SONG OF THE DAY (SUNDAY FUNDAY): EverYoung – “You Got Me”

A lot of the best pop music comes from the UK – Wanted, One Direction, Spice Girls, SClub – and the next pop group to watch for is EverYoung. Following in the mixed gender steps of Steps, the two boys and two girls met in school and have been performing the past two years. Their focus is on live vocal performances and writing/cowriting all of their own songs. Their debut single “You Got Me” is a shuffling piece of sugary pop with solid harmonies and enough hooks to catch anyone. For club consumption, the nu-garage (that’s the official name for the subgenre for the ’90s house flashback trend led by Disclosure and Prince Club) Boutique mix speeds up the vocals and has some fun mixing synth pop, classic NRG, and yes, old school house. Unfortunately, the remix and the song are nowhere to be found online as of yet, so please let this acapella performance of the chorus whet your appetite until the commercial release on October 2nd.

Image Courtesy of EverYoung.

SONG OF THE DAY: Moby with Cold Specks – “A Case For Shame”

Electronic music legend Moby returns this year with a new album, Innocents, to be released in October. The preview single “A Case For Shame” sets a dark and haunting, yet uplifting tone.? The track is downtempo electronica with orchestral elements beautifully interspersed in. While it’s similar to previous gospel-inflected songs from “18” and “Play,” the voice of Canadian Al Spx (singer of Cold Specks) takes it to a darker place, a la her signature doom soul sound which mixes gospel and goth.? Her voice channels old school blues in some places, while sounding fresh and pretty in others ?- almost like a case of multiple personalities.? Speaking of which, special kudos to Spartaque who managed to remix the track and give it a happy electro pop feel with a touch of the ’90s, not something that could have been very easy to do.? DJs should also dig up Sharam Jey’s electrodisco rerun.? Moby furthers his artistic palate by directing his first music video – an experimental amalgam of underwater footage with masked animal characters in white sheets.? I would love to hear what Moby’s “specific meaning” is the video as all I get from it is a suicidal escape from taunting people.

Image Courtesy of Little Idiot.

SONG OF THE DAY: Kaskade – “Atmosphere”

Who knew he could sing? Grammy-nominated producer/DJ/artist Kaskade previews his forthcoming album with title track “Atmosphere.” The song starts out quite raw, with just a a few keyboard notes backing his well-sung first verse. It could easily be one of those alt/pop radio hits but as more layers and a beat comes in for the first chorus, leading to the buildup behind the repetition of the lyrics “Of all the waves in your atmosphere,” you realize that it’s dance music at its finest. While solidly in the stadium/electro house genre, it is not too aggressive or grating at any point. As his first vocal performance, the influence of his early OM releases are present with the laid-back feel and warm tone of his vocals. The traditional verse/chorus/verse/chorus is quite refreshing, especially when two random lines of vocals normally suffice for most hit tracks. Remixes have a variety of sounds with GTA going for a harder electro sound, Chocolate Puma giving a Bingo Players vibe, and AMTRAC embracing the retro ’90s meme with a Disclosure-ish synthy house sound. “Atmosphere” could be a massive crossover record for Kaskade and could easily follow Armin van Buuren’s “This is What It Feels Like” as one of the biggest radio hits of the year.

Image Courtesy of Ultra.