Category: Featured

SONG OF THE DAY: Lush & Simon – “City of Lights”

Italian duo Alessandro Miselli & Simone Pioltelli, better known as Lush & Simon, follow up their banging track “Adrenaline” with the gorgeous “City of Lights.” The new track flips the script as the prior was hard with a little bit of pretty, the new one is pretty and uplifting with just a touch of aggression to keep it club-friendly. The drop is especially noteworthy, with the pretty yet rock-influenced guitar sound leading the hook (slightly reminiscent of Alesso’s “City of Deams”). It sounds like something that one of the big guys like Armin or Zedd would be releasing for the fall season. As a track it’s incredibly strong, but it feels like it’s calling out to have a great topline on top of it. With the title “City of Lights,” the lyrics are almost in mind as I hear the song play.

Image Courtesy of Trice/Armada.

SONG OF THE DAY: Tom Staar ft Chrom3 – “Faces”

Listening to a set online the other day, I heard a song that immediately caught my attention. It sounded like Seal was going back to his club roots with a lushly-produced EDM track called “Air You Breathe.” It stuck in my mind, and no matter where I looked online, I couldn’t place it. Imagine the pleasant surprise when someone told me to check out this new track on Wolfgang Gartner’s Kindergarten label and it ended up being that song. Rather than a Trevor Horn production of Seal, it ended up being Tom Staar with vocalist Chrom3 on this track called “Faces.” The dropout is what reminded me so much of classic Trevor Horn/ZTT, with full-sounding synths and meticulously gorgeous production that sounded great in the ’80s/’90s sounds even better when contrasted with the harder more electro sounds of clubland right now. Actually, the prettier part of the record overshadows the electro part so much that it feels like the track started as an ambient track and it was pumped up with electro as an afterthought. While reminiscent of Seal, Chrom3 sounds especially fresh because there is no one else singing on club records that sounds like him right now. There is raw passion in his vocal performance that elevates the song to a new level. As great as this song sounds in the clubs, I wouldn’t be surprised if an ambient version with the lush downtempo part and the full vocal popped up on a movie soundtrack or a television show in the very near future.

Image Courtesy of Kindergarten Records.

SONG OF THE DAY: Le Youth ft Dominique Young Unique – “Dance With Me”

Last year, producer Le Youth released “C.O.O.L,” a chilled, downtempo house record based on the r&b song “Me & U” by Cassie.? The vibe was so different and refreshing that it became quite a big buzz record.? He simply has a knack for reimagining r&b sounds – reworking the lyrics to become something totally different and fresh.? For “Dance With Me,” he takes snippets of vocals from TLC “No Scrubs,” slows them down to sound masculine, and rebuilds a new verse structure with them.? The effect is? hypnotic, as the first time you listen, the song sounds so familiar but you just can’t seem to place it.? The original version has been up for a while on his Soundcloud, so when I heard there was new version with a rap from Dominique Young Unique, it struck me as odd.? Luckily, the rapper, who is currently riding high in the UK charts with “Earthquake,” felt the vibe and really flowed well with the groove.? In case you are wondering what a current pop song would sound like with a Le Youth remix, check out his brilliant- yet unrecognizable-? take on Foxes “Youth.”

Image Courtesy of Sony.