SONG OF THE DAY: Michael Woods – Flash Hands

You’ve got to love a track that sounds a little bit different. British producer Michael Woods released “Flash Hands” last month, and it stands out with a synth-pop-sounding keyboard line that is reminiscent of the intro to Van Halen’s “Jump.” It’s actually surprising that none of the mashup guys have jumped on the David Lee Roth vocals. It is energetic and makes people scream while not going too hard or aggressive; in other words, you can dance to it without being forced to jump up and down. The recently-released video follows Michael doing a gig, with the footage serialized and effected to look like a comic book. This, of course, begs the question that if Michael Woods was a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes, which would he be?

Image Courtesy of Diffused Music.

Notable Dance Podcast #059

Hot Since 82 – Don’t Touch The Alarm (Original)
Monikkr and Alodot – Manimal
Cazzette – Sleepless (Original Mix)
Watermat – Bullit
Haji & Sheldon – Inception (Original Mix)
Above & Beyond ft Alex Vargas – Sticky Fingers (Original Mix)
Robbie Rivera ft Caroline D’Amore – Manipulate Me (Original)
Nervo ft Duane Harden – Sunshine Thru Rain Clouds (Original)
LA Riots ft Ineabell – Let You Go (Original Mix)
Bingo Players – Knock You Out (Club Mix)
Audien – HEX (Original)
Andrew Rayel ft Alexandra Badoi – Goodbye (Original Mix)

Image of Bingo Players taken at Anthem Nightclub in Nashville.

SONG OF THE DAY: Westfunk – Apollo

The whole genre of EDM progressive vocal tracks has become a bit trite, what with everyone using the same plug-ins, ideas, and (most likely) ghost producers trying to emulate hits by Zedd or Avicii. Every so often, a real musician/producer comes along and shakes up the formula with their own unique twist. If you don’t know Westfunk, he’s the British producer/DJ who prides himself on “pimping” out the tunes you love for the dance floor. On his own and together with Steve Smart, he’s remixed everyone from Rita Ora and Britney Spears to Chicane and Sander Van Doorn. On his new track Apollo, he starts with a really engaging piano intro and pretty vocals (maybe Bright Lights?) with a great emotional effect. The buildup may be a bit typical, but the main structure of the chorus is quite special. Rather than having one rhythm structure dominate the full section, there is a call-and-response of two rhythms going back and forth. He basically did twice the work of an average track and excelled with it. That he went with a big beat break instead of a dubstep one is mere icing on the cake. Since “Apollo” isn’t out for a few weeks, head over to his Facebook and satiate yourself with a few downloads of his mashups and white labels.

Image Courtesy of Katnip Records.