Author: DJ Ron Slomowicz

SONG OF THE DAY: Gabrielle Aplin vs Rob Searle – “The Power of Love”

Absolutely gorgeous – that’s the only way to describe the original version of Gabrielle Aplin’s cover of this Frankie Goes to Hollywood classic. Originally released during the holidays of 1984, the third FGTH single was a massive chart topper. Angelic voiced singer/songwriter Gabrielle Aplin built an audience by posting videos on Youtube and caught the attention of Parlophone. Prior to the release of her first major label album, she was chosen to record the holiday song for department store John Lewis commercials. A top 5 single in its original piano-led acoustic version, the uplifting trance pop remix by Rob Searle takes it a whole new level. Reminiscent of old-school trance from the mid 90s with pretty synths and air-y pads in the intro, the mix builds with a big kick drum raise before the crescendo of electro beats lifts it to an epic fusion of stadium house and modern trance. The success of the mix comes as no surprise since Rob’s initial industry buzz came from a bootleg he did of “The Power of Love” back in 1999. This new remix is so strong (and such a perfect ending for a high energy club set) that I would imagine it could launch a second wave of success for him.

Image Courtesy of Parlophone/EMI.

SONG OF THE DAY: M’Black – “Crush”

Though the YouTube page says M-Black is back, Israeli producer Matt Schwarz has been quite busy since his last single “Heartbreak” topped the US dance airplay chart back in 2010: producing “Timebomb” for Kylie and releasing projects under his other pseudonym, Dada. As much as “Heartbreak” was a grower of a record, the new single “Crush” is an instant love on first listen. The subtle production of the intro puts the spotlight on vocalist Nicol, who sounds quite incredible. And as soon as it crescendoes into the chorus with “you save me only to crush me,” the energy is full throttle but not in a cheesy way. For such an obvious dance pop record, it maintains a cool, progressive vibe that will guarantee much love from dance radio. For the clubs, there is a mix for just about every genre – electro (Dada), dubstep-ish (Bar9), and euphoric (Alistair Albrecht & Bellatrax). As its release is so late in 2012, watch for “Crush” to last well into 2013 and possibly be one of the big peoples’ favorites of WMC.

Image Courtesy of Robbins/Destined.

SONG OF THE DAY: Cher – “Woman’s World”

With the current wave of electronic dance music taking over the airwaves, Cher is one of two artists that I have been waiting to hear from (the other being Missy Elliott.) “Woman’s World” is exactly what you would expect, a hybrid of europop and electro with Cher’s effected vocals singing a song of female empowerment (think Beyonce’s “Run the World,” set in a club and free of expletives.) Cher does sound great, and the production is incredibly slick, but the song kept reminding me of something that I couldn’t place. When I read “Woman’s World” was produced by Paul Oakenfold, it hit me… “Celebration,” the song Madonna did with Oakie. (Note to mashup DJs, “Celebration” and “Woman’s World” would go perfectly together.) As much as I would love Cher to work with someone more up-and-coming, her working with Oakenfold makes perfect sense, as I predict the two legendary artists are about to experience another boom in prominence with a new generation of clubgoers. The song title is probably a play on her 1995 album title It’s A Man’s World, the album that contained “One By One” – of which the Junior Vasquez remix supposedly influenced Cher to step back into dance music to create “Believe.” Club play will be massive as there is guaranteed to be an insane set of credible club remixes, but it will be interesting to see if Cher can capture the attention of commercial radio for a full-on mainstream crossover.

Image Courtesy of Warner Bros.