MAX (Schneider) has been so visible in 2017 with his own songs and countless collaborations that it’s been easy to miss one or two. So I’m glad official remixes of “Survive” have surfaced because it was a song I didn’t pick up on upon release. Mystery guy Saint WKND and MAX make an excellent collaborative force on “Survive”, which has been given an explosive future bass overhaul by remixer PLS&TY (who has already worked with Cosmos & Creature and others). In its original version, “Survive” is milder dub-steppy electronica with a taut, soulful vocal by MAX. In this remix, that old school R&B that is deep in MAX’s soul is unleashed as one of his most commanding performances that I’ve heard (it will be a bonus if I get to hear it in his upcoming concert 😉 ), aside his recent appearance on “No Hands” by It’s Different and Forever MC along with blackbear. This remix of “Survive” doesn’t let up and leaves you breathless by the end, which you’ll discover after a listen at the link above.
THE HIM featuring IVY ADARA, “Everybody Hurts” (free DL)
Dutch duo The Him bestows us with another delightful pop/dance track which you can grab for free for now up top, “Everybody Hurts” (not, of course, a cover of the R.E.M. song). It is indeed a sad song masquerading as an upbeat tropical dance club tune, and it’s brought to life by the vocals of Australian singer Ivy Adara, who relates the lyrics and makes us know that it’s all right to feel the pain of sadness. So there’s no better way to deal with it sometimes but to revel in the big beats and synths and let it all go 🙂 It really is as uncomplicated as that. “Everybody Hurts” is well worth your time and The Him are on a prolific roll following the recent “Secrets” and “Oasis”.
Lots of songs on the rise will change the top songs in the next month or so, and there are three debuts 🙂
The Top 10
Bright Light Bright Light’s “New York Pretty” leads the chart for a 4th appearance (8th week). He has done this before THREE TIMES with “Love Part II” in 2010, “Waiting For The Feeling” in 2012, and “An Open Heart” in 2013/14. “New York Pretty” is tied with The Chainsmokers and Coldplay’s “Something Just Like This” for most time at the top in 2017. and BLx2’s Billboard Dance Club Play hit “Into The Night” (below) climbs 10-8 this week too!
Staying at #2 for a second appearance is Toronto’s Loud Luxury with Nikki’s Wives and the catchy bass sounds of “Show Me”. Both groups are touring with Nikki’s Wives bowing in London, Ontario this week.
The fastest riser on the chart belongs to Mahalo and Cat Lewis, obtaining their third Top 5 song on the chart with “Perfect” vaulting 15-4. It will battle with “Show Me” and CVBZ’s “Be Like You” (#3) for #1 in two weeks. Mahalo and Cat Lewis hit the Top 5 earlier this year with “Be My Love” (#5) and “WTFYWF” (#3), and their other recent collaboration of “Heaven” (below) continues to climb 19-13!
Toronto’s Dan Talevski collects his third Top 5 song on this chart with the endless fun of “Birthday Suit” climbing 9-5. “Guilty As Sin” got to #3 in 2015, and it was followed by “My Religion” (#5).
L.A.’s Lauv will be touring with none other than Ed Sheeran in Asia very soon, as “I Like Me Better” continues to make new friends and rises 12-9.
Those of you who enjoy the new mystery band Terror Jr. will have a chance to catch Iowa’s Kid Froopy as the opening act on their tour. The Kid’s exceptionally produced “Drive Slow” moves up 14-10.
Movin’ On Up
Matthew Koma’s “Suitcase” breaks loose from lower chart numbers and soars 17-12 and is headed for the Top 10.
The Florida-based Tipsy label’s partnership with Epic Oslo is working with stellar new songs like “No Love In Brooklyn”, which has a great singalong chorus. It’s by French producer Nick Peters paired with American Frank Pierce and with vocals by American Scott Vega, climbing 20-14.
“Gold” by Ricky Remedy and John.k rises a big 26-16, thanks to slick production and amazing vocals by John.k. In fact John.k has already followed it up with a new song “OT”, which you can hear below.
What more can I say about the songs from Carlos Nobrega’s The Art Of Making Love? A dedicated following has provided him with great chart numbers in Europe and has sent so many new visitors to this blog, over 80,000! The charge started with “You (It’s All About You)” (above), the blog post of which is now my 3rd most viewed – but the blog post for the album is now most viewed at over 36,000 views!! The song climbs 27-18, as a new instrumental from Carlos’ other project, Almageddon is released, “Almageddon: Madrid”. This time it’s accompanied by a picturesque video of the famous city where he lives. It debuted at #1 on the Spanish new age chart this past week. Check it out below.
