Category: Song Of The Day

SONG OF THE DAY: Martijn ten Velden – “Shake Your”

Fans of Martijn ten Velden who know him for his tech house/minimalist tracks and DJ sets might be scratching their heads when they hear ?Shake Your.? Known for ?I Wish You Would,? ?Together? and massive collaborations with Mark Knight, this Dutch DJ/producer has changed his sound. If you look at the name of his record label, you?ll see why. Papagaio means happy father; his new focus on his family and son has inspired him to slow things down (under 124 bpm) and make it groovier. Unlike, say, Disclosure or Prince Club who are making tracks that sound exactly like 90s house, ?Shake Your? has elements of both that sound and nu-disco yet is reconstructed in a way to come across as unique and current. This isn’t a peak hour, floor-filling track but rather something sexy to get your shuffling groove onto. It goes to show that a track can have energy without slamming you in the face with pounding beats and glitchy electro.

Image Courtesy of Papagaio Records.

SONG OF THE DAY: Da Hool ft Emmalyn – “Into the Unknown (Antillas & Dankann Remix)”

German DJ Frank Tomiczkez, better known as Da Hool, achieved massive success fifteen years with the international club anthem ?Meet Her at the Love Parade.? Forever busy in the studio, his consistent stream of tracks receive much attention from DJs, especially his most recent commercial vocal releases ?Illusion? (sung by Lima) and ?She Plays Me Like a Melody? (with the Global Deejays remix and the pole dancer video.) For ?Into the Unknown,? he steps again into the world of crossover, blending progressive electro and stadium house with a gorgeous pop vocal hooks from Emmalyn. The focus here seems to be the Antillas & Dankann remix which adds a bit of dub step to the breakdown while maintaining the energy of a floor-filling primetime track. Emmalyn seems to be a new vocalist in the Armada camp. With powerful yet pretty pipes, I have a feeling we are going to hear a lot more collaborations from her.

Image Courtesy of Armada.

SONG OF THE DAY (SUNDAY FUNDAY PART 2): Le Grind – “I Was There (Where Were You)”

The buzz on this records is that it?s this summer’s ?Let’s Have a Kiki,? and while I get that, I think the song is also an offshoot of Chelley’s ?Take the Night? with the spoken lyrics and staccato clap backing beat. Actually ?I Was There (Where Were You)? outshines both of these singles by upping the ante massively. Sassy diva Reyna tells a story of Studio 54, joined by her tranny friend responding with more dish. Just when you thought the song was all spoken, nearly two minutes in comes the nu-disco vibes chorus where Reyna sings like an old school, soulful disco diva. Dropping names like Andy Warhol, Mick Jagger, Steve Rubell, Donna Summer, Grace Jones, and Liza Minelli, it?s obvious they did their homework about clubland history; based on the video, none of them were alive during the Studio 54 disco era. Strongly recommended for fans of Mika and Scissor Sisters, ?I Was There? is one of those fun novelty pop dance tracks that no one will be ashamed to have on their iPods (or dance to at the club.)

Image Courtesy of Bedfellow Records.