Category: Featured

SONG OF THE DAY: Audien ft Michael S – “Leaving You”

Watching Audien’s sound develop with each release is definitely a journey. Fresh off the massive big room monster “Sup” is the straight-ahead dance pop “Leaving You.” Yes it’s pop, but its cool and club-friendly as well. Imagine if Zedd would have produced Ne-Yo’s last single – combining catchy emotional pop breakup lyrics from a male perspective with a dimensionally-layered electro track. This is the kind of song that, if recorded by a major pop or R&B male vocalist, would become a massive radio hit with next to no burn. If you are one of the DJs who packed floors with “These Are the Days” or are looking for a great male vocal track to add to your club sets, “Leaving You” should be at the top of your buy list on Beatport. Lovers of vocal dance pop should be on this one as well.

Image courtesy of Zouk.

SONG OF THE DAY: Bart Claessen – “Showtime”

Aggressive electro and glitch mixed with touches of classic rave samples and elements of stadium house is the formula for “Showtime.” The new big room track from Dutch DJ/producer Bart Claessen is in the mold of Zedd’s “Spectrum,” notable for the seamless blending of multiple divergent genres and sounds into a cohesively flowing track. With its vocal effects as well as mood and energy changes, “Showtime” works well as a primetime focus for any big room set. I saw that Bart has 4 more tracks coming out in the next 3 months and if “Showtime” is any indication of where Bart is going, I will definitely be watching for them.

Image courtesy of Big & Dirty.

SONG OF THE DAY: Armin van Buuren ft Fiora – “Waiting For the Night”

Following in the footsteps of fellow Dutchman Junkie XL, ?Armin van Buuren is adding film scores to his c.v.? For the upcoming Dutch movie “Verliefd op Ibiza” (translated as In Love With Ibiza), Armin scored a third of the movie and produced the single “Waiting for the Night.”? A pretty and energetic trance pop song with catchy vocals, “Waiting for the Night” is cool enough for clubs and commercial enough for radio without going into cheese pop land.? DJs wanting a more aggressive mix can reach for Clinton VanSciver’s electrodisco take or Beat Service’s progressive rethink.? The video is the typical cliche soundtrack formula, film scenes interspersed with singer Fiora – who looks as beautiful as she sounds – performing with scenes from the film projected onto her.? The film looks fun and for someone who will probably never make it to Ibiza, I definitely hope that an English-subtitled version of the film finds it way for rental on Netflix quite soon.

Image courtesy of Armada.