Category: Song Of The Day

SONG OF THE DAY (SUNDAY FUNDAY): Lady Bunny – “Take Me Up High”

What becomes a legend most? Lady Bunny jokes in her uproarious cabaret act that being labeled a legend is simply being dismissed as old. I beg to differ. A legend is a master of his/her craft who stands the test of time. With the barrage of songs being released from recent Drag Race alumni, leave it to a true artist/legend Lady Bunny to show them how it’s done. As a devotee of disco house songs with catchy vocals, she delivers what she loves with her new single “Take My Up High.” With nine remixes it’s hard to discern which is the original version, but I would venture to say that the jaunty retro disco affair by True2Life might be closest. Blending the Disclosure/Prince Club 90s house revival meme with a bit of bouncy hiNRG synths (and a touch of classic 2Step) makes the perfect track for Bunny’s sing-along vocals about having a good time, dancing at the club and partying with friends. While Bunny may not be a classically trained operatic diva, she can actually sing and her perky, fun performance sounds authentic and nuanced rather than like an Auto-Tuned robot. DJs wanting a harder, more big room/electro version should reach for the mixes by Timmy Loop and Edwin Reyes. Keeping the classic vibe firmly in place, Edson Pride brings back the energetic tribal style (before the pots and pans epidemic) and Julian Marsh revisits the land of swirling hiNRG with a touch of sleaze. “Take Me Up High” is a party song about being uplifted by happy music from the DJ. With all the darkness and sadness out there in the real world, shouldn’t the clubs be an escape full of happy, hand-in-the-air music?

Image Courtesy of Lybra

SONG OF THE DAY: Hardwell – “Three Triangles (Losing My Religion)”

Don’t you hate it when you’re in a club and hear an amazing track but can’t
figure out what the title of the track is? When even Shazam doesn’t help?
“Three Triangles” was played at just about every party I went to during
Amsterdam Dance Event last year, but I was never able to figure out what it
was. Imagine my excitement when I discovered “Three Triangles” is being
rereleased with a new vocal version from the classic REM song “Losing My
Religion.” The original has a bouncy, energetic feel that’s electro but
never goes so aggressive or harsh that it veers into the angry or evil
glitchy sound. The new version obviously started as a bootleg mashup–it’s
on the blogs going back to last summer and there’s a YouTube video of Tiesto
dropping it at sounDrome in Italy back in June 2012. Adding the vocals
(probably a cover and not a sample since REM isn’t credited as an artist and
the vocals don’t sound like Michael Stipe) over the break for an official
release was a brilliant if not obvious move. It should refresh this track’s
appeal during another summer festival season. Who knows, maybe it will
crossover to a bigger audience and become a massive radio smash exceeding
the ranks of Hardwell’s top 40 hit “Apollo?”

Image Courtesy of Spinnin.

SONG OF THE DAY: Hanna Hais & Gramophonedzie – “Le Swing”

Serbian DJ/producer Gramophonedzie hit it massive with his debut single “Why Don’t You,” a cheeky electroswing take on Peggy Lee’s “Why Don’t you Do Right?”? Followup tracks like “No Sugar” and “Out of My Head” kept some of the swing vibe and added elements of big band in the mix.? For “Le Swing,” well, it’s obvious the direction he’s taking, adding quirky vocalist Hanna Hais for a French language call to the dance floor. The similarity to “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” (recently released by Milan & Phoenix) is quite noticeable, but that doesn’t take away from the hands-in-the-air fun vibe on this track. Yes, there is a bit of cheese here, but it’s fun and could easily fit a movie soundtrack or even be a “Mambo No 5” novelty safe for Radio Disney.??

Image Courtesy of Atal.