Category: Song Of The Day

SONG OF THE DAY: John Dahlback ft Agnes – “Life (Diamonds in the Dark)”

Who knew multiple personalities could be so much fun? Swedish producer John Dahlback manages to bounce effortlessly between epic banging tracks (“The Trip”) and gorgeous big room vocals (“Every Breath”). Back in vocal mode, he enlists fellow Swede Agnes to sing his new single “Life (Diamonds in the Dark).” You could easily describe it as the female version of “Don’t You Worry Child” – anthemic stadium house with the big breakdown building up with a dramatic handclap and electro crescendoing to a hands-in-the-air climax.? While still sounding polished and perfect, Agnes’ voice has a passionate rasp to it that adds emotion and passion to the chorus that is repeated for emphasis.? The remixes take the track in a more electro direction, with added touches of stadium (Feenixpawl), glitch (Lazy Rich), and speed garage bassline (Lunde Bros) while managing to keep the vocals completely intact.? One minor quibble on the track is the seemingly uneven mixdown of the original, with Agnes unfortunately buried during the middle section.? Even with that in mind, “Life” is another wonderful release from Dahlback, keeping us anxiously to hear what his next release will sound like.

Image Courtesy of Big Beat

SONG OF THE DAY:? Marc JB ft Angie Brown – “Free UR Soul”?

You know those Bimbo Jones guys are quite a special duo.? Not only do they consistently turn out top notch productions and remixes as a team,? but as individuals they are great producers in their own right.? Marc JB enlists venerable clubland diva Angie Brown (“Rockin’ for Myself,” “I’m Gonna Get You,” “Eat You Up”) for “Free Ur Soul,”? a nearly perfect blending of classic piano house and modern electro.? Starting off with a funky groove, the track builds in energy before dropping down to a dreamy piano line.? Angie comes in singing the uplifting ‘Music is Happiness” as the spacey effects filter through, leading to an epic build and explosion into a full-on funky house track. Kudos to Marc for keeping a handclap going during the whole dropout so that clubbers don’t lose a sense of the beat (and get scared off the dance floor). ?What makes this track special is that it is energetic and uplifting without being aggressive or over-the-top.? It has the sense of the classic happy house of the ’90s with a modern, almost timeless, feel.? I could see myself playing this in the future without it sounding dated.? A plethora of remixes by Van Hej, Max Jackson, Ku Ka Chu, w4x, and Subt3k take the track deep, electro, and dirty funky – so there is a flavor for just about every DJ out there.? I will stick with the original, which is perfect for primetime and end of the night as well as tea dances and pool parties when the weather warms up.

Image Courtesy of Soul Delux.

SONG OF THE DAY:? Anna Rossinelli – “Let It Go”

If we learned one thing from the massive success of Gotye, it was that a simple rhythm and an emotional/intelligent lyric can elevate a quirky song to public consciousness.? Anna Rossinelli is a Swiss singer-songwriter best known for her entry into the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest.? Previewing her second artist album is the questioning-yet-prophetic “Let It Go.”? Led by a shuffling handclap beat and an almost children’s music-styled instrumentation, the song is incessantly catchy, and listening to the lyrics might make you wonder about the path your life is going on.? This could be what inspired the emotional outpouring of the lyrics in “Don’t You Worry Child.”? As cool as it would be for her to reach out to her fellow Swiss countrymen for an energetic remix (DJ Antoine, Mike Candys, Yves LaRock, Remady, or even DJ Bobo), the song structure seems to lend itself more to a sickening distortion by someone in the Dim Mak camp.? Take a listen, but be warned, this song is an earworm that you will not be able to escape.

Image Courtesy of EMI Poland.