Category: Featured

SONG OF THE DAY: Gareth Emery ft Bo Bruce – “U”

British producer Gareth Emery starts 2014 with the rather strong new “U” featuring vocals by Bo Bruce. Its hard to judge new music from Gareth, because I always go back to his record “Concrete Angel” and want every song of his to be that magical. While that kind of expectation is unreal, “U” does stand on its own as a strong commercial, progressive pop single. Bo sounds like a cross between Sarah Mclachlan and Sinead O Connor over the track which has a “Summertime Sadness” feel. “U” is also one of those songs that grows with every listen. I liked it when I first heard it and every time I playback a mix show with it, the song stands out more and more. For a big room mix, check out the pumping take by W&W.

Image courtesy of Garuda.

Gareth Emery ft Bo Bruce – “U”

SONG OF THE DAY (SUNDAY FUNDAY): The Chainsmokers – “#Selfie”

I am not always the best at predicting memes (remember, I am the one who mistakenly thought Filly’s “Hung Like a Donkey” was going to blow up). Around Christmas, a friend sent me a link to watch this fan-made video of The Chainsmokers “#Selfie.” I had heard about The Chainsmokers and had been playing their mixes of Cash Cash, The Wanted, and Icona Pop so when I saw #Selfie, I just started laughing. Its an energetic and bouncy electro jam made special by the spoken vocal of THAT vapid club chick. You know, the pretty one with no self esteem who is talking shade and desperately posting self portraits. As a satire it is quite brilliant and reminiscent of tracks like Eddie Amador’s “Psycho X-Girlfriend” and even Katalina’s “DJ Girl.” The first unofficial fan video featured guys in drag bouncing around and is quite hilarious, I think I received it over 30 times from different people over the past month. This week, the official version featuring pretty girls lip-synching and selfies from superstar DJs dropped, and it could easily become a viral hit. Let’s see if the Dim Mak crew can recreate the success of the “Harlem Shake.” Though they needn’t worry about becoming a one hit wonder with a novelty record, remember that their brothers (in name) the Jump Smokers got their start with a song dissing Chris Brown and look at how successful they’ve become.

Official

Unofficial

Image courtesy of Dim Mak.

SONG OF THE DAY (SUNDAY FUNDAY): The Chainsmokers – “#Selfie”

SONG OF THE DAY: Blackedout – “Vessel”

New subgenre alert! Well, not new to everyone, but there hasn’t been a lot of press on this- so here is what is possibly your introduction to “futurebeats.” Popularized on reddit here, it is chilled electronic beats mashed with other genres. For those of us who have been around a while, it is reminiscent of the “intelligent” subgenres that abounded in the late ’90s. Imagine afterhours chill-out music mixed with ’80s slow jam R&B, ambient, hazy synths, and a touch of trap. That’s the best way to describe “Vessel” by Blackedout. It is a slight change, of course, from their debut EP (free download on their Bandcamp here) which seemed to focus on nature and environmental soundscapes. The darker, moody sound of “Vessel” seems a better fit for their vibe.

Image Courtesy of Rachel Donelan.

Blackedout – Vessel