Category: Song Of The Day

SONG OF THE DAY: Serge Devant and Rachael Starr – “You and Me”

A seventh single from an artist album doesn’t happen that often.? When I first listened to Serge Devant’s CD ‘Rewind’ when it was released last year, it already felt really familiar as there had already been several songs released prior to the album.? This kind of made the newer songs stand out a bit more, and one that caught my attention was his track with Rachael Starr “You and Me.”? The grooves, though dancefloor-ready, are not in your face or too aggressive, but sexy and subtle.? It’s not blissed-out like an ambient record, but more like a progressive track that finds a groove and gradually sucks you in.? The vocals are front-and-center and Rachael holds up her side of a bargain with a mentally-seductive song that fits the track perfectly.? I must have been in an post-WMC music overload coma since I missed the release of remixes by Frederic Scavo (big room electro), Betoko (nu-disco with cool male double vocal), Benny Maze (stadium), Moska (crispy glitchy electro), DJ PP (dubbed-out house), and Patrick M (pop house). Pretty much, there is a mix here for everyone.? The video, well, I can’t really follow it – there’s hallucinations of sex with an apparition that comes to life and turns a guy into a mannequin. There’s a weird hotel room and a key that gets you locked in a closet… Yeah, writing out the scenes didn’t clarify it for me either.? Nevertheless, “You and Me” is a great song and another reason to check out Serge’s ‘Rewind’ album from last year in case you missed it.

Image Courtesy of Ultra.

SONG OF THE DAY: The Presets – “Fall”

The Presets have always had a dark tone to their music – with their first two albums blending ’80s new wave and rock with industrial and the piercing voice of singer Julian Hamilton.? The new single keeps that dark tone but contrasts it with a pretty, almost perky, ’90s synth groove feeling like 808 State as interpreted by Hot Chip or Empire of the Sun with a touch of atypical stadium. As a love song, it borders on emo (if not hipster) with the lines about finding heaven while falling into hell.? Dramatic, cinematic, and yes, again reminiscent of fellow Aussies Empire of the Sun.? Or maybe I just have Empire of the Sun on my brain because of the incessant YouTube ads.? Of the various remixes by Alan Braxe, Erick Rincon, SymbolOne, and Tomas Barfod, the energetic progressive electro mix by Hook N Sling stands out as being the perfect blend of aggressive and pretty. The video is spooky and angelic at the same time with guys sky jumping from a plane while either wearing masks or keeping their faces completely motionless through the whole experience.

Image Courtesy of Modular.

SONG OF THE DAY: Felix da Housecat ft Romina Cohn – “I Just Want To Be A Lesbian”

Here is one of those novelty tracks that could become a meme quite easily.? Argentinian producer/DJ Romina Cohn released the Non Stop EP in 2002 with a track called “I Want to Be the Residents,” where the voice said the title line and “I Just Want to Have An Eye for A Head.”? Yes, some really underground surreal stuff over a minimalist electronic beat. Felix Da Housecat misheard the lyrics as “I Just Want to Be A Lesbian” and this brand new track was brought to life.? The new production is not as minimal, but close – reminiscent of LaTour’s “Blue” starting with a simple loop and gradually building with some distortion and glitchy sound effects.? A few builds and drops create the atmosphere for the vocal lines to float on top as the track ebbs and flows deeper into your subconsciousness.? This is by no means a mainstream ‘hands in the air’ big room floorfiller – it’s on the dark, deep side – kind of what they would call “intelligent” back in the day.? For the first set of mixes (because we know more are coming), Riton rerubs it to trap with sound effects reminiscent of Art of Noise “Moments in Love,” Thee Loverz deconstructs a retro house groove, and the Cloud contributes the most straightforward underground ’90s house track I’ve heard since the nineties flashback trend begin.? It will be interesting to watch how this track develops and where it ends up – whether it’ll be stuck in the underground or somehow sampled in a bikini-babe commercial aimed at Joe six-pack.

Image Courtesy of No Shame.