SONG OF THE DAY: EmoTek & DJ Leo D ft Toby Penner – “Orange Sky”

It’s not a surprise that Avicii was inspired by Nashville for his recent releases.? Nashville is the “Music City” and as such has a large population of great singers and songwriters.? A good song is a good song and will work in any genre – country, pop, or EDM. Nashville producers EmoTek and Leo D built this pop-leaning soundscape track with some catchy hooks and gorgeous synth work.? Similar to Armin van Buuren enlisting Canadian boy band singer Trevor Guthrie (from soulDecision), the duo called upon Canadian-born Nashville resident Toby Penner (who was part of the boy band Jake). Toby’s voice has the timbre of blue-eyed soul, with the resonance of country and a bit of pop polish as evidenced by his strong performance on the brooding yet uplifting lyrics.? To give the release an international twist, mixes come from around the world – Dezza (Canada), Sunset (Brazil), Johan Stone (Iceland), and Francisco Lozano (well, New York is kind of another country when compared to Nashville). Seriously, there is a mix here for every kind of EDM DJ – tech house, electro, trance, and progressive.??? Following the releases of Sunset & Solid Skill (“Alive”) and Hanski (“Sunlight Showers”), “Orange Sky” is another strong track from Nashville-based indie label Cloudland Music that is worth checking out.

Image Courtesy of Cloudland Music.

EmoTek & DJ Leo D ft Toby Penner – “Orange Sky”

Notable Dance Podcast #043

Leftwing & Kody, Kruse & Nuernberg – Turning
Don Diablo & Cid – Got Me Thinking
Example – Kids Again (MOTI)
Landis & Crespo – Funked Up
Basto – Keep On Rocking
David Gravell – Nighthawk
Joachim Garraud – Mothership Alarm
Daddy’s Groove – Miners
Roland Clark & Tocadisco – Phoenix
Starkillers & Tony Junior – Total Destruction
Adam Szabo & Johan Vilborg ft Johnny Norberg – Two to One (Jaco Vocal Mix)
Airscape ft Radboud – Promise (Extended)
Lush & Simon ft Rico & Miella – Drag Me to the Ground
Woody Van Eyden – Saripadanisa (Bjorn Akesson Filthy)

Notable Dance Podcast #043

SONG OF THE DAY: BLUE EYES – “Who Shot Me? (With Them Lazors)”

So Billy Joel went to a SciFi movie and was inspired to make some dirty trap music.? Actually, since the artist is called Blue Eyes, maybe it could be an Elton John reference… Yes, it’s a far-fetched story, but this track is so humorous and random that I can’t imagine any other way that it could have come to be.? Starting with an old school piano melody (which could have been inspired by a Billy Joel or Elton John classic), a laser sound comes in, leading to the trap beat. The expected trap elements are there (barking noises, on-beat pauses, random vocal drops, and “that” loop). ?What isn’t expected is the effected laser noise (which reads more as birds chirping), the surprisingly well-produced and integrated piano line throughout the track, and the operatic vocal bits. Adding to the humor of the track is the Calvin and Hobbes-style artwork, but there’s also the unofficial version which features Star Wars samples. It’s not often you can describe a track as sexy trap with a SciFi edge…

Image Courtesy of No Ego Records.

BLUE EYES – “Who Shot Me? (With Them Lazors)”