Category: Song Of The Day

SONG OF THE DAY: Mayra Veronica “Mama Mia” (UK Version)

Oh wow, this sounds like it’s gonna be massive! ?Back in January, Mayra Veronica released the spanish-flavored “Ay Mama Mia,” which we described as having the festive vibe of classic Miami Sound Machine songs updated with modern elements and sounding like “Get Get Down” from Paul Johnson.? After topping the Billboard Chart, the song got picked up by SyCo for UK pop release.? The new pop version is fully fleshed-out with a two new vocal toplines, both sung by Mayra. The bridge brings in the vocal line “Get Get Down,” turning it into a command to dance while paying homage to the ’90s house classic. The second line has a Luciana-like feel, with playful lines (“hot like jalape?o”), which essentially makes herself her own featuring artist. Rather than bringing in Pitbull or another guest rapper, she did it all herself. It’s not as multiple personality as say an Azealia Banks or Nicki Minaj record, but the distinctly different vocal lines take what was essentially a floor-filling dub with minimal vocals and turn it into a fully-realized pop record. In addition to the updated mixes by Dave Aude, Sick Individuals, Chocolate Puma, Robbie Rivera, and Razor N Guido, a new and aggressive mix by Genairo Nvilla blends the dirty dutch sound with tribal grooves for an energetic take just for big room European clubs. Add up the elements – ’90s house sample, spanish vibe, talk-sing vocals, a latin bombshell artist – and with the promotion power of Simon Cowell’s SyCo label, you got what could be a massive summer radio and club smash around the world.

Image Courtesy of Syco.

SONG OF THE DAY: Ghost Beach – “Miracle”

As genres and influences merge and mutate, some truly interesting hybrids emerge. ‘Tropical grit pop’ – ok, let’s try to wrap our heads around the label that NYC band Ghost Beach has claimed. Their single “Miracle” does have a bit of the Hawaiian summer vibe in the background, with a groovy melody that could inspire some hula movement. The vocals add the grit with a touch of the Imagine Dragons/Capital Cities influence, and effected like it’s coming through megaphone. Pop is clearly short for synth-pop as there is as much Flock of Seagulls in there as there is Men at Work. It also helps that the chorus is quite catchy. DJs looking for a stadium house/Avicii-esque take will be quite satiated with the remix by Nathan C.

Image Courtesy of Nettwerk.

SONG OF THE DAY: HIIO & John Dish – “Rock & Roll”

There is a certain big room electro sound that has been overly-prominent lately. A sound or sample becomes de rigueur and suddenly every track on the beatport 100 seems to be using it (see Daleri’s “Mashleg” for an extreme example). What sets a producer apart is a new sound, vibe, or influence which brings a fresh taste to their track. South American duo HIIO have been on a rampage this year with a slew of club tracks featuring quality vocalists and elements of soul and gospel for a different take on big room electro. For their new track “Rock and Roll,” they’ve teamed with rising producer John Dish and added an element of ’90s dance music that has yet to be explored in the current flashback meme – euphoric sounds a la Rollo/Faithless. If you listen closely to the synth line you will hear the big room sounds inspired by the early epic classics like “Insomina” and “Salva Mea.” What this has to do with the sampled vocal, I am not sure – but the contrast makes “Rock and Roll” stand out from the majority of tracks being churned out by the pack of EDM producers on an hourly basis.

Image Courtesy of CR2 Records.