Iiris - "Weirdo" - Courtesy of EMI
After a ringing endorsement from fellow Estonian Kerli, we decided to check out Iiris and her debut track "Melyse". We were pleasantly surprised by the girl's grasp of quirky, dark pop, combining equal elements of aforementioned Kerli and Icelandic reigning Queen of weird, Bjork. On her follow up track, Iiris delivers a solid slice of...pure 90's pop. The beat is much slower than today's mainstream, and the song writing focuses more on big lyrical hooks. There's even an electric guitar break down! Of course, she can't get away from what's hot right now completely with just the slightest dubstep chug towards the end. The result, while not on par with "Melyse", is strong and entertaining. We kinda can't wait for her March 28th debut album release.
Audio - Youtube
Dave Aude ft Lena Katina - "Never Forget" - Courtesy of Audacious
Dave Aude's style is pretty noticeable. His beats and synths are apparent in the majority of his mixes, and yet they still seem enjoyable in each production. Here with "Never Forget", he teams up with former t.A.T.u singer Lena Katina. Together they create a great dance track, Aude's signature style pairing well with Katina's honeyed voice. What makes this intriguing is that "Never Forget" is truly a remixed version presented by Aude. The track is originally a rock/pop track released by Katina in 2011, which is why Aude's video plays like a remix video. Still, can we complain? A great song gets a fresh resurgence, along with additional mixes by Jeremy Word, Loud Manners, and Sharooz, all available to listen to through Dave's soundcloud.
Video - Youtube
Kaskade ft Skylar Grey - "Room For Happiness (Fire & ICE versions)" - Courtesy of Ultra
It's no shock to see upcoming singer Skylar Grey's contribution to
Kaskade's stellar double-sided album Fire & Ice get released. The track is
one of the best of the bunch, both in the upbeat dance version and
symphonic beatless version. And Kaskade has provided videos for both,
although really it's the same footage dragged out from 4 minutes in the
Fire version to 5 minutes for the Ice version. The timeless songwriting
incorporated in "Room For Happiness" is what makes the track work so well,
the melody working in both formats. And really it allows for Skylar's
breathy vocals to shine through, giving a sparkle to the music. "Room For
Happiness" is definitely a track to watch out for, and if you haven't
gotten your hands on Fire & Ice yet, maybe this will convince you.
Fire Version Video - Youtube
Ice Version Video - Youtube
Laidback Luke ft Wynter Gordon - "Speak Up" - Courtesy of Big Beat
This combination is electric! Laidback Luke's "Speak Up" is a tech-house
romp in the best possible way. And thanks to Wynter for hopping on the
track and giving us some words to sing along with. She does a great job at
a vocal delivery that doesn't sound typical or generic. "Speak Up" is the
kind of dance number that will have phones in the air, the blue of Shazam
showing proudly. People will want to know this track, so we are doing our
job and alerting you to it. While the original version will be more than
sufficient to pack your floors, expect a slew of mixes to slake your thirst
for this track if Laidback Luke's production doesn't do it for you.
Audio Preview - Youtube
Gosteffects - "Slave to the Sweat" - Courtesy of Afterlife
Man, is tech-house coming back or something? 90's influences abound on
"Slave to the Sweat", Gosteffects amping up the energy with a Basement
Jaxx-esque production. Think "Make Me Sweat" and a couple tracks off of
Rooty, and you'll get where I'm going with this. Still, this makes "Slave
to the Sweat" an exciting release, especially considering the sheer amount
of comments already present on their soundcloud. There are some mixes
available to, if you want a different vibe with your sweat. Rule of Eight
turns up the bass on their aggressive mix, contrasting the indielectronica
sound of Disrupt the Scene's mix which reminds of Tiga's "You Gonna Want
Me". Housquare's mix is the closest to the original but takes the energy
up just one notch, sealing off a rather delicious assembly of
interpretations. Enjoy.
