South American duo HIIO (pronounced H2O) have arrived in 2013 with their attempt at creating a classic house tune. There’s definitely some classic house vibes here in the synths, the Planet Perfecto influence is pretty obvious. But this track is much slower than anything Planet Perfecto ever put out, and as a result it’s not got the same bounce or energy, exuding a more progressive feel.
The lyrics are pretty decent, tying in nicely with the build up and drops. Peter Gelderblom’s remix is more punchy and the D.O.N.S is more energetic. A decent house tune, if not particularly memorable, with remixes providing improvement.
Striving forward in the ever-evolving game of dance music, three visionary producers join forces. Armin van Buuren pairs up with the big boys of W&W. And for the love of musical evolution, big bass and highlight moments, they bring us ‘D# Fat’.
Armin’s been a fan ever since W&W burst onto the scene with the seductive sounds of ‘Mustang’. In the meantime, the Dutch rookies have come to take the lead in the next generation of EDM producers and the tunes hit in at warp speed. Following the official ASOT550 anthem, the unforgettable ‘Invasion’, is the next step in their career: to team up with Armin van Buuren. And so they did.
‘D# Fat’ will be one of the shining highlights of the ASOT 600 world tour, but is sure to spread its glow long after the celebrations have ended. A genuine mix of warm melody, scintillating details, big bass action and techy trouble. Fat with a capital F indeed.
W&W North American Tour Dates
March 16 – Beyond Wonderland – San Bernardino, CA
March 24 – Ultra Music Festival – A State Of Trance 600 – Miami, FL
March 28 – The Guvernment – Toronto, Canada
March 29 – Opera – Atlanta, GA
March 30 – Madison Square Garden – A State Of Trance 600
March 31 – Bal En Blanc – Montreal, Canada
May 4 – Wonderland – Edmonton, Canada
BT is a legend of Trance production, Nadia Ali is a legend of Trance vocals. Any team up between these two is bound to be good, but when you throw in relative newcomer but excellent producer Arty into the mix as well, are we witnessing collaborative genius or are too many cooks spoiling the broth?
Thankfully not, and Ali’s vocals demonstrate exactly what the vocals in the last track we reviewed failed to, sophistication and some actual meaning that ties in well with the decent video.
Arty will have no doubt also benefited from working with two names that have been around the scene since he was a child, and “Must Be Love” certainly demonstrates a maturity and class in production.
The only down side is the synths seem to have a little too much noise attached, but that’s just preference.
Who is Kirsty? We don’t know either, but this looks like her attempt to crack the commercial dance scene and she’s enlisted the help of Afrojack who provides remix duties. Apparently Sander Van Doorn said “supporting!” and David Guetta said “huge!” Although we’d question how much thought they gave to their answers when questioned.
The “bleepy” riff is heinously irritating and Kirsty’s vocals are talent-less and forgettable. This is a track that suddenly makes Avicii’s latest offerings look incredibly sophisticated in comparison. A crappy video of Kirsty trying, and failing, to look as amative as possible does nothing to enhance this shoddy single that should never have seen the light of day. How many more times do we need to hear the lyrics “Ooh! Ohh! I like what you do to me!”
The sad thing is, for as long as nonsense like this exists, there will always be a commercialised side to dance music looked upon by others as a bit of a joke. Please Kirsty, if you love the genre of dance music, go away.
As one YouTube commenter puts it, this is house. The 24 year-old Olander is the protegé of Eric Prydz and “Let Me Feel” makes it difficult to not see why Prydz signed the relative youngster onto his Pryda Friends label.
It’s an expert mix of crescendo synths and elevated vocals, with a dependable and catchy hook sure to stick in the mind for a good while at least. Olander will be keen however to create a unique vibe for his sound, perhaps distancing himself from the incredible commercial success that is Avicii in order to establish himself as a unique artist.
The progressive tune above is a sure start and we expect to see Olander gracing the scene for a long time yet.
RELEASED: March 4 (Beatport Exclusive) Toolroom Records
After a decade of defining releases, worldwide sell-out tours, no.1 hits from international artists, countless industry awards & millions of downloads,Toolroom Records mark the 10-year milestone with a landmark release fromSander van Doorn, Mark Knight and Underworld: the almighty ‘Ten’.
Combining 3 musical minds of such prestigious value could only ever result in a colossal release, especially considering the individual heritage of each contributing artist. Delivering a vocal performance akin to no.1 smash ‘Downpipe’, Underworld are once again poised to define a generation of Toolroom fans thanks to Karl Hyde’s signature lyricism echoing out across an expertly crafted electronic landscape. Making his debut on the label, Sander VanDoorn’s legacy in the world of electronic music is unparalleled, and so it’s only fitting that for such a landmark release he lend his trademark energized sound to the Toolroom Records catalogue. Mark Knight completes the trio of undisputed heavyweight producers, offering his label expertise to complete the ramped-up energetic workout of techno grooves and classic club riff that comprise the distinctive ‘Ten’.
Featuring original artwork from MM (Maxim from legendary British dance act The Prodigy), ‘Ten’ is only the beginning; this is the start of a brand new decade of Toolroom Records. Make the celebrations yours and join Toolroom in remembering 10 years of amazing music throughout the rest of 2013.
What happens when you throw producers Dimitri Tikovoi (Velvet Underground, Placebo, Goldfrapp, The Saturdays), Area Star Production (aka Andre Rudenko & Timofey Reznikov (Akon, Katy Perry, Fergie, Pitbull)), and a British songstress in together to create a song?
Well, apparently, this. “Hello” is a pop song…but like so many in recent years, it’s heavily influenced by dance music and there’s plenty of synths and heavy bass beats. The lyrics are, frankly, terrible with gems such as “Ii got inside your room and it was snowing there i got inside your soul and there was rain”. Er, right.
But then maybe that’s missing the point. It’s a song about nothing, but then most pop songs are, and even Adele is guilty of waxing nonsensical lyrical (set fire to rain..). The production is also of a very high quality, and the tune is catchy, and certainly wouldn’t sound out of place on the radio. It’s also helped by an expertly assembled video.
Shockolady herself has a style that’s clearly heavily influenced by Lady Gaga, which is a problem because, well it’s already been done. But she does have a decent enough voice, hitting high and low notes with equal conviction.
“Hello” will not quite a star make her, but with some work on giving her a slightly more unique style, and a equally catchy song just with more meaningful lyrics (hopefully she can retain the same producers, a name change wouldn’t go amiss either) and perhaps this British pop act can achieve some significant success. We certainly wish her the best!
If you enjoy watching women wearing not much more than a veil and shaking their bits all about, then check out the official video for Diplo’s “Butter’s Them”.
