “Misunderstand”

A while back, I brought to your attention Jazz Mino’s “Warriors”, a bright celebration of taking a stand despite what anyone else thinks.  “Misunderstand”, the British singer/songwriter’s follow up, is a delightful contrast to that song as it documents the emotion of being mistreated and misunderstood, and surrounds it with a sparkling melody to make it more about carrying on than dwelling on the past.  You can hear the affect of the lyrics in her vocal, which comes to terms graciously with it all, but all of the high notes and synth flourishes can’t bring the story down, so we can choose to dance it all away.  Songs like “Misunderstand” should continue to open doors for this intriguing new talent.  Add it to your Moving On From Love playlist using the Spotify link above.

“Warriors” is horn-soaked R&B-flavoured dance music from NYC trio @TooManyZooz and UK producer @KDAbeats

TOO MANY ZOOZ and KDA, “Warriors”

“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.

Australia’s @Acaddamy and @iamDoubleAgent bring sparks to the dance floor with “Hearts On Fire” with singer Quails

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 @IamAlyxAnder “Casually” nails another fine house record with @RedondomusicNL and #MariaZ

ALYX ANDER & REDONDO and MARIA Z, “Casually”

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.

We’re all “Villains” in lust according to the ‘bedroom bass’ hip hop of @SeanTurkmusic

SEAN TURK, “Villains” (free DL)

NYC’s Sean Turk is on a roll with his original hip hop, gradually becoming a hybrid with his trademark bedroom bass house style, with songs like his latest, “Villains”.  No need to go into many details about the typically lusty song itself, when a fresh kind of balance is achieved. Sean focuses more on a tidier production and less emphasis on uber-fly lyrics, making “Villains” is a pleasant progression for those who enjoy soulful, house-inspired hip hop with plenty of bounce.  Download it for free at the link above while it’s still available.