Audio Soundcloud
Redlight - "Get Out My Head" - Courtesy of MTA Records
You'll usually know within the first 30-45 seconds whether a song has the
"it" factor that makes it pop. "Get Out My Head", a mish mash of
comparisons available from Ms. Dynamite, Katy B, Magnetic Man, 90's dance,
and a little Rihanna, has "it". Redlight makes you MOVE with this track,
and by the end you're just wishing it could be a little longer. But that's
what remixes are for, yes? We did some searching and found the Abstract &
Logic mix, which slows down the original, stretches it out to a
club-friendly 6 minutes, and chugs it up with some dubstep elements. Tasty.
Video - Youtube
Abstract & Logic Mix (Audion) - Youtube
Erick Morillo & Eddie Thoneick ft Skin - "If This Ain't Love" - Courtesy of Subliminal
Ok is it just me or does Skin really look like Grace Jones in this video,
if she had Lady Gaga's stylist? Her voice, light and vulnerable, layered
over Morillo and Thoneick's 90's infused dance production, sounds both
genuine and far from typical. And it gives the words she's singing far
more import. The video is odd, but neat, and has really nothing to do with
the song content, where Skin threatens to stop believing in love if she's
not already in it. It's an understandable sentiment, because hey, if you
swear up and down that you're in love and you're not? Well, where else to
go? Maybe that's why people make dance music about heartbreak. Regardless, "If This Ain't Love" is a unique and fantastic offering, so play it and play it loud! If you enjoy song, you should dig up Skin's best known vocal performance, the club classic "Brazen (Weep)" by Skunk Anansie.
Video - Video
Sleigh Bells - "Comeback Kid" - Courtesy of Mom + Pop
"Comeback Kid" may be a logical next step for Brooklyn's noise pop duo Sleigh Bells. Listen to the track and you'll hear everything that made them lovable on their last album, Treats. But "Comeback Kid", the first single to their brand new album Reign of Terror, seems to have something else. It's like someone took one of those injectors for pastry filling and threw a bunch of pop sensibility into the track. The result, something like a chocolate eclair made from an aggressive sound wave and that fat free sugar they give to new pop artists, is both wildly aggressive and surprisingly catchy.
Video - Youtube
Cassie - "King of Hearts" - Courtesy of Interscope
Cassie Ventura, the replacement to Ciara who never really took off when it turned out Ciara still had a career, is back with a new track. And her change of direction, stylistically, mirrors Kreesha Turner a bit. Like "Rock Paper Scissors", "King of Hearts" is a bold move in the current musical climate. "King of Hearts" is a dance track, yes, and has a catchy hook, Cassie doing a great job with a subtle delivery. But it's not a typical dance track compared to other huge songs like what Taio Cruz and Chris Brown have been succeeding with. Like Kreesha, Cassie's change of direction seems like a willingness to accept trying something new to stay relevant, but doing it her way instead. It's a great track, let's hope it sticks.
Video - Youtube
CREEP ft Holly Miranda - "Animals" - Courtesy of Creep Intl
Man, this group lives up to their name. They got our attention with "You", the track that showed us Nina Sky like we've never seen them before, reminding us an awful lot of Ladytron. "Animals", with Holly Miranda on vocals, is another down tempo track but chock full of tension and curiosity. Holly Miranda's voice will beg the beats to start thudding, the whole presentation feeling like a lead up to a pulsing dance track. But "Animals" is to club music like a horse is to a car. The video is freaky and intriguing as well, giving "Animals" an overall sensation of wrongness even though it sounds pretty right to us. Whether this gets mixed or not, we think we're kind of glad we heard it.
Video - Youtube
Infected Mushroom - "U R So F***ed" (NSFW) - Courtesy of Dim Mak
In just about every electronic dance music sub genre, tracks often begin to sound the same after a while. Samples, keyboard hooks, beat structures and vocal effects become almost cliche with their predictability. This seems to happens just before a pop singer is brought in to cross the genre over to the mainstream. Though in the world of serious electronic dance music purists there are some who have the sense of humor to poke fun at a genre and really have some fun while doing it. Imagine Weird Al Yankovic doing a dub step track and you got an idea of what the extremely Not Safe For Work "U R So F**ked" by Infected Mushroom sounds like. The Israeli electro/rock production/dj duo have come up with a track that is satiric and brilliant at the same time. It's as if they were sitting in the studio and pieced together every dub step cliche and put on a scratch vocal as a joke. The thing is - it works brilliantly on so many levels. Releasing the song on Valentine's day makes it even better. The again Not Safe For Work video features the stock comedic device of wrestlers underprepared for a fight and they reach a resolution which is both disturbing and comical. Though I am pretty sure this is a novelty single for Infected Mushroom, it has intrigued me to explore the forth coming Army of Mushrooms album.
