About Dance Music / Electronica

Song of the Day: Peppermint - "Working Girl"

2009-11-24T03:36:47Z

A drag queen who produces, writes and sings? Yes, Peppermint is a true recording artist who is making some incredible club friendly dance music. I had the pleasure of being in New York to catch her live show at Barracuda when her new cd Hardcore Glamour was released. Imagine a cross between Janet Jackson (catchy pop songs sung live with solid choreography) and Wendy Williams (hot dish and great crowd interaction), for a frame of reference. Coproduced by Adam Joeseph, the CD is a great mix of pop, midtempo and club jams - a great soundtrack for clubbing, working out or just having fun around the house. With two hits on Logo TV already ("Servin It Up" and "Thought Ya Knew,") Miss Peppermint is no stranger to videos. The video for "Working Girl" features footage from her international tours - and yes, I said international. Here's hoping that video and remixes for my favorite song on the album "Excuse My Beauty" is coming soon.
Video - Youtube
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Photo Credit: Karl Giant

Song of the Day: Peppermint - "Working Girl" originally appeared on About.com Dance Music / Electronica on Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 at 03:36:47.

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Song of the Day: Armand Van Helden & A-TRAK Present Duck Sauce - "aNYway"

2009-11-23T15:27:07Z

Here's another track I first heard in London that's been gaining buzz over the past few weeks. Based on a sample of "I Can Do It" by Final Edition, "aNYway" is a feel good discohouse jam by DuckSauce, the team of DMC Champion A-Trak and producer/DJ Armand Van Helden. This is one of those rare tracks which has the support of a wide base of DJs from the bloghouse guys to the underground. The video is a spoof of the classic Midnight Special series produced by Burt Sugarman in the 70s. Now it is the Midnight Spectacular by Burt Kirshner, with a Jackson 5 styled dancing team performing the song. If that's not enough for you, there is another version of the video which spoofs the infamous pottery scene from the movie Ghost. Either way, "aNYway" is a hot track that will igniting dancefloors through the new year.
Midnight Spectacular Video - Youtube
Ghost Video - Youtube
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Photo Courtesy of Fools Gold/Data

Song of the Day: Armand Van Helden & A-TRAK Present Duck Sauce - "aNYway" originally appeared on About.com Dance Music / Electronica on Monday, November 23rd, 2009 at 15:27:07.

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Song of the Day: David Guetta featuring Estelle - "One Love"

2009-11-19T02:56:53Z

The third single and title track from David Guetta's massive One Love cd is quite incredible in its own right. Reminiscent of tracks from fellow Frenchman Bob Sinclar ("World Hold On" and "Love Generation"), it features Estelle singing about unifying people through love to overcome universal struggles. That's a lot to bite off in a pop song but it communicates the message over house groove with subtle electro/progressive flourishes. Its interesting to note that in each video for this album, David has had a major role sharing the spotlight with the featured vocalist. Even doing something that could be perceived as cheesy (shaping his hands into a heart symbol to send waves of dancing energy to depressed people), David maintains his coolness while obviously having fun and embracing the message. To point out the presence of a superstar dj in Madonna's "Celebration" video would just be an obvious example of the opposite.
Video - Youtube
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Photo Courtesy of Capitol/EMI

Song of the Day: David Guetta featuring Estelle - "One Love" originally appeared on About.com Dance Music / Electronica on Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 02:56:53.

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Song of the Day: Chuckie & LMFAO "Let the Bass Kick in Miami Girl"

2009-11-18T02:42:22Z

Mashups are quite the craze and DJs often take acapella vocals from one song and throw them over another track. Surfacing earlier this year was a mashup of Chuckie's undeniably massive internation club anthem "Let the Bass Kick" (this year's "Put Your Hands Up For Detroit") with vocals from LMFAO's playful novelty electrohop song "I'm In Miami Bitch." Two great tastes that taste even better together, leave it to the Brits to make it an official release and CR2 is releasing it for UK consumption. Could this be the version that takes both artists over the top for the world? Who knows. One minor quibble - both Chuckie and LMFAO have incredible party personas, shouldn't they have been featured in the video?
Video - Youtube
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Photo Courtesy of CR2 Records

Song of the Day: Chuckie & LMFAO "Let the Bass Kick in Miami Girl" originally appeared on About.com Dance Music / Electronica on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 02:42:22.

