SONG OF THE DAY: Helen Corry – Time

Looking down under, we’ve found a new singer worth following. “Like a Lie” was our first introduction to New Zealand-born, Australian-based singer Helen Corry- who collaborated with Jetski Safari on that playfully ironic yet meaningful song. Her soulful emotive voice is both deep and youthful at the same time; imagine a cross between Joss Stone and Miriam Bryant for the contrast. Her new single “Time” goes a different direction – similar to her debut single “Divide” – melding modern indie rock and classic synth-pop for a fresh sound that highlights her engaging vocal presence. It’s a bit subtle at first, but if you listen to it a few times, the chorus is going to ingrain itself into your head and you will find yourself singing along to the “we’re running out of time” line as it repeats. As this song starts to grow, there is probably going to be a lot of comparisons to fellow Kiwi singer Lorde because of similar tonal vocal qualities and the darkly analytical perspective of her lyrics, but they are clearly two distinct artists who both deserve a spot in your digital music player. Watch out for Helen’s forth coming collaborations with Music Allstars, Feenixpawl, and an uplifting pop dance song with Jetski Safari/Jupiter Project (“With You”).

Image Courtesy of Independent Records.

SONG OF THE DAY (SUNDAY FUNDAY):? DJ Antoine?- Light It Up

Swiss DJ/producer DJ Antoine knows how to blend dance and pop.? Not afraid of doing a europop cover, he also can build an entirely new record with just a small sample.? Take a listen to “Light It Up” and it draws you in with a pop melody and lyric about escaping your dreary life to let go and have a good time.? It builds to the hands in the air chorus and then you hear the classic chant from Baltimora “Tarzan Boy” and it just goes through the roof. It’s probably the best use of a classic hook in a europop song since Inna’s “Be My Lover.”? For a Sunday Funday song, you really can’t do much better.

Image Courtesy of Kontor.

SONG OF THE DAY:? Alex Newell – Nobody to Love

Following yesterday’s “Perfect Lady” writeup, let’s go back to another sample track that’s been huge in the UK and is making its way over to the US.? Drum and bass producers Sigma took two lines from Kanye West’s “Bound 2” and used it for the drop for an explosive bootleg aptly called “Nobody To Love.”? Massive support from DJs and radio led them to make an official version with a someone resinging the part of Charlie Wilson, which became a number one UK pop hit.? The remixes transformed the track to fit many tastes – synth-pop (Grum), retro-house (Jakwob), stadium (Third Party), and baseline house (TS7).? For the US release on Atlantic records, it was rerecorded as a cover version by Alex Newell (singer from Glee) with a new house mix by Freshup and Harley that clocks in at 114BPM and keeps the vocals sounding just like the original.? I bet it would mix perfectly with the Solidisco mix of the original Kanye track.

Image Courtesy of 3Beat.