Video - Youtube
Die Antwoord - "I Fink U Freeky" - Courtesy of Downtown Records
Die Antwoord, to the uninformed eye or ear, may come across as some German group akin to Scooter. However, the trio comes from Cape Town, and this cultural association influences much of their music in a style called Zef (an Afrikaans word translating somewhat loosely into "working class whites"), which utilizes out-of-date sounds in a modern way. Hence why "I Fink U Freeky" surges forward like the new Mortal Kombat song for 2012 (with elements of the techno classic "Jump" by the Movement.) You may recall Die Antwoord from their uber-kitschy track "Rich Bitch" which was both terrible and brilliant. "I Fink U Freeky" is a step up, and 100% more cohesive a track, but you may want to try to ignore the video which seems to make Yolandi Visser, the female singer, into the anti-Dev. Or maybe her neglected twin sister. We wonder if the destruction of the Beats heads phones is a dig on their former record label Interscope? Anyway, for the Scooter, Lords of Acid, and Nicki Minaj fans out there, enjoy!
Video - Youtube
Grouplove - "Tongue Tied (Gigamesh Remix)" - Courtesy of Canvasback
Damn, floored in under 1 minute. Is that a record or something? This funky, bad-ass groovy remix Gigamesh provides of one of the latest Apple music finds (think of the commercial where the singer goes "Take me to your best friend's house" - that's "Tongue Tied") is so jaw-droppingly funnalicious that's it's hard to remember that remixes come any faster than this. It's pure pop bliss, riding every possible aural wave to every possible endorphine-releasing synapse in your brain. If you aren't jamming out, snapping your fingers, clapping, bopping your head, our outright cheering this collaboration on by the end, then we'll give you your money back. By the way, it was free, so don't actually ask us for money.
Audio - Youtube
Ladyhawke - "Black White & Blue" - Courtesy of Republic
Could it be? Is it she? The woman who's name was lifted from an 80's movie and who's sound boldly dared you to call her retro, even though she clearly envied the 80's and wished she still lived there has released a new track. "Black White & Blue" is brand new music and is a giant evolutionary leap forward for the singer, who's music takes a simultaneous step forward and back, the track coming across as modern and fresh while totally digging on the 60's/70's Woodstock/flower power/British mod vibe. It's really a clever and ambitiously adorable collection of influences giving hope that Ladyhawke's new material will usher her even more into the spotlight in 2012.
Video - Youtube
Chris Brown - "Turn Up The Music" - Courtesy of RCA
As the lead single from Chris Brown's 5th studio album, titled "Fortune", "Turn Up The Music" hits hard. This is one of those tracks we just need an extended mix for. Like Rihanna, this track features nods to both mainstream electronica and more underground DJ-oriented production, this time from Fuego and The Underdogs. Granted the track sounds like Calvin Harris and David Guetta got together and perhaps did unspeakable things on the equipment, the result is some incredibly hard beats over some delicious synths. Oh, and Chris Brown is singing, too.
Audio - Youtube
DJ Sammy - "Look For Love" - Courtesy of Robbins
Ok so this is more of a focus on an awesome video than the track. Granted, kudos to DJ Sammy to continuing to make music, while nothing seems to quite live up to the vibe and feel of his high streak with "Heaven" and "Boys of Summer", "Look For Love" is a fun track with a decent beat. But what truly shines is, as I've mentioned, the video. It tells the story of Charlie, a young man who meets Amy while both wear headphones. As they continue to see each other over the days, they grow more connected to one another, communicating via sitcky notes rather than talking. When Charlie asks Amy what she's listening to, she tells him it's a secret. Of course he's listening to DJ Sammy. Watch the video and see if you are as moved as what Amy's secret song is as we were.
