Tag: cher

SONG OF THE DAY: David Guetta ft Skylar Grey – “Shot Me Down”

It would be so easy to slag off this record as a retread of the Audio Bullys’ UK Top 3 pop hit “Shot You Down” from 2005 because it is essentially the same concept: the chorus of the Cher/Nancy Sinatra song “Bang Bang” as an intro to some banging big beats. However, since it is produced so well and will sound great on the dance floor (and might provide some exposure to the brilliant and underappreciated singer Skylar Grey), I feel like it’s definitely worth a listen. Skylar captures the ’60s vocal style of Cher/Nancy so much so that on first listen it sounds more like a sample (which the Audio Bullys used) rather than a new vocal. The electro beats sounds like just about everything (that is, a mash of Garrix/Showtek – which could have been made by anyone). David Guetta is at his best when he brings club sounds to the mainstream through R&B/pop collaborations and this song fits that bill perfectly. Since this is the first of a “series of beats designed purely for the dance floor,” being released while David is working on his new album, it makes me wonder if this the direction he is going. If you get addicted to the track, like you might, don’t bother looking for it on iTunes or Amazon as it is exclusive to Beatport for the next month.

Image courtesy of Jack Black Records.

David Guetta ft Skylar Grey – “Shot Me Down”

INTERVIEW: Paul Oakenfold (2013)

With a career spanning thirty years in electronic dance music, Paul Oakenfold is clearly a legend.? Hard at work on his third artist album and producing new music for Cher, Paul has been busy both in the studio and touring. I caught up with him at the Winter Music Conference for a quick chat about what’s going on in his mad world.

Ron Slomowicz: ?As We Collide? continues to explode, did you have any idea that it would become such a big record?
Paul Oakenfold: Yes

RS: How did the record come about?
Paul Oakenfold: When you are in the studio making music you have to really like it, otherwise you wouldn?t release it. The collaboration is with two really great and talented people, I was very fortunate to work on it with them.
Continue reading INTERVIEW: Paul Oakenfold (2013)

SONG OF THE DAY: Cher – “Woman’s World”

With the current wave of electronic dance music taking over the airwaves, Cher is one of two artists that I have been waiting to hear from (the other being Missy Elliott.) “Woman’s World” is exactly what you would expect, a hybrid of europop and electro with Cher’s effected vocals singing a song of female empowerment (think Beyonce’s “Run the World,” set in a club and free of expletives.) Cher does sound great, and the production is incredibly slick, but the song kept reminding me of something that I couldn’t place. When I read “Woman’s World” was produced by Paul Oakenfold, it hit me… “Celebration,” the song Madonna did with Oakie. (Note to mashup DJs, “Celebration” and “Woman’s World” would go perfectly together.) As much as I would love Cher to work with someone more up-and-coming, her working with Oakenfold makes perfect sense, as I predict the two legendary artists are about to experience another boom in prominence with a new generation of clubgoers. The song title is probably a play on her 1995 album title It’s A Man’s World, the album that contained “One By One” – of which the Junior Vasquez remix supposedly influenced Cher to step back into dance music to create “Believe.” Club play will be massive as there is guaranteed to be an insane set of credible club remixes, but it will be interesting to see if Cher can capture the attention of commercial radio for a full-on mainstream crossover.

Image Courtesy of Warner Bros.