Crème de la crème: TOP 20 JUNE 2014

20 (N) "Time" - Jungle



19 (N) "Give Up (Never Gonna)" - Greymatter feat. Sophie Brown



18 (N) "Can't Do Without You" - Caribou



17 (5) "Cedoption" - Midnight Juggernauts



16 (N) "You And Me" - Jessy Lanza



15 (4) "Open Up Your Chakra" - Cola & Jimmu



14 (N) "Go" - Grimes feat. Blood Diamonds



13 (N) "Inside My Head (Aeroplane Remix)" - Riton feat. Meleka



12 (N) "Minnist Tú" - Byrta



11 (N) "My Offence" - Hercules & Love Affair feat. Krystle Warren



10 (N) "Une Miss S'immisce" - Exotica

09 (N) "Another Life" - Gus Gus

08 (N) "Pillo" - Easter

07 (N) "Rush" - Roses Gabor

06 (N) "Sometimes a Man" - Shamir

05 (3) "Monument" - Robyn & Röyksopp

04 (N) "Two Weeks" - FKA Twigs

03 (2) "Ancora Tu" - Róisín Murphy

02 (N) "In Sintesi" - Róisín Murphy

01 (N) "Anymore" - Steed Lord

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CHOON OF THE DAY: "NO MORE WARS" - Cola & Jimmu

Nicole Willis and Jimi Tenor's oldschool house project Cola & Jimmu has just released their 2nd LP "I Give to you my Love and Devotion". Another delectable portion of club beats, soulful vocals and jazzy arrangements Jimi Tenor style. Here's "No More Wars", single #3 following "Earthly Delights" and the ubiquitous summer flirt of a song "Open Up Your Chakra" which for an independent records scored some unexpected success on the Japanese charts. Finland's finest musical export big time!

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SHREM'S BIGGIES BUT GOODIES BASKET: "GO" - Grimes feat. Bloody Diamonds

Can this year get any better musically? Seriously! Here's a truly luscious new single from Grimes showing her subtler, more melodic and slightly more commercial side. "Go" is an absolute beauty of a song, it features Blood Diamonds and entices you with some unexpected, delicate Oriental touches. This is exactly what I like to call exquisite Pop a genre created by another idol of mine Nicolette. You can download "Go" for free on Grimes' official website HERE!

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SHREM'S NEWBIES BUT TO-BE'S: "l’été EP" - Musique Le Pop

It's such a pleasure to introduce brand new promising musical acts at the very beginning of their artistic paths. I have just discovered a Norwegian trio called Musique Le Pop whose very own sweet synth-pop sound with a tropical twist is right up my alley. Their self-defined lo-fi-licious summer disco EP aptly called "l’été" is all things hedonistic, light-hearted and effervescent in a magical aura of Casio, sunshine and glamorous kitsch. This jolly selection of summery songs is out now via Cafe Superstar Recordings, an independent label based in their homeland, Norway. Musique Le Pop are yet another delightful band to keep an eye on from the land of the midnight sun, the fjords and an exceptional amount of quality synth-pop, dance & electronica music of the past few years. Oh yeah and they made a track called "Mateo" which is the name of my beloved nephew, an additional sentimental reason for me to fall for them almost instantly. Check the video for "Mateo" and the rest of the EP below:

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SHREM'S FUTURE ANTHEMS: "INSIDE MY HEAD" - Riton feat. Meleka + Aeroplane Remix

Well this one's going to be massive. Riton returns with an instant summer anthem featuring Meleka and it's delicious! "Inside My Head" is an oldschool flavoured dancefloor-ready club stomper which has just been released accompanied by an impressive array of remixes by Fake Blood, Bag Raiders and that one handsome re-work by Aeroplane which would have topped up this list I compiled last year, if it would have only already existed by then. On repeat. Loudly and joyfully!

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SHREM'S CLUB BIZARRE INTRODUCING: "TWO WEEKS" - FKA Twigs

To say that I had goosebumps for 4 solid minutes listening to and watching "Two Weeks" doesn't come anywhere near to the sensations I experience dealing with FKA Twigs' music. The obsession grew since seeing her live performance in Barcelona a few weeks ago hypnotising the Pitchfork stage at Primavera but this track just makes the  excitement around her debut "LP1" sky rocket above any other new releases this year. Another productional, vocal and compositional masterpiece coming from someone who I could easily describe as the most groundbreaking and innovative solo performer among all the fresh artists out there nowadays. August 12 cannot happen soon enough. Pre-order your copy of "LP1" HERE.

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SHREM'S FUTURE ANTHEMS: "ANYMORE" - Steed Lord

What an exciting time for Icelandic music. The Museum of Modern Art in New York has announced a special Björk exhibition for next year! It will feature a retrospective with a new commissioned piece, plus brand-new never-seen-before stuff. The electronica legends Gus Gus are about to drop their 7th studio album "Mexico" next week. On top of all that the ultra-fabulous trio Steed Lord are teasing us with single #2 announcing the arrival of their new album "The Prophecy pt. 2". "Anymore" is an enormously enjoyable dance number that follows its slightly moodier predecessor "Curtain Call" with identical brilliance. It's impossibly catchy, Kali's on top of her vocal game and it has an official warning attached to the release "Might cause rhythmical body movements!". A future anthem indeed, I cannot wait to play it loud and joyfully at my festival debut at Body & Soul tomorrow on the Reckless In Love stage at 4pm. Buy it now from Steed Lord's online shop HERE!

