Category: Featured

SONG OF THE DAY: Gala – “Taste Of Me”

When you’ve got a signature, it’s best to stick with it. I can pretty much write the same review I did of Gala’s last single “Lose Yourself in Me” for her new single “Taste of Me.” As in “the song has all of the elements of classic Gala ? that unique, tough-but-sweet voice, intelligent lyrics written above the level of most dance pop, and a catchy, repeated chorus hook.” That’s not to say the two songs are overly similar – they aren’t – but they are both high-quality dance pop. What strikes me this time around is how fans of the recent work of fellow ’90s europop singer Robyn should be obsessed with Gala as well. While they wait for new material for from the blonde Swede, they can catch a similar vibe of “Call Your Girlfriend” both in lyrical (figuratively marking their romantic territory) and visual (single take video with intense choreography) content. One major improvement from the last single is the highly impressive roster of remixers who ALL turn in strong takes – Starkillers, Hoxton Whores, Bimbo Jones, and Almighty. Each crew hit a different sound, making it perfect for just about any club DJ to work into their primetime sets. Yes, I am obviously a Gala fan and after you listen to “Taste of Me,” I bet you will be also.

Image courtesy of Matriarchy records.

Gala – “Taste of Me”

SONG OF THE DAY: Crookers – “#Heavy”

Probably best know for his international smash remix of Kid Cudi “Day and Night,” Francesco ?Phra? Barbaglia, a/k/a Crookers, is obviously still in the holiday spirit – as he is giving away downloads of his new single “#Heavy.” The track starts kind of normal, with a bouncy house groove, until a foreboding space/horror movie tone comes in gradually over the beat. Electro and industrial bits begin to appear with skips and stutters. A male voice saying the title #Heavy is repeated by an effected kid voice – as if a call and response – leading to a dramatic rise up to the literal climax (and it’s definitely female). There is a sense of humor and playful perversion here that is seen often in records by other Italian DJs (Benny Benassi/DJs from Mars), though the best comparison is probably the literal “drop” in the recent Cash Cash/Kerli song “Here and Now.” One note to DJs, the ending comes kind of suddenly after the foreboding tone picks up a second time. Aside from the cliched # hashtag in the title, “#Heavy” is a rather strong track, and it’s surprising that it is being given away free as it is one that would probably do quite well on Beatport.

Image Courtesy of Ciao records.

Crookers – “#Heavy”

SONG OF THE DAY: Antillas – “Adagio in G Minor”

It’s refreshing to listening to a track and hearing a different and unique inspiration. Producer/DJ Antillas continues his string of strong singles (“When You Love Someone,” “Top of the World,” “Disconnected“) with the classically inspired ‘Adagio in G Minor’ by Remo Giazotto based on a manuscript fragment by Tomaso Albinoni. The original is not as instantly or universally recognizable as the pieces used by Tiesto/William Orbit (“Adagio for Strings”) or Wolfgang Gartner (“5th Symphony,”) which makes it less expected and have an even stronger impact. The solid electro production has a touch of glitch but nothing over the top and the vocals are solid. For club, this will sound great either end of night — or even in the middle of a set to surprise people with something unexpected. Since it is so unexpected, this could easily go viral if a kitschy video is done by a fan. If you like the idea of classical music used in EDM – check out Lange ft Ilsevioilin ? ?Violin?s Revenge? and 3Some & Eran Hersh ? ?Red Alert.”

Image Courtesy of IHU/Armada.