Category: Featured

SONG OF THE DAY: Chris Lake & Michael Woods – “Black Thong”

Spinning a mainstream room, I find myself working overtime to please a divided crowd who want to hear different sounds.? There are those who want aggressive, pounding electro and others who want prettier, progressive house. Along comes this brilliant? “Black Thong” track and my DJ life is so much easier.? Producers Chris Lake & Michael Woods have teamed up to construct this seemingly perfect mashup of the two disparate genres.? Starting off, the track sounds like the apotheosis of stadium house, as if Swedish House Mafia and Avicii morphed together as one.? Along comes a build, and the track jumps seamlessly into a pumping electro track with a touch of glitch, asian instrumentation, and vocal cheers.? As the energy builds, a whoosh comes along and the gorgeously progressive big room sound comes in again.? In less talented hands, this track would simply read as a choppy mashup. Chris and Michael managed to blend the two disparate sounds together into a cohesive track which will no doubt make everyone dance.? Aside from an explanation on where the song title came from, what more could a DJ ask for?

Image Courtesy of Ultra

SONG OF THE DAY: Gareth Emery & Ashley Wallbridge – “DUI”

Looking back at 2012,? these two producers Gareth Emergy and Ashley Wallbridge are responsible for two of the biggest highlights.? “Concrete Angels” by Gareth Emery and Christina Novelli stands out as one of the most uplifting vocal trance records of the year – always getting a crowd floor response and requests.? At the Armada party, Ashley Wallbridge’s tag team set with Tom Fall was one of the clear highlights of the Amsterdam Dance Event 2012. ? While their previous collaboration “Mansion” was more massively aggressive and banging, the new track “DUI” is a bit more subtle and, yes, hazy.? If 808 State was making progressive records for big rooms, this is what it would sound like.? Based on a hooky piano line (played in their making of video), the track builds and transforms through aggressive peaks and? euphoric valleys – taking the listener (and dancer) on a real, transformative journey.? As exceptional as this track is, I am only imagining how uplifting it would be with a great top line from Christina Novelli. ?

Image Courtesy of Garuda.

SONG OF THE DAY: Tegan and Sara – “Closer”

Just like fellow Canadians Dragonette, indie-rock duo Tegan and Sara seem to be going more electronic with each successive release. Working with Tiesto, Morgan Page, and David Guetta & Alesso as well as embracing remixes of their own songs, the identical twins are finding that EDM fans love their catchy, intelligently-written (and sometimes quirky) pop songs as well. “Closer” is a rock-flavored, energetic electropop song with influences of dubstep and stadium house in its original production. The sing-along chorus and “oh-oh-oh” chant are just two of the many catchy elements. Working with Greg Kurstin, a member of the group The Bird & the Bee (who has produced hits for Kylie Minogue and Kelly Clarkson), Tegan and Sara have managed to seamlessly blend indie dance rock and electronic pop into something cool and credible that is also insanely radio-friendly. While there is no doubt that a full slate of remixes will be forthcoming, the one to reach for is the epic-feeling Sultan and Ned Shepard rerub. Keeping the full vocals intact, the dynamic levels shift from a very pretty and euphoric verse which builds to a massively intense chorus. Even with the dropouts, the energy is constant as the emotion of the lyrics come through loud and clear. Like the original production, the remix is cool and edgy while being both club-friendly and commercial at the same time. Also like the original version, their remix is so strong that an edit of it would sound equally amazing on the radio.

Image courtesy of Warner.