Category: Song Of The Day

SONG OF THE DAY: Crookers – “#Heavy”

Probably best know for his international smash remix of Kid Cudi “Day and Night,” Francesco ?Phra? Barbaglia, a/k/a Crookers, is obviously still in the holiday spirit – as he is giving away downloads of his new single “#Heavy.” The track starts kind of normal, with a bouncy house groove, until a foreboding space/horror movie tone comes in gradually over the beat. Electro and industrial bits begin to appear with skips and stutters. A male voice saying the title #Heavy is repeated by an effected kid voice – as if a call and response – leading to a dramatic rise up to the literal climax (and it’s definitely female). There is a sense of humor and playful perversion here that is seen often in records by other Italian DJs (Benny Benassi/DJs from Mars), though the best comparison is probably the literal “drop” in the recent Cash Cash/Kerli song “Here and Now.” One note to DJs, the ending comes kind of suddenly after the foreboding tone picks up a second time. Aside from the cliched # hashtag in the title, “#Heavy” is a rather strong track, and it’s surprising that it is being given away free as it is one that would probably do quite well on Beatport.

Image Courtesy of Ciao records.

Crookers – “#Heavy”

SONG OF THE DAY: Antillas – “Adagio in G Minor”

It’s refreshing to listening to a track and hearing a different and unique inspiration. Producer/DJ Antillas continues his string of strong singles (“When You Love Someone,” “Top of the World,” “Disconnected“) with the classically inspired ‘Adagio in G Minor’ by Remo Giazotto based on a manuscript fragment by Tomaso Albinoni. The original is not as instantly or universally recognizable as the pieces used by Tiesto/William Orbit (“Adagio for Strings”) or Wolfgang Gartner (“5th Symphony,”) which makes it less expected and have an even stronger impact. The solid electro production has a touch of glitch but nothing over the top and the vocals are solid. For club, this will sound great either end of night — or even in the middle of a set to surprise people with something unexpected. Since it is so unexpected, this could easily go viral if a kitschy video is done by a fan. If you like the idea of classical music used in EDM – check out Lange ft Ilsevioilin ? ?Violin?s Revenge? and 3Some & Eran Hersh ? ?Red Alert.”

Image Courtesy of IHU/Armada.

SONG OF THE DAY: Gareth Emery ft Bo Bruce – “U”

British producer Gareth Emery starts 2014 with the rather strong new “U” featuring vocals by Bo Bruce. Its hard to judge new music from Gareth, because I always go back to his record “Concrete Angel” and want every song of his to be that magical. While that kind of expectation is unreal, “U” does stand on its own as a strong commercial, progressive pop single. Bo sounds like a cross between Sarah Mclachlan and Sinead O Connor over the track which has a “Summertime Sadness” feel. “U” is also one of those songs that grows with every listen. I liked it when I first heard it and every time I playback a mix show with it, the song stands out more and more. For a big room mix, check out the pumping take by W&W.

Image courtesy of Garuda.

Gareth Emery ft Bo Bruce – “U”