Steve Void and Syence move up with their touching joint collaboration to support anyone who’s down. “We Won’t Leave You” rises 25-20.
The melodic but crazy dubstep of “Anesthetic” by San Diego’s Convulsic moves up 28-22.
A new current favourite of mine that blends in contemporary electronic dance sounds with early 90’s classic house is “Need Your Heart” by Australia-based British producer Latchmere, from his debut indie EP Lovedrunk. It bows at an impressive #23, ahead of some major major names and deserves your support 🙂
Sam Smith has such an amazing voice even if “Too Good For Goodbyes” as a song is weaker than some of his past hits, nonetheless it premieres at #26. Sam has got to #1 here four times, all in 2014, with “Money On My Mind”, “Stay With Me”, “I’m Not The Only One”, and his collaboration with Disclosure on “Latch”. The video arrives tomorrow!
Arriving on the chart for the first time is multi-Grammy winner Skrillex in collaboration with producer/songwriter Poo Bear (aka Jason Boyd), who co-wrote many songs on Justin Bieber’s Purpose album as well as classics like 112’s “Dance With Me” and Usher’s “Caught Up”. The free download remix by scrvp. of “Would You Ever”, which gives the vocals and song an entirely different effect from the original, arrives at #27.
View the full BILLCS Top 30right here, and be sure to click on the photos to hear all of the songs.
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
Chicago’s Milk ‘n Cooks have been on the dance music scene long enough to know how to mix it up with their releases. “Joy District” is a chilled out and jazzy alternative late night track that steps away from big beats in favour of a melody for a cruise down the highway, accompanied by standout guitar work by Andrew Slutsky. The guys altered their vocals for this song which definitely adds to its sublime intrigue. Be sure to lend your ears for a listen to “Joy District” at the link below. Milk ‘n Cooks are on tour in various US cities throughout September and October, so watch for them near you!
Some of my favourite songs of the year continue to appear on this latest chart, which makes ranking them – which is totally subjective here, there’s no formula! – very difficult. As a result some may end up ranking higher on the year end chart than other songs which peak at the same position. Enough chart geekery, it’s another busy chart with four debuts!
The Top 10
“New York Pretty” by Bright Light Bright Light currently has an incredibly tight lock on #1 – may have to wait for another chart to see who might be coming next!
With that in mind, Toronto’s Loud Luxury and Nikki’s Wives make a strong case for #1 as “Show Me” is the fastest riser two charts in a row. Loud Luxury were already up top earlier this year with Ryan Shepherd on their amazing redux of Craig David’s “Fill Me In”, so is a second consecutive #1 in order? 🙂
I second all of the emotions in CVBZ’s lyrical “Be Like You”, which in its Sean Turk ‘bedroom bass’ remix climbs 6-3.
Dan Talevski acquires his 4th Top 10 hit on this chart with the fun and contagious “Birthday Suit”, which rises 11-9. Dan has just wrapped an EP which is coming soon!
He’s at the top of the chart but also at #10 – Bright Light Bright Light’s latest Top 40 Billboard Dance Club Play hit is “Into The Night”, and with its companion video to “New York Pretty” moves up 15-10.
Movin’ On Up
A song called “I Like Me Better” has all the potential for being cloying and annoying, but singer/songwriter Lauv has managed to make it cool and clever all at once, which is why is climbs 18-12. Why American radio is not all over this song yet is totally beyond me!! I’ve given up asking about things like this and radio.
Iowa’s Kid Froopy has landed the opening act slot on Terror Jr.’s upcoming tour and most dates are already sold out. The Kid also has an EP in the works, but for now you can indulge in his delightfully quirky and immensely appealing single “Drive Slow”, rising 20-14.
One of the grittiest songs for the wee hours on the chart is the latest from L.A.’s Mahalo in his pairings with singer Cat Lewis on “Perfect” (above), which jumps 21-15. Yes folks, all of the vocals in the song are by the elusive Mr. Lewis. The duo are also up 22-19 with the soulful club-pleaser “Heaven” (below).
Matthew Koma’s beautiful “Suitcase” – an older song of his which has finally seen release – continues to move up, this time 19-17. It’s one of a few solid songs that is stuck in a bit of a jam which may break loose in two weeks.
“No Love In Brooklyn” could be seen as a song associated with the end of summer relationships with some great, memorable lyrics. It’s brought to you by producers Nick Peters, who hails from France, and American Frank Pierce, along with US singer Scott Vega. It wastes no time charging 25-20.
Bobby Nourmand’s second match-up with vocalists DOC and Goodmorning, following the #1 “D E E P in NY”, is the infectious “MIND” which rises 28-23.
