Category: Featured

SONG OF THE DAY:? Grace Valerie – “Not For Love”

Discovered by American Idol Judge Randy Jackson, Grace Valerie launched onto the? scene with her electro confection “When the Lights Go Down” which found success in the clubs and youtube.? For? “Not for Love,” she worked with producer busbee (Alexandra Burke, Pink, Kelly Clarkson) to create a story song in the tradition of a Meatloaf epic.? The soft piano intro highlights the vulnerable emotions of the chorus while every time she repeats it, the intensity and power increases.? Though completely pop in the production, remixes would be powerful on the dance floor – even if they are based on just the memorable chorus over stomping electro beats (though including the verse would be nice also.)?? The video shows the power of love through sports and determination, and while I don’t want to give away the story line – it could easily be embraced by a large population as a protest theme to the host country of the Winter Olympics.

Image courtesy of Grace Music.

SONG OF THE DAY: Morgan Page and Michael S – “Against the World”

Premiered during Morgan Page’s recent MPP3d bus tour, “Against the Tour” is a moving and powerful song of unity between two people. The progressive pop track is almost a battle of contrasts; multilayered yet pristine, and energetic yet pretty, it really stands out from similar tracks that have been released over the past few months. Michael S contributes a solid vocal performance filled with emotion similar in style to “Leaving You” with Audien, but with the completely opposite message. Actually, the more I listen to the lyrics, I keep think its the modern interpretation of an old Helen Reddy song (written by Daft Punk collaborator Paul Williams) of a similar title. New remixes by Tony Romera and Denzal Park add a bit of electro for primetime dance floor energy while keeping the tone and message firmly in place. It might be a bit late for Valentine’s Day, but “Against the World” would be a perfect song to send to someone special in your life.

Image courtesy of Nettwerk.

Morgan Page and Michael S – “Against the World”

Richard Durand Interview (ADE 2013)

When prepping for an interview with a trance guy, you have to have all your facts straight as they are often so very precise and serious.??Dutch DJ/producer Richard Durand breaks that mold.?Originally supported by Tiesto and gaining big attention for his massive remix of ?Chasing Cars? by Snow Patrol, Richard went on to continue the ?In Search of Sunrise? compilation series after Tiesto left Black Hole.???Evolving the series to embrace more genres, the sound definitely reflects his diverse style.??Also, if you follow Richard on Twitter, you will quickly see that the jovial nature and light-hearted sense of humor that comes across in his posts.???At some points in the interview it was hard to keep a straight face with all the side comments and jokes that he was throwing in.??He is clearly not just a trance DJ.

DJ Ron Slomowicz: We all know that Tiesto started the?In Search of Sunrise?series, how did you become the next person to do it?
Richard Durand: Tiesto left Black Hole Recordings a few years ago, and they were left wondering what they should do with the brand because it was not only Tiesto?s brand but the brand of Black Hole Recordings. The owner, Arny Bink, asked me to do it, but at first I was nervous of what people would think of me taking Tiesto?s position. I figured why not and decided that it would be a big opportunity to grow a profile base and to build on my name and do something different. Now that I have done a few editions it has become very important to me, it?s great.

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