Category: Song Of The Day

SONG OF THE DAY: Marc Van Linden ft Amanda Wilson – “Gotta Let You Go”

House classics never really die, they just get remixed and covered to keep them alive for every new generation of clubbers. Originally released in 1994 on venerable US freestyle label MicMac records, “Gotta Let You Go” by Dominica became an international club hit thanks to the original and remixes by Loveland, Hyper GoGo, and DJ Misjah.? Then in 2000, the record was revived with fresh mixes by DJ Tonka and DJ Antoine.? For 2012, clubland favorite Amanda Wilson steps in to resing it with a different feel.? Her vocals are a bit more pretty and polished, yet keep the emotional feel of the original.? Marc Van Linden’s production shows reverence to classic piano house (close your eyes and it could be K-Klass or M People) while modernizing it with current sounds.? For a more progressive/chunky feel, check out Jason Mill’s Sunset mix which makes a great set closer with its smoothed-out grooves and dramatic dropout.? Although the title is “Gotta Let You Go,” I remember people requesting this as the “no more sleepless nights” song.?? Wouldn’t it be great if this is the start of a trend of DJs moving away from hard electro tracks emulating ’90s rave/techno to revisiting classic vocal piano house?

Image Courtesy of SoundzGood Recordings.

SONG OF THE DAY: TOKiMONSTA ft MNDR – “Go With It”

Let’s take a journey to the left field.? Those in the know have been following Jennifer Lee, aka Tokimonsta, for years with her atmospheric soundscapes melding avant-garde hip-hop and grooved-out electronic beats.? Expressing her unique point of view with experimental instrumentation, she’s been touring and releasing gorgeously quirky tracks that would make Bjork moist.? For the new single “Go With It,” she teams with MNDR for an otherworldy track that has a subtle pop feel. The downtempo beats incorporate elements of moombahton, broken beat, and dubstep with Indian and Asian instrumentation for a lush, multi-layered track that will lull you into a trance.? MNDR’s vocals are just as intriguing, with repeated hooks and multiple vocal textures that mimic the track.? The video clip, revolving around a foreshadowing dream, is exquisitely cinematic drawing you in with the same embrace as the track. “Go With It” sounds like nothing else out there, the only parallel would be the Gotye track from last year and like that, this could become the leftfield smash that explodes out of nowhere.

Image Courtesy of Ultra.

SONG OF THE DAY: Beltek & Morgan Page – “Captcha”

While great collaborations can occur without direct human interaction (i.e. all online), it seems like the really magical ones occur when people are in the studio together.? A few months ago while on tour, rising Slovenian DJ Beltek stopped in LA and hooked up with Morgan Page in the studio one night.? The resulting composition, “Captcha,” is monstrous.? The power comes not only from intense electro and hard beats, but from a triplet-beat swing rhythm which sounds like it comes from a stadium rock (not stadium house) anthem.? No, it doesn’t sound like a rock track, but the vibe is there and it launches the energy into the stratosphere.? On a big room, like say, Mansion during WMC, the crowd response is massive and a definite highlight of the night. “Captcha” shows the depth and range of Beltek’s production skills as it follows up his recent buzz track “Eric Goes to Disco,” which was inspired by the signature atonal noise of club classic “Flat Eric” by Mr. Oizo.

Image Courtesy of Sneakerz Music.