Nottingham born Electronic wizard Matt Cutler better known as Lone serves one of the strongest contenders for 2016 remix of the year with this 90's infused hedonistic re-treatment of Kenton Slash Demon's latest single "Peace". Copenhagen house duo released "Peace" last month and the track is now destined to reach whole new masses of club goers with this momentous mix. Monumental, oldskool and pure fun, brand new summer anthem right here, right now!
Italian acid house club machine Hard Ton return with an immediately anthemic new single "Triple XL" accompanied by an instantly iconic artwork, the latest in the series of the duo's flamboyant interpretations of famous record covers. The unstoppable and impressively prolific duo have been around for 7 years already (check out my "Top 10 Most Flawless Hard Ton Tracks" list I compiled back in 2014) but "Triple XL" sounds like one of their most irresistible singles to date. A sumptuously rich explosion of 1980's flavoured beats, oldskool synths, Hi-NRG, house, Italo Disco with a lavish portion of kitsch and camp. It's Dead Or Alive-meets-New Order-meets-Sinitta. Impossibly addictive, hedonistic and sinfully entertaining! All hail the underground Queen - Dis-Grace Jones!
This hilarious video was initially out in January but its indisputable summery aura (both visually and sonically) is so much more suitable for this time of the year. L'Impératrice's "Vanille Fraise" is an enticing medley of classic French Touch, disco pop and late 90's chill-out grooves. You can download the track for free HERE.
Here's L'Impératrice's most recent EP "ODYSSÉE" in its full glory. Lush.
You can always rely on Shaun J Wright to deliver stellar vocal performances on some of the sauciest underground house records of the past few years but you can also always rely on his music recommendations. Thanks to him I have discovered these two excellent, innovative and boundary-pushing singles this week.
The explicit and instantly anthemic "Let A Bitch Know" is a ballroom dancefloor ready vogueing extravaganza from Parisian DJ, producer and vocalist Kiddy Smile. The talented artist was just signed by the cult house label Defected. All you cool club kids will soon be suicide dropping to this masterful gem! Official press release:
"To announce the signing, Kiddy Smile and Defected have unleashed the exceptionally powerful visuals for their first single together ‘Let A Bitch Know’, which is set to be released in late August. Deeply influenced by the sleazy, lazy feel of 80s / 90s house music and artists such as Frankie Knuckles and Romanthony, the track is an infectious slice of classic-sounding Chicago acid house, with Kiddy’s own fresh French twist.
Seeking to spread the love through his beats Kiddy Smile is an innovative artist, understanding the importance of music and aesthetics working in perfect harmony. Through his music and performances, Kiddy has kept the nostalgic sounds of the dancefloor very much alive, with a firm eye on the future - a huge part of Defected’s ethos for 17 years and counting."
The second track "It Girl" comes from the charismatic debutant Mister Wallace. The self-proclaimed post-gender artist joins the ever so expanding and ultimately vibrant Queer Hip-Hop movement with the likes of Le1f, Mykki Blanco, Zebra Katz or his collaborator Cakes Da Killa. Mister Wallace's debut EP "FAGGOT" is out now via Futurehood and with this flamboyant gender-fluid music video this kid is about reach to alternative masses with a boost from The Fader who premiered "It Girl" today. One to keep a close watch on.
Skrillex and Blaqstarr produced this stellar new single from M.I.A. which is whetting our appetites for Maya Arulpragasam's hotly anticipated 5th studio album "Aim" now scheduled for 9th September. "Aim" (formerly known as "Matahdatah") is announced to be M.I.A.'s final full album. Apparently the rebellious artist intends to get involved with other projects as well as rather concentrate on releasing one-off singles instead.
It's not the first time Blaqstarr and M.I.A. are joining musical forces. Remember the excellent "Believer" from her 2010 "ΛΛ Λ Y Λ" album?
I seldom rave about compilations but the recently released "VOID: Neo Disco" is a truly eclectic mine of electronic treasures, dancefloor oddities and underground gems. Thanks to this one superbly curated selection of songs I was able to discover Swiss electro pop chanteuse from Geneva Vendredi sur Mer and Paris based enigmatic producer Antoine Harispuru aka Golden Bug. The new artists join well known dance & electronica figures here, the likes of Hypnolove, Alex Gopher, Cosmo Vitelli or Jupiter, to name just a few.
Vendredi sur Mer's spoken "La femme à la peau bleue (Chez toi)" is an 80's flavoured slice of erotic synth pop which drifts somewhere seductively between Vanessa Daou's aural poetry, French chansons from the era and some of the latest productions in the avalanche of oldskool POP revival with the likes of Exotica, Cinema or Cléa Vincent. Deliciously kitschy and cleverly arranged. On repeat!
Golden Bug teams up with Julienne Dessagne from Saschienne for a syncopated escapade into moody electronic pop territories. "Accroché à moi" reminded me of Y.A.S. - Mirwais' project with Soapkills' Yasmine Hamdan, a little bit. It's dark, haunting and richly produced. This one does not go away that easily, I am properly hooked by this ethereal beauty.
The modern funk wizard DāM-FunK joins electronic efforts with Nite Jewel and Ekkah for two irresistible oldskool flavoured dancefloor moments. Just on time for your Saturday night!
Nite Jewel, who has just released her 3rd studio album "Liquid Cool", is teaming up with the Californian producer under the alias Nite-Funk for a 1980's electro funk themed EP. The delectably catchy and sleekly arranged "Let Me Be Me" is an instant winner among the 4 tracks, echoing some of the sweetest post-disco, cosmic funk and 80's soul vibes. Here's hoping the Dj-Kicks exclusive "Can U Read Me" and this prolific 4-tracker hint a whole album from Dâm-Funk and Ramona Gonzalez aka Nite Jewel.
Perhaps even more surprising is DāM-FunK's collaboration with London POP duo Ekkah. Their synergetic double A-Side single "Space Between Us"/"What's Up" reminisce early Madonna, Zapp and Prince penned gems for Vanity 6. They wrote the luscious "Space Between Us" in memory of David Bowie. Without a doubt one of this year's most captivating POP moments.
