Kiesza – Giant In My Heart (Arches Remix)
Netsky and Beth Ditto – Running Low (Todd Edwards Remix)
Arthur Baker ft Chromeo & Al-P – No Price (Armand Van Helden)
Etienne Ozborne, Zoltan Kontes & Ronn Carroll – Get On Up
The Young Punx – Supersonic (Speaker Bomb Mix)
Alesso – Tear The Roof Up
D-Wayne & Leon Boiler – Detonate
Dyro & Dannic – Radical
Aylen – Quack Attack
Laidback Luke & Marc Benjamin – We’re Forever (Novero Remix)
Cedric Gervais ft Coco – Through the Night
tyDi ft Dia Frampton – Stay (Hyperbits Remix)
Sigma ft Paloma Faith – Changing
When I first reviewed “NRG,” I kept thinking that the hook was so good and so catchy that it had to be a sample. This is no insult against Armand and A-Trak, just that their history with “Barbara Streisand” and “It’s You” show that they are masters at building a brilliantly fun new track over a lost sample. Listening to the original version of NRG, I am convinced that Duck Sauce is one of camp-est groups ever.
Think about it, “Barbara Streisand,” the obsession with hair (facial and pubic) in their videos, and now sampling a long last track by Melissa Manchester – if that doesn’t scream camp, what does? It took some real crate digging to find her song from 1985 that most wouldn’t know.
Listening to the original version it makes you wonder if the new song shouldn’t be credited as Melissa Manchester vs Duck Sauce – “NRG 2014” or even Melissa Manchester – “Energy (Duck Sauce Remix.)” Regardless, as amazing of a singer as Melissa Manchester is, the “Energy” video showcases another strong skill she possesses – the way she sells a song with her performance. Check out this clip of her singing “You Should Here How She Talks About You” from Solid Gold.
Note her passionate and humorous facial expressions as well as her excellent use of the full stage (and a hair style that probably inspired Kiesza). Thumbing through YouTube, you will find recent live performances that shows she still has the chops (vocal and stage performance) which makes me dream of seeing her live.
As I ponder launching an IndieGogo campaign to bring her to Nashville, also check out the original recording of the song by “Pilot of the Airwaves” singer Charlie Dore.
After listening to Clive Davis’ audio book “The Soundtrack of My Life,” I totally imagine him A&Ring the project and saying – this song really needs someone to sell it, lets get Melissa to do it. A Grammy award and Melissa’s most successful charting single clearly proved him right.
One thing you quickly realize about EDM producers is that they tend to change names every few years, so if your favorite team suddenly disappears, just do a discogs search on the members and there are bound to be other aliases.? As The Goodmen, Dutch duo Zki & Dobre had a massive club hit in the early ’90s with “Give It Up” featuring tribal batucada drums that was inspired by a Sergio Mendes track (“Magalehna”) and ended up inspiring a massive pop hit by Simply Red (“Fairground”). As Riva, they had the major pop hit “Who Do You Love Now” with Dannii Minogue.? With their current name Chocolate Puma, they’ve released several massive club records like “I Wanna Be U,”? “Always and Forever,” and collabs with Bingo Players (“Disco Electrique” and “Touch Me”). ?For their new single, the duo literally “Step Back” to the ’90s with a speed garage bassline-oriented track that feels equal parts Artful Dodger, Armand Van Helden, and Sharp Boys.? Like the better Nu-House tracks out there, it is a modern update- not just a direct retread of the original sounds, which they accomplished by adding a modern breakdown with a hint of Eric Prydz-style progressive synth work. The track on its own is quite strong but by bringing in vocalist Kris Kris they seem assured another pop crossover record.? It also makes you wonder if they’ve gone back to their old DATs from the ’90s to mine bits for inspiration.
