Category: Song Of The Day

SONG OF THE DAY: Ayah Marar – “Beg Borrow Steal”

You may not know her name, but you will definitely recognize her voice.? Ayah Marar sang (and cowrote) Calvin Harris’ most recent hit “Thinking About You.”? For the lead US single from her debut album, “Beg Borrow Steal,” Ayah creates a similar vibe with a bit more of a pop edge.? The chorus has my trainspotter brain going crazy – making me think of Fergie’s “Big Girl” as well as Bruno Mars “Just the Way You Are.”? Ayah sounds great, but if I were to make one critique it would be that the backing vocals almost cross that cheesy line.? Well, that and that my favorite remix, Looney B’s, is a dub rather than containing vocals, though the remixer gets points for the comical name and makes me wonder if it’s Lenny B in disguise.? DJs looking for a vocal mix should go right to DSC CHK mix which has all the right elements in place and works for primetime.? By the way, if you get a chance to see Ayah perform live – do it.? When she performed at Promo Only Summer Sessions, she won the crowd.? And no one else can rock a top knot cone bun like she can.

Image Courtesy of Radikal.

SONG OF THE DAY: Chuckie – “Skydive”

You’ve got to give Chuckie credit, he sure is jumping around the genres.? Known for the big Dirty Dutch sound and his massive “Let the Bass Kick,” which was combined with LMFAO’s “I’m In Miami, Bitch” for one of the biggest mashups of all time, his most recent single was the urban/trap “Makin Papers” with Lupe Fiasco and Too Short.? Now comes “Skydive” which is obviously aimed at commercial crossover.?? Featuring vocalist Maiday, it sounds like Calvin Harris channeled ELO for a summertime eurodance hit with a bit of big room bombast in the interludes.? The thing is the main hook seems like a replay of Luciana’s “U B the Bass.”? Listen to both songs back to back and you will definitely hear it.? On first listen, “Skydive” is an instant hit, and the first time I played it for my crowd they loved it.? DJs will not want to sleep on this one when its released on Big Beat next month, because it will surely be a radio hit really quick.

Image Courtesy of Big Beat.

SONG OF THE DAY: Pegasus ft Chloe Wolf – “Gorecki”

I’ve mentioned the WTF concept for a record a few times (see here for description).? When I first heard “Gorecki,” I had to think ‘is this really bad or really amazing.’ ?After a few listens, I realize it’s the latter.? An update of the song, it’s a similar remaining to what the Freemasons did with Alanis Morissette’s “Uninvited” a few years back.? What threw me off is that Chloe Wolf’s style of singing and talking feels like it belongs on a mellow trance record rather than a retro dark house style.? Actually, to be more specific, imagine if during their “Flashdance” era, Deep Dish would have produced “Faster Kill Pussycat” (instead of Paul Oakenfold) and channeled some of Rollo’s downbeat epic style.? (And if you don’t know Deep Dish “Flashdance” or Paul Oakenfold “Faster Kill Pussycat” or who Rollo is, click their names for listening links.)? The vocals and the production make “Gorecki” stand out from what is out there and from what most of Freemasons have done, though it does have a bit of a similar feel to their most recent single “Tears.”? There will no doubt a full slate of mixes come release, and hopefully the Freemasons might consider bringing back their Walken alter-ego as that sound would fit the song perfectly.

Image Courtesy of Freemasons Music.