Category: Song Of The Day

SONG OF THE DAY: Matt Lange and Francis Preve – “Glow Ballz”

One of the many reasons why I liked “Here and Now” by Cash Cash & Kerli was that for the big drop, they actually used a water drop.? The clever deployment of sound effects can elevate a track from being good to being quite memorable.? “Glow Ballz,” by Matt Lange and Francis Preve, does precisely that.?? Take a look at the neon green bowling ball and then close your eyes and listen to the track.? The groovy techno track seems to trace the path of the ball and it colliding with different things in the path while cosmic bowling.? Picture the drop at?1:30?as the moment when you are lifting your arm to launch the ball down the alley. Time seems to slow down as you set your aim. The beat kicks back in just as soon as the ball hits the ground. The ball is sliding down the path, granted for it to roll for two minute means it’s a long alley (and you have amazing projectile strength), the different sounds are the blacklights and strobes hitting the shiny surface of the ball.? The second drop is that slow-motion hitting of each pin and those precious moments of suspense to see how well you did.? The beat kicks in just as the ball enters the return to make its way back. Can’t you just see the visuals/music video in your head?? Check out the Jan van Lier Mix for a more amped-up version with a retro ’90s feel and a less-pronounced breakdown.? Deep techno might not be your thing, but “Glow Ballz” shines one of the more memorable tracks in the genre.

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Image Courtesy of Academik.

SONG OF THE DAY: Cyndi Lauper – “Time After Time (Remixes)”

Set for release in April is the 30th Anniversary Celebration edition of Cyndi Lauper’s epic debut ‘She’s So Unusual.’ Spawning massive hits like “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” “Time After Time,” and “She Bop” that have stood the test of time, this reissue will no doubt be enjoyed by many. For clubland, both “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” and “Time After Time” have undergone the remix treatment. While I have yet to hear how the Aussie pranksters Yolanda Be Cool have reworked “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” the Bent Collective and Nervo remixes of “Time After Time” have already started igniting dancefloors. The Bent Collective (Danny Verde and Steven Redant) structure their remix as a four-part story – the energetic intro (which has a keyboard hook similar to Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams”), the amped-up verse which keeps the feel of the original while making it club-friendly, the stadium treatment of the chorus with the epic dropout, and the big build-up to the middle bridge, which has a world music anthem feel similar to a Deniz Koyu (Tung/Bong) record. The brilliance in this mix is the way the four parts come together as one and make the classic song sound like a journey. While the Bent Collective mix keeps the lyrics intact, the Nervo twins take some liberties and reimagine the song as a modern festival track – i.e. big beats with all the vocals over a beatless drop. It feels more like a Nervo featuring Cyndi Lauper track rather than a remix of the original – which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, since it will probably attract a younger generation. Of course, you can’t really discuss remixes of “Time After Time” without mentioning Josh Harris’ remix that was done for the True Colors tour and sounds just as good now as it did when it came out in 2007, or that great white label that brought in Planet Rock beats underneath Cyndi’s voice. No matter which you favor, these remixes will hopefully open the door to more mining of Cyndi’s classics – could you imagine an Avicii remix of “True Colors,” Soundprank taking on “Change of Heart,” Matt Pop making a Morning Music/NRG monster out of “The World is Stone,” or an Armin van Buuren mix of “All Through the Night?”

Bent Collective

Nervo

Josh Harris

Image Courtesy of Sony/Epic.

Cyndi Lauper – “Time After Time (Remixes)”

SONG OF THE DAY (SUNDAY FUNDAY): Scotty Boy ft Sue Cho – “Shiny Disco Balls”

Sometimes the simplest thing, like an instrumental hook or a vocal phrase, is all it takes to make a club record massive. Back in 2002, Who Da Funk (the team of Alex Alicea & Jorge “DJ Lace” Jaramillo) teamed up with Jessica Eve to make “Shiny Disco Balls.” They updated the party motto “Sex Drugs and Rock & Roll” to become “Drugs, Rock and Roll, Bad Ass Vegas Hoes, Shiny Disco Balls” over a bouncy house beat, and before you know it Erick Morillo signed it to Subliminal and it became a massive club smash (even crossing over to radio). It seems fitting that Las Vegas-based DJ Scotty Boy updated the record, not only because of the reference to his hometown hoes, but because Vegas has become the place where every international superstar DJ has set up a residence. his new “Shiny Disco Balls” is big room-friendly electro with that Garrix sound which is currently en vogue.
Enlisting Sue Cho (vocalist of tracks like “Pocket Porn” with Dani Deahl and “Ready for More” with Banger Bros) was a brilliant move as not only does she nail the disaffected snarl of Jessica Eve, she also shows that women can be playful and sexy in a club music video without being nearly naked and acting like the stereotypical video ho. It helps that she has some of the best lips since The Rocky Horror Picture Show. For a fun record with multigenerational club appeal, DJs should definitely give “Shiny Disco Balls” a spin.

Image courtesy of Pop Rox.

Scotty Boy ft Sue Cho – “Shiny Disco Balls”