Category: Song Of The Day

SONG OF THE DAY: Basement Jaxx – Unicorn and Sereia de Bahia (Mermaid of Bahia)

It looks like I am going to be banging this Latin trend as much as the Nu-House one. Basement Jaxx have always been known for creative electronic music with a quirky edge.? Their forthcoming Junto album is being billed as “a genre-hopping musical roller-coaster,” and from the sound of the first two singles, that sounds about right.? “Unicorn,” released last month, is a nu-House track with a vibe reminiscent of “Good Life” by Inner City with playful, nonsensical lyrics calling you to party and be free, like… well… Unicorns.? “Sereia de Baha” shares that same goofy, playful vibe but feels like it belongs on Fatboy Slim’s “Bem Brasil” album.? The track is instantly familiar with the kind of balearic and latin vibe which will make it perfect for summertime loungey sets and an obvious candidate for Ibiza anthem.? The random “In the hot box” male vocal sample is just so quirky and unexpected that it reminds you of how much fun the Basement Jaxx duo really are.? Seemingly just as random is that singer Nina Miranda was vocalist for the Smoke City’s late ’90s electronica hit “Underwater Love.”? As fun as both of these songs are, the videos elevate them with their goofy energy. It just goes to show that you don’t need a big budget to make a memorable visual clip to accompany a good track.

Image Courtesy of Atlantic Jaxx.

SONG OF THE DAY: Leonardo GloVibes ft Juiceppe – Electrica Salsa

Those crazy Italians… ? Between the rise of Moska, Felguk, and HiiO, and the massive Fatboy Slim ‘Bem Brasil’ album,? there’s definitely a South American trend going on in EDM right now. When I first saw the title “Electrica Salsa,” I was expecting either an update of the Sven Vath “Baba Baba” track, or a reworking of salsa in the same vibe that the Royal Gigolos did in their heyday.? This track is neither of those.? Yes, there is a salsa sample in the track, but somehow Italian DJ/Producer Leonardo GloVibes was inspired to sample Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock’s classic “It Takes Two” (in a similar way to how he used Black Box’s “Strike It Up” on his “Move On” track)? and add singer Juiceppe, affecting his best drag queen reading voice.? This track is really something random and crazy that just comes out of nowhere, but it is definitely memorable and gets a reaction when an adventurous DJ works it into his set. Trust me, I remember when I heard Leonardo play it poolside during the Winter Music Conference and kept wondering what it was and when it would finally get released (the answer being June 23rd).

Image Courtesy of Go Deeva.

SONG OF THE DAY: Disciples – Poison Arrow

What would happen if Disclosure experimented with bassline house?? That might come off as too dismissive of the Disciples new track “Poison Arrow,” but it seems like the perfect reference.? The followup to their buzz tracks “Catwalk” and “Remedy” is really a fresh-sounding mesh of classic house, dub, and bassline with incredibly catchy hooks and some incredible vocal production. The vocals are layered and effected to such extreme that in places they sound more like an instrument than something human. Then there is the religious/spiritual nature of some of the lyrics which might be channeling the gospel house/inspirational sounds of the late ’90s and might be a common theme of their songs, given their chosen artist name.? You can definitely hear the deep house influence of Shadow Child (aka Dave Spoon) who did some additional production on the track. The overall effect is similar to Disclosure with a touch of Hot Since 82 – electronic dance production with classic influence and a polished pop feel. On the remixes, Kilter goes leftfield, while Purple Disco Machine keeps the original vibe adding a bit of synth-pop. One thing that stands out is the guy shouting “Poison,” which might give you a Bell Biv DeVoe flashback (and if it does, then track down the superb mash-up of BBD and Disclosure called “When Poison Starts to Burn”). Together with Oliver Heldens vs Becky Hill “Gecko (Overdrive),”? it looks like ffrr is finding some really great record for the summer.

Image courtesy of FFRR.