Category: Song Of The Day

SONGS OF THE DAY: The Young Punx – “Girls Like Disco” and “Harlem Breakdown”

Those who love Daft Punk realness and can’t wait for the forthcoming DJ Cassidy album will be excited to hear what The Young Punx have come up with.? At first, when I heard the discofied “Girls Like Disco,” the authentic ’70s sound threw me for a loop as these were the crazy cartoon characters that rocked my dance floor with “MASHITUP!” just a few years ago.? Times and inspiration change, and producers Hal Ritson and DJ Nathan Taylor did their own take on ’70s funk using their full band and vintage recording gear.? The tracks sounds authentic for the time yet modern for today, with a bouncy energetic feel- a la Crazibiza.? “Harlem Breakdown” is getting a lot of buzz, with Mixmag declaring it Song Of the Month, and it’s easy to hear why.? It’s full-on classic disco, produced masterfully.? It sounds real and full and vibrant – something you just can’t get from plugins.??? The manic energy from their previous releases is channeled into pure creative artistry.? For club consumption, Mark One (Texas) and Rocoe (Reset!) keep the disco vibe full and center and add a bit of house to the proceedings.?? There is also a harder version of “Girls Like Disco” call “Boys Like Bass,” which the more electro-minded will call their own.? As always with the Young Punx, the visual presentations add a unique spin, with “Girls Like Disco” capturing middle-aged Chinese women line dancing and “Harlem Breakdown” bringing back their long-time collaborator, the beloved cartoonist Han Hoogerbrugge, whose creativity never ceases to blow our collective minds.


Image Courtesy of MofoHifi Records.

SONG OF THE DAY: Sia ft The Weeknd & Diplo – “Elastic Heart”

Like many, I first heard of Sia when “Breathe Me” was used in the closing of the TV show ‘Six Feet Under.’ Her songs have always had a bit of quirk and edge to them – “Girl You Lost to Cocaine” and “You’ve Changed,” with the accompanying videos, show her colorful yet uniquely dark spirit. It’s great to see that as she’s been embraced by the superstars as a singer/writer (David Guetta “Titanium,” FloRida “Wild Ones”) and writer (Rihanna “Diamonds,” Ne-Yo “Let Me Love You,” Britney Spears “Perfume,” Celine Dion “Loved Me Back to Life”), her essence is still there. I mean, come on, who else could have written Nikki Williams “Kill, Fuck, Marry” and Neon Hitch “Get Over You” without seeming schizophrenic? Well with that in mind, the collaboration of Sia with Diplo (eccentric world music and EDM visionary) and The Weeknd (alternative r&b crooner) has led to the most brilliant leftfield pop single since Gotye. You can clearly identify the elements that each person brings: stuttered vocals, questioning lyrics, big singalong chorus, operatic chords, clashing overlaid vocals – yet the flow is so seamless that it feels like a supergroup creating a definitive masterpiece. Here’s hoping it becomes the massive Hunger Games soundtrack single that it deservers be. For club consumption, Steve Pitron and Max Sanna turn it into a hands in the air club anthem by using all of the elements, upping the tempo, giving it a bit of a commercial flavor, and adding a dubstep break, which might feel a bit cliched at this point but it works so perfectly that you can’t help but love it. Commercial DJs should jump on this remix immediately.

Image courtesy of Universal/Republic.

SONG OF THE DAY (SUNDAY FUNDAY): Steve Aoki & Rune RK ft RAS – “Bring You To Life (Transcend)”?

After previous singles “Boneless,” “Singularity,” and “Beat Down,” Steve Aoki’s new one comes as a surprise.? Where as the previous releases are aggressive, loud, or somewhat harsh (either in sound or vocal content), “Bring You To Life” is pretty and uplifting, more of an end of the night progressive house track with a soothing male vocal by RAS, who sounds like John Martin or Chris James. This is nothing bad, probably more the influence of collaborating with Rune RK, just unexpected.? However, all the goofy fun (and gratuitous product placement) you do expect from Steve Aoki comes through in the comical lifeswapping video.? Starting as a spoof of the classic Eric Prydz “Call on Me” video led by motivational ’80s fitness icon Richard Simmons (complete with words of inspiration in the beginning), the two switch positions as Richard becomes a party DJ and Steve become a fitness instructor.? With that statement, you can probably visualize the clip in your head and the hilarity that ensues.? If anything, the video is probably best interpreted as Steve’s response to unnecessary controversy that came from the Wunderground satirical article about him supposedly admitting that he isn’t a DJ.? The rumors that started were quickly debunked, and this video serves as a great way to show that Steve Aoki will always be the party master and can take the joke, whether he is teller or the subject.

Image Courtesy of Dim Mak.