SONG OF THE DAY (SUNDAY FUNDAY): Dido – “End of Night (Remixes)”

I will be the first to admit that Dido is not the first artist I think of when I am reaching for a floorfilling club anthem.? Her songs tend to be more downbeat, introspective, and dare I say depressing- not really the ultimate source material for hands-in-the-air fun.? Maybe this is why her new single “End of Night” blew me away so much.? Produced and co-written by Greg Kurstin, the pop mastermind behind two of the year’s best dance pop records, Tegan and Sara’s “Closer” and Rita Ora’s “Radioactive,” the song spins Dido’s telling off of an ex-boyfriend as an ’80s-vibed nu-romantic La Roux-inspired electro track.?? What makes it even more special is that both remixes feel like modern takes of ’90s dance styles – Vince Clarke’s mix sounds like an updated DNA-ish hip-house track, while Bimbo Jones go hands-in-the-air Hi-NRG europop (imagine Motiv8 reworking Yaz’s “Don’t Go” for an idea). ?Whoever A&Red these remixes deserves kudos for one of the more interesting remix packages of the year.

Image Courtesy of RCA.

SONG OF THE DAY: Alesia – “Andrea”

Just as the Prince Club is reviving ’90s underground house with a modern flavor, french duo Alesia seems intent to revitalize ’90s techno.? Following up the sick trap track “Bird Machine,” “Andrea” sounds like a classic track from Quadrophenia/Eon/Anticapella, modernized with a hint of industrial and glitch. If this track blows your mind, explore the inspiration further through some of the great tracks sitting around waiting to be discovered from that timeframe.? Bouncing between genres may make Alesia hard to categorize, but in this current environment of duplicitous soundalikes, that is definitely a good thing.

Image Courtesy of Alesia.

SONG OF THE DAY: Phonk D’Or & Jesse Voorn – “Show Me the Love”

Sometimes the simplest ideas make the best club tracks.?? Nearly ten years ago, Thomas Bangalter and DJ Falcon sampled The Real Thing’s “Love’s Such a Wonderful Thing” to create the club classic “So Much Love to Give.”? That same kind of repetitive sample is the basis of “Show Me The Love,” the deceptively simple track from the Dutch duo Phonk D’Or (aka Nenes) and Jesse Voorn.? Over a multilayered electro track, the vocal is repeated and becomes an almost rallying cry as it sucks you into the groove.? While the track has been compared to Mylo’s “In My Arms,” which sampled both Kim Carnes “Bette Davis Eyes” and Boy Meets Girl “Waiting for a Star to Fall,” repeated listens makes me think more of “So Much Love to Give.”? Both remixes are quite special in their own way- ?Phonk D’or & Burgundy’s is more aggressive than the original with almost Wolfgang Gartner feel.? British DJ Rob Made slows down the tempo and gives it an updated ’80s feel sounding like a track that would be perfect for a modern revival of St Elmo’s Fire.

Image Courtesy of Transmission.