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Song of the Day: Vanessa Amorosi - "This Is Who I Am" (Wideboys Remix)

2009-11-17T02:55:46Z

When you think of Australian pop female singer, its the sisters that normally come to mind - the Minogues (Kylie and Dannii) and Imbruglias (Natalie and Laura.) Known to the international world mostly for the 1999 dancepop hit "Absolutely Everybody," Vanessa Amorosi is a major pop star down under and seems ready to launch globally with the new hit "This is Who I Am." A pop-rock song about empowerment, fighting against personal struggles, and loving yourself, Vanessa sounds like a cross between Pink and Wynonna Judd, able to harness her powerful voice for an insanely moving and emotional song. Just as Almighty turned out an insane remix of "Absolutely Everybody," the Wideboys blew this one of out of the park as well. Watch out for this one to explode and launch her as the next global superstar. Has anyone played this song for Tyra or Oprah yet?
Video - Youtube
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Photo Courtesy of Universal Records

Song of the Day: Vanessa Amorosi - "This Is Who I Am" (Wideboys Remix) originally appeared on About.com Dance Music / Electronica on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 02:55:46.

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Song of the Day: Basshunter "I Promised Myself"

2009-11-16T02:29:22Z

Has anyone else realized that there are certain songs that euro dance artists tend to cover on a regular basis? "Wonderful Life" and "I Promised Myself" definitely come to mind. It's amazing how perfectly the lyrics fit not only the Basshunter hardstyle sound but the storyline of the music videos. The second single from Basshunter's Bass Generation CD, the video continues the story from where the video of "Every Morning" ended. Will the two lovebirds elope? Stay tuned for the next video..
Video - Youtube
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Photo Courtesy of Ultra Records

Song of the Day: Basshunter "I Promised Myself" originally appeared on About.com Dance Music / Electronica on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 02:29:22.

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Song of the Day: The Big Pink - "Dominos"

2009-11-12T11:10:50Z

Hailing from Britain, The Big Pink is an electro-rock duo who's music is fairly laid back while being pretty emotionally charged. "Dominos" brings to mind some minor 90's hits like the Butthole Surfer's "Pepper" and Primitive Radio Gods' "Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand". It is an excellent sound they've created, the chilly video only providing the cold delivery of the singer's words - "These girls fall like dominos". UK-born, LA-based DJ Switch has taken the song and shattered it, using only the pieces that broke appealingly in his glitchy and twisted mix. As a normal dance BPM would make the poignant words of the track sound ridiculous, Switch slows it down just long enough for The Big Pink to chant it out a few times before whipping things back into a mental frenzy. Good stuff.

Original Version - Youtube

Switch Remix - Youtube
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Photo Courtesy of 4AD

Song of the Day: The Big Pink - "Dominos" originally appeared on About.com Dance Music / Electronica on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 11:10:50.

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Song of the Day: Simian Mobile Disco - "Audacity of Huge"

2009-11-11T09:08:36Z

Effortlessly blending minimal techno with pop, Simian Mobile Disco's "Audacity of Huge" is the third single from their latest release, Temporary Pleasure. The track is pulsing and grinding musically, boastful and longing lyrically. After spending the verses talking about all the things he has, guest vocalist Chris Keating (Yeasayer) asks the question, "So why don't I get you?" This belongs in a playlist with recent material from Camille Jones, Apparat, Royksopp, and Booka Shade.

Video - Youtube
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Photo Courtesy of Wichita Records

Song of the Day: Simian Mobile Disco - "Audacity of Huge" originally appeared on About.com Dance Music / Electronica on Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 at 09:08:36.

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Song of the Day: Blank & Jones with Keane - "Try Again"

2009-11-10T03:32:43Z

As we learned with DJ Shadow's brilliant remix of "We Might As Well Be Strangers" from Keane's debut album, they sound rather good with electronic production. That holds true on this beautiful collaboration for Blank & Jones' fourth installment of their Relax series. The production is hauntingly gorgeous, and Tom Chaplin's vocals soar triumphant. Lounge without purpose is just background music, so Blank & Jones, working with Keane, make sure you're paying attention while you get your Relax on.
Audio - Youtube
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Photo Courtesy of AFM Records

Song of the Day: Blank & Jones with Keane - "Try Again" originally appeared on About.com Dance Music / Electronica on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 03:32:43.

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November Club Chart Posted

2009-11-10T03:32:15Z

Check out the Club Chart for November - the biggest club records as compiled from a panel of DJs around the US.

November Club Chart Posted originally appeared on About.com Dance Music / Electronica on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 03:32:15.

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