4 Debuts
I’m absolutely loving the collaboration of one of our favourite young Dutchmen, Steve Void, and American duo Syence, in the heartwarming “We Won’t Leave You”. Its universal message of love and support is very welcome, and the guys manage to give the song a choral effect along with the electronics which bring it home. The highest debut, “Leave” bows at #25.
Debuting on the chart is a powerhouse duo from Florida, Grammy-nominated producer Ricky Remedy with compelling new vocalist John.k and “Gold”. This one will dazzle you with its restrained, on-point production and amazingly versatile vocals by John.k. “Gold” arrives at #26.
Carlos Nobrega’s new album The Art Of Making Love has brought over 50,000 – you read that right! – visitors to these blog pages – totally amazing! All of the wait for new music for Carlos was teased out with 4 preceding singles, including “You (It’s All About You)”, which premieres at #27. It’s already at over a million plays on Soundcloud. Carlos has took over this chart before, back in 2012 with “Music Makes You Lose Control (MMYLC)”, which also appears in The Art Of Making Love.
San Diego dubstep producer Convulsic is back after a 3 year absence from this chart with the dirty and dynamic instrumental “Anesthetic”, which debuts at #28. This one will leave you a little more than shaken ‘n stirred! It follows Convulsic’s 2014 Top Tenners here “Love Space” (#5) and “The Day You Left” (#7).
View the full BILLCS Top 30right here, and be sure to click on the photos to hear all of the songs.
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
“‘Bout A Thing” is the kind of brisk, happy song that will keep the good times of summer extended into the fall months. It’s brought to you by a relative newcomer from Italy named SA featuring L.A. vocalist Ava King, but it’s not at all what you’d expect when you think of dance music from that country. SA definitely likes his mix to sparkle with tingly synth and percussion sounds up front but never hiding the house rhythm, while Ava’s vocal acrobatics flow along beautifully with the melody like they were made for one another. Definitely playlist-worthy, “‘Bout A Thing” is a great start for SA with its global-friendly sound and it’s available as a free download from the link above.
It’s a little hard to ponder after the delightful pop/dance duet-making that Halogen recently released in the form of “Can’t Resist” that the duo could turn their heads to a song so deep down ‘n dirty, but here it is, “U Got That”, which is available as a free download above. I do enjoy hearing the other sides of what performers listen to and then record, and “U Got That” is a club bass banger that will fill your speakers. Its low, ominous vocal is entertaining and the rhythm is impossible to resist. Brought to you by Pinnacle Collective, “U Got That” is definitely one that DJ’s won’t want to miss!
Some great late night music always seems to come out of Florida, and you’ll know what I mean when you hear on-the-bubble singer John.k’s voice rise over a crunchy deep house beat in “Gold”. While it starts off sounding like it might be a ballad, this joint effort with noted Latin Grammy-nominated producer Ricky Remedy is a stunner, tight and powerful, and it will get you swaying on the dance floor once the big beats kick in. John.k’s vocal prowess reminds me a lot of Jon Secada (90’s smash “Just Another Day”), and there’s so much going on in Ricky’s production – without making it overly busy – that would make it sound fantastic in a live setting. “Gold” is available for you to hear at the link above.
UK producer/DJ Billon is receiving lots of support back home from the likes of the BBC and Ministry of Sound for his latest single “One That I Want”. It’s got a big, soulful sound with a solid vocal that will have you feeling it during its first two minutes. After that it busts out into some deeper house grooves for the remaining minute and dispenses with lyrics in favour of vocal effects. So there’s a bit of something for everyone here, which might afford Billon a wider audience. I think some creative remixes could support this song even more. Check it out at the link above.
DEBORAH COX, “Let The World Be Ours Tonight” (Stonebridge & Damien Hall radio edit)
Now seems like an appropriate time for uplifting retro-tastic dance music. “Let The World Be Ours Tonight” brings back Canada’s Juno Award-winning Deborah Cox to the dance floor with one of her best vocals in years. With no short of five remixers on board – Stonebridge & Damien Hall, Diamm, Soulshaker, JKGD, and Silver Bluff – “Let The World Be Ours Tonight” seems destined to become La Cox’s 13th #1 on the Billboard Club Play chart, where it is currently zooming up the chart at #23. It’s a real crowd-pleaser with its warm message of unity, so it’s quite easy to get swept off your feet under the bright lights. Let loose and check out “Let The World Be Ours Tonight at the link above. Deborah is currently touring select dates in the US in the play “The Bodyguard”.
BILLCSMUSIC BLOG 
You must be logged in to post a comment.