Video - Youtube
Madonna ft MIA and Nicki Minaj - "Give Me All Your Lovin" - Courtesy of Live Nation/Interscope
This is probably the most fun Madonna has had on a record in a long time. "Give Me All Your Lovin" is mindless, bubblegum pop with a fast beat that recalls everything from Toni Basil's "Mickey" and Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" to her own classics "Material Girl" and "Ray of Light." Throw in a bit of "Misirlou," Martin Solveig's beats and short raps by MIA and Nicki Minaj, and you've got a fun mashed-up dance pop song that sounds modern enough for today's club kids and relatable enough for their parents. Wow, has Madonna's music gone the way of Disney movies - trying to include something for everyone? The video is the obvious Superbowl tie-in with Madonna playing with football players around what looks like a set from the movie Dick Tracy (maybe that's the explanation for the retro blond curly hair). While some may say including the Jabbawockeez dance troupe, MIA and Nicki Minaj is a desperate attempt to seem relevant in 2012, I would disagree. Throughout her career, Madonna has always been one to borrow elements of culture and spin them her own way. Anyway, at every point in the song and the video, Madonna is clearly the star.
Video - Youtube
MIA - "Bad Girls" - Courtesy of Interscope
Recently Madonna described Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" as reductive. That seems like an optimal description for the much buzzed about "Bad Girls" by MIA. The track is a pretty standard 90s era hip hop track with middle eastern influences sprinkled throughout it. The lyrics aren't necessarily flat, just not interesting or saying anything that is thought provoking which you would expect from the edgy-statement making MIA. Maybe the thought of just being boastful about the swagger of "Bad Girls' is edgy enough or it's a response to the similar sounding Panjabi MC "Mundian To Bach Ke" (aka "Beware of the Boys")? The video might be controversial with dancers in the full body dress of religious garments being seductive but the rest of the video feels like something Missy Elliott would have done in the late 90s (costumes, dancings, extreme car stunts.) From another artist, "Bad Girls" could be a fun pop song but from MIA you expect something more interesting - rather than a mash of 90s/00s musical and visual styles. Speaking of reductive, didn't her flicking off the camera during the Superbowl performance with Madonna remind you of Janet Jackson in 2004?
Video - Youtube
A*M*E feat. Bartoven - "City Lights" - Courtesy of Future Music/Universal
"City Lights" hits hard in the best nostalgic way. It really seems as if the 90's are the decade of choice for musical inspiration as A*M*E's track seems lifted right out of there. Of course some modern elements are included but even the video openly flaunts the decade stylistically and color-wise. Heck, they could be cast members on A Different World, kickin' it with Whitley. There's a little bit of similarity here between A*M*E and Azealia Banks, both attractive young ladies embracing the electronic genre with panache and gusto and hitting it hard. While Banks takes the cake with her "212", A*M*E and her rapper Bartoven give it a good push with "City Lights", and with any justice, will be packing your dance floor.
Video - Youtube
Computer Magic - "The End of Time" - Courtesy of Roundtable Records
When people do what they love, the results are stellar. In the case of Computer Magic (real name Danielle Johnston), this yields effervescent and laid back synth pop. This time it takes the form of "The End of Time", a track that is simultaneously dark and upbeat, leaving your foot tapping to the rhythm and your gears turning in thought. As introspective as the track is, the video takes it to new heights as Computer Magic walks her cute little self around New York City in a NASA astronaut suit. The imagery, as she frolics around a playground and walks across the street in front of cabs, is both playful and nonsensical. Why is she doing this? you might ask. It's ok, we don't know either. Just enjoy the music and stop asking so many questions.
Video - Youtube
Grimes - "Genesis" - Courtesy of 4AD
Infusing dark synths with ethereal vocals and a sense of intensity gives "Genesis" quite an edge within the first minute. When the beat drops, "Genesis" goes from New Age to Enya meets Janelle Monae. The result is as bouncy as you'd think with layers of maturity and guts. Now that the artist is signed to 4AD records, expect her debut album Visions to drop in the US February 21st. Grimes has some other great tracks to check out for a little history, "Vanessa", "Crystal Ball", and "Oblivion". While Claire Boucher, the name behind Grimes, may be relatively new to the majority of our readers, we're hoping that we get the chance to talk about her some more. This one is a keeper.
Audio - Youtube
