|
 |
The Swedish producer has always circled straight-up nostalgia, preferring instead to surround his soulful vocals with more modern sounds. He does the same here, but the classic elements are so strong - a Byron Stingily-esque vocal; early '90s power piano chords; Def Mix-style strings; lyrics about love, baby - that the end result is better than deferent: It's transforming. The record rocked the Ibiza season, with jocks from Francois K to David Guetta to Roger Sanchez catching the vibe. |
|
 |
The No. 1 club track of the year, according to Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart, is a dark slab of New York after-hours featuring a deadpan alto vocal by Superchumbo muse James. It percolates with a nasty bass belch before boiling over into Nine Inch Nails-like noise, but never loses its deliberate groove. From hitmaker Pete Tong to party-starter Erick Morillo, everyone was on this record. |
|
 |
The flirty dancehall of this crossover hit is tempered with tragedy: Singer Natasja Saad was killed in a car accident in Jamaica last summer, right when the buzz began. Copenhagen-based producer Rune Reilly Kolsch (Enur is Rune backwards) made the brassy beats back in 2002, and Natasja recorded her vocal in 2006. When it finally hit the U.S., radio stations, club DJs - both dance and hip-hop - and clubbers took notice. At press time, the single is climbing the Billboard Latin, Rhythmic, Top 40 and Hot 100 charts; and is No. 1 on the Hot Dance Airplay chart. |
|
 |
Have you ever watched a club full of people pump their fists to a guitar stab in a dance record? Something about the forcefulness of Willis' vocal, or the track's giddy joy despite its angst-y lyrics, brought it to arena-rock levels. Delivering on the promises of previous Guetta lovelorn hits "Love Don't Let Me Go" and "Just A Little More Love," "Gone" won over the last of the resisters, certifying the DJ/producer as a reliable hitmaker. |
|
 |
James' Sade-meets-Tracey Thorn pipes got sun-baked for Balearic beaches by Kupper, with an elegant house mix that powered the track to No.1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in April. The inspiring song was the centerpiece and namesake of James' debut artist album, and went on to sell over 25,000 copies. Across-the-board jocks like Josh Wink, Laurent Garnier and Miguel Migs all got caught up in its spell. |
|
| |
With over 100,000 copies sold of the original, Justice's mega-hit brought together clubbers, indie rock kids and your average MTV viewers with its irresistible Sesame Street chorus and very French disco strings. Its clever clip got nominated for "Video Of The Year" at the MTV Video Music Awards, but meanwhile, the shaggy duo was rocking clubs large and small across the country with positively house-y DJ sets. Now they're preparing to play Madison Square Garden in March. |
|
