Category: Song Of The Day

SONG OF THE DAY: Jessy feat Gera – “Remember Me”

First, to clarify any confusion – this Jessy is the Dutch/Israeli producer/DJ and not the Belgian europop singer who sang “Look at Me Now” and “Dancing in the Dark.” Following the Tiesto-supported “Give Me Love,” Jessy teams up with singer Gera for a more melodic, pretty, and almost spiritual sound. Its as if he’s combining music from his roots – the dirty Dutch sound with the Israeli trance sound with a bit of pop melody to make it his own.? The lyrics are open-ended, easily-interpreted as the beginning of a relationship or the results of one reaching a tragic end. Either way, it’s a hauntingly beautify trance pop song with meaningful lyrics reminiscent of the recent Luckner song “Time.”

Image courtesy of Sliced.

SONGS OF THE DAY: Duck Sauce “It’s You” and Avicii ft Aloe Blacc “Wake Me Up”

Putting these two songs together might have you scratching your head, but they share a very similar concept – taking sounds from outside the traditional dance genre and incorporating them in a unique way while completely changing their sound. Duck Sauce’s previous singles “Barbra Streisand” and “aNYway” were built around disco samples to create playful and energetic house records. For “It’s You,” the duo of A-Trak and Armand van Helden reconstructed Bruce Patch’s doo-wop record with bouncy beats, electro glitches, and just a hint of the disco vibe which makes it a Duck Sauce track (and the hairy video is reminiscent of their “Big Bad Wolf” clip). With “Levels” and “Bromance,” Avicii didn’t exactly create the stadium house sound but can be seen as one the people who elevated it to mainstream acceptance. “Wake Me Up” brings country and bluegrass to the dance floor with modern electronic production. While you can definitely hear elements of Avicii’s sound in the track, the overall results are completely different, unexpected, and lifted to a higher plane thanks to the soulful, raw, and emotional vocals of Aloe Blacc (the soulful singer of “I Need a Dollar”). While it’s a difficult record to play on a commercial dance floor (trust me, I’ve tried), the sound is so fresh and unique that it will be an instant reaction record for any radio station that adds it.

Images courtesy of Casablanca and Island.

SONG OF THE DAY (SUNDAY FUNDAY): Wideboys – “Wonky”

It’s Sunday and you’re sitting at home after a long night clubbing. The pounding beats are still reverberating in your skull as you are recovering from your intake from the night before. Well, “Wonky” is not the track you want to listen to speed up the process. The Wideboys rose up from the bass and garage underground and built a following for their energetic electro remixes with a pop edge (LMFAO, Rihanna, Leann Rimes, Pet Shop Boys, Britney Spears, and Ke$ha are just a few of the big pop stars who have benefited from Wideboys reconstructions). For their new Crucial Cuts EP, they’ve captured several different sounds of clubland – a bit of ’90s underground hip-house (“Party People”), a Zedd/Daft Punk fusion (“Chip Funk”), and a modern take on the Nightcrawlers/Mark Kinchen vibe (“Preacher”). For me, the standout track is “Wonky,” an absurdly happy and bouncy track that just works on every level. Imagine if the DNA of Robbie Rivera’s “Funk-A-Tron,” Sash’s “Intercontinental Invaders,” Mr Oizo’s “Flat Beat,” and Wolfgang Gartner’s earliest work were recombined to create a super track that does nothing but bring joy and energy to everyone on a dance floor. So yeah, it’s not good for Sunday afternoon recovery but it might just motivate you to make it a three-day weekend.

Images courtesy of World Wide Phonographics.