SONG OF THE DAY: Arty – “Flashback”

So, I’ve been challenged to do a write-up without using the words stadium, big room, or progressive. Listening to this new track “Flashback” by Arty, it will be a challenge since all three of those words are apt descriptions. Russian producer/DJ Arty continues to release strong tracks both on his own (“Together We Are” with vocalist Chris James) and as collaborations (“Rebound” with Mat Zo, which will.i.am used for his own “Let’s Go”). The banging tech trance “Flashback” first surfaced as a mashup with the guitar line of Daft Punk’s “Aerodynamic” in the breakdown. For full release, the drop is wisely replaced with a build into a softer b-line hook that is more of a response to the banging main hook – as in if the two hooks were played back-to-back it would almost be a call-and-response, or a techno “simon says.” The title is quite apt as the main hook has the same powerful intensity of Tiesto’s classic “Flight 643” with its staccato key stabs. There are a few other classic-sounding elements sprinkled throughout, though the overwhelming feel of blending soft and hard make this a very modern 2013 track. Currently released as a track, “Flashback” could easily come back with a vocal topline, or as a mashup with the right quirky vocal track.

Image Courtesy of Anjunabeats.

Notable Dance Podcast #033



Pegasus ft Chole Wolf – Gorecki

Jack & Joy ft Calvin Lynch – Be This Way (Original Extended)
3Lau, Paris & Simo ft Bright Lights – Escape (Bursters)
Jordy Dazz – Torpedo
Lazy Jay – On the Rocks
Martin Solveig & Laidback Luke – Blow
The PartySquad & Mitchell Niemeyer – Pantsdown
Blasterjaxx – Snake
Tiesto ft BT – Love Comes Again (Blasterjaxx)
Don Diablo & Matt Nash ft Noonie Bao – Starlight Could You Be Mine (Drop Dept)
Ferry Corsten ft Jenny Wahlstrom – Many Ways (Ext)
Justin Michael ft Phillip Larue – Young Forever (Extended)

SONG OF THE DAY: Patrolla – “Groovy”

Here is an inspired cover version. Many of us first heard the dark, folky “Reach Out of the Darkness” by Friend and Lover when Mad Men used it in an episode this past May. Next up was Jocelyn Alice & Right the Stars, who updated the classic with an indiepop, Pizzicato 5 feel, keeping the hooks in place – this is the “So Groovy Now” that Target is using in their recent series of commercials. Entering the scene is London group Patrolla, who have remixed the likes of Paulina Rubio and Agnetha Faltskog, who take the Jocelyn Alice version and give it a club/dance radio-friendly beat with a nice buildup in the middle. If you were around in the ’90s, this would fit the trend of ’90s house acts that embraced ’60s sounds- like Soho and Deee-Lite. The resulting track is quite sexy and groovy, with a funky feel that is retro and modern at the same time. Funny enough, I first heard this track when Seamus Haji dropped it in his mixtape and I was like, “oh cool, a dance mix of that Target song!” Seamus’ mix ups the BPM a bit, adding some more housy keyboards and builds, while keeping the full vocals in place for the drop out. The big beat elements he uses are just about perfection. Patrolla have a full album coming next year and I definitely look forward to hearing what they are going to sound like, as their website features old school hip-hop, old school house, and breakbeat mixes. On a side note, for the house heads, this isn’t the first time that “Reach Out of the Darkness” has been used in a dance record. Krush, the girl group behind the classic “House Arrest,” also sampled it for their 1992 single “Let’s Get Together.”

Image Courtesy of Universal/Island.