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SHREM'S GUILTIEST OF PLEASURES... VOL. 37: "PARIS LATINO" - Bandolero

The ultimate 80's disco fetish gem. "Paris Latino" by French one-hit wonders Bandolero. 1983 baby. Que bueno, que rico, que lindo!

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SHREM'S BIGGIES BUT GOODIES BASKET: "TOUGH LOVE" - Jessie Ware

Understated, classy and sophisticated. Miss Jessie Ware is enthralling us with "Tough Love" a very long anticipated first song signalling the UK neo soul queen's 2nd album. No one does ballads as elegantly and stylishly as Ware. Absolutely worth the wait, the single's out 1st August. Give it a few listens as it's a grower, after pressing that "play" button 3 times in a row I am officially in love.

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SHREM'S DOUBLE TROUBLE: "ESPOIR" - Darius /// "AVRIL" - Burning Peacocks

I've got two summery grooves for you today. Both of them come from the latest in the extraordinary series of Colette compilations, always reliable for discovering fresh dance & electronica talents before anyone else does. This one's called "Bonjour Colette" and it's a collaborative initiative aiming to present a selection of tracks by emerging French and Japanese artists signed to either Colette or Bonjour Records respectively.

Darius' "Espoir" is a hedonistic, festival-ready house moment of pure euphoria and Balearic vibes that will make you want to put those hands up in the air instantly.

Burning Peacocks are a Parisian duo inspired by Air, Portishead and Beach House whose sound fits somewhere between the luscious recordings of their compatriots the likes of Sébastien Tellier, Exotica, The Pirouettes or our favourite Cinema. 2 idyllic song beauties all ready for your BBQ's in the sun. Check out also the mini-mix below for a taste of the rest of the compilation.

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SHREM'S CLUB BIZARRE INTRODUCING: "TEAR THE HOUSE UP" - Hervé & Zebra Katz

Queer Hip-Hop married with fierce electronic beats haven't sounded so epic since Azealia Banks' impossibly contagious "212". Zebra-IMA READ-Katz teams up with British producer Hervé for an ultimate dancefloor stomper "Tear The House Up" accompanied by an explosive ultra-fashionable video directed by Ghost + Cow. Visually stimulating, cleverly produced and bizarrely catchy, "Tear The House Up" already promises to be one of the most memorable dance tracks this summer season. Pump up the volume baby!

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SHREM'S DOUBLE TROUBLE: "OBNOXIOUSLY SEXUAL" - Gus Gus /// "U.S.E. (Gus Gus vs T-World Remix)" - Pole Folder & Simon Latham

Gus Gus, the Icelandic gods of electronica, are teasing us with song #2 coming from their most anticipated 7th studio album "Mexico" which gets released in 2 weeks time via Kompakt. Another anthemic deep house moment with an intriguing wall of sound built around various string and wind instruments sneaking in around 2 minute mark into the track. Moody and euphoric in the same time, a perfect addition to the band's never-ending catalogue of superb singles and intricately alluring melodies. I'm pairing the track with another delightful surprise coming for all the die-hard Gus Gus fans worshipping the band since its early days. Biggi Veira and Buckmaster aka Gus Gus vs T-World (remember their instrumental "Gus Gus Vs. T-World" mini album relased around millenium?) are back with an atmospheric and dark remix of "U.S.E." by Pole Folder & Simon Latham which you can also preview below.





Here's "Northern Lights" from "Gus Gus Vs. T-World", a track that still sends a shiver down my spine after all these years...

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CHOONS OF THE DAY: "BRING YOUR LOVE" - Joakim feat. Luke Jenner + "ON THE BEACH (CFCF Remix)"

Joakim's brand new album "Tropics Of Love" is out now via Tigersushi Records. The second single taken from the album is the oldschool flavoured "Bring Your Love" featuring Luke Jenner from The Rapture. The CFCF Remix of the previous single "On The Beach" is pretty dreamy too. Here they both are back to back.

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SHREM'S FUTURE ANTHEMS: "RUSH" - Roses Gabor

How does one choose where to begin after a 10 day long hiatus of holidaying and non-blogging? I'll just start with the song that made me the happiest I suppose during my absence. I have been a close follower of Roses Gabor since her early collaborations with Buraka Som Sistema, Greenmoney and SBTRKT. I have then completely lost my mind for her musical talent with the arrival of her first solo productions "Stars" and "Night Sky" both of which ended up among top 30 best tracks of 2012 in my annual countdown. Last year saw Miss Gabor teaming up with Branko for the energetic "Waves" while she welcome 2014 with 2 more joint efforts a sensual duet with Shola Ama "For You" and "Pandoras Box" with Toddla T which arguably is the best dance track of the year so far. And now it's time for the first official single from Gabor's forthcoming debut album "Rush". Here's what we read about it in the official press release:

Roses’ new single, "Rush" is rightly named. Made in an electrified, inspired couple of hours with producer MNEK (Rudimental, Duke Dumont, Tinie Tempah) in his East London studio, it’s utterly compulsive. Roses says that the song is about the electrical chemistry that links two people together, the unseen but unbreakable forcefield. Never has a song expressed its content so perfectly. "It’s the magnetic charge...The life in the pit of your stomach...That Emotional connection .... All these things you can’t run away from … even if you wanted to...."
And Rush is indeed a magnetic charge of a song, arctic-fresh and hypnotically gripping. One listen is all it takes - you’ll be quite happy to surrender to it.

The track emerged 48 hours ago and I am already completely hooked on it.

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