SONG OF THE DAY: Cy Kosis ft Akhil Sesh – “Forever”

Let’s start the week with something from leftfield. “Forever” is the musical equivalent of that WTF moment when you walk by someone and get a contact high. The track is a fusion of urban beats, ’90s garage, trap, miami bass, and squeaky toy noises blended together and slowed down to induce a hazy vibe. Akhil Sesh’s flow is strong, yet mellow, which heightens the altered mind effects. While this might not become the next big massive club hit, there is something really fresh and different to the groove which makes it special and worthy of a listening. It’s also good to expand your vocabulary, so your word of the day is “skrippas.”

Artwork courtesy of Sir Fawn.

2014 Dance Grammy Nominations

Here are the 2014 Dance Grammy Nominations:

Category 9 – Best Dance Recording

Duke Dumont ft A*M*E & MNEK – “Need U (100%)” – Downtown/WIN
Calvin Harris ft Florence Welch – “Sweet Nothing” – Columbia/Ultra
Kaskade – “Atmosphere” – Ultra
Armin Van Buuren ft Trevor Guthrie – “This is What It Feels Like” – Armada
Zedd ft Foxes – “Clarity” – Interscope

Category 10 – Best Dance/Electronica Album

Daft Punk – Random Access Memories – Columbia
Disclosure – Settle – Cherrytree/Interscope
Calvin Harris – 18 Months – Columbia/Ultra
Kaskade – Atmosphere – Ultra
Pretty Lights – A Color Map of the Sun – 8 Minutes/20 Seconds

Category 79 – Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical

Delerium ft Michael Logen – “Days Turn Into Nights” (Andy Caldwell Remix)
One Republic – “If I Lose Myself” (Alesso vs One Republic)
Bruno Mars – “Locked Out of Heaven” (Sultan + Ned Shepard)
Bob Marley and The Wailers – “One Love / People Get Ready” (Photek)
Lana Del Rey – “Summertime Sadness” (Cedric Gervais Remix)

Looking over the 2014 Dance Grammy Nominations, it is refreshing to see nothing completely embarrassing (Al Wasser, Baha Men), but rather a pretty accurate summary of what DJs played, people danced to, and what we bloggers wrote about. Sure, there are some notable absences: major festival records (Martin Garrix, Hardwell, Showtek, Audien, Cazzette, Passion Pit, Martin Solveig), the pop crossover (Krewella), and the most notable – where is Avicii? On the bright side, there are nominations for independent and import releases (Duke Dumont, Armin van Buuren, Pretty Lights) which shows how the cutting edge dance music scene is changing the sometimes stodgy Grammy mentality. It’s also great to see Cedric Gervais get recognition for a remix that started in the festival scene and crossed over to become a massive pop hit globally. On the bigger scene, Daft Punk also got nominations for Album of the Year and Best Pop/Duo Group (bringing their cumulative lifetime total to 13 nominations).

My predictions – “Sweet Nothing” / Daft Punk / “Summertime Sadness”

My personal favorites – “This Is What it Feels Like” / Disclosure / “If I Lose Myself” and “Locked Out of Heaven”

SONGS OF THE DAY (SUNDAY?FUNDAY):? Korr-A – “Deck the Halls” and Sariah – “Only One Wish”

The holiday season is all about celebrating with the ones you love – be it friends or family.? The only problem is that the traditional music gets tiresome year after year (just ask anyone working in retail). Leave it to some of our favorite dance pop artists to reinterpret and create dance floor friendly holiday songs we can all enjoy.? “Fiyacraka” vixen Korr-A updates the classic “Deck the Halls” using just a few lines and building a whole new song around it with talk-sung verses and a pretty anthemic chorus over a pumping electro beat. It feels very Kesha-esque, but in a good way – with the playful double entendres (“Let me see your deck”) and feisty back and forth.? The video shows the aftermath of the party of all parities and Korr-A brings it back to life.? The Queen of Hearts, aka Sariah, released her Holiday Heart EP featuring the new original song “Only One Wish.”? It’s one of those songs that on first listen feels so familiar that you instantly want to sing along with.? Singing about her wish to be with a lost loved one, it’s both somber and uplifting at the same time.? With many interpretations possible, the song is universal and the dance-pop production is top notch making it a perfect fit for any top 40 radio station for the holiday season.? If you are looking to update your holiday playlists, “Deck the Halls” and “Only One Wish” are both worthy additions.