‘Make a Stand’ reminded me of the laid-back disco guys like Chris Malinchak are pushing into popularity, but something is slowly added at the beginning to completely transform it by the end.
I don’t know exactly what this sound is called, all I can think of is glam rock but in the electro sense. Not that glam rock sounds like this (I’m not looking it up). But glam with electro sounds fitting.
I actually first heard it in Jade Blue’s Instinct I think.
Last time we tried to highlight some of the best female singers of 2013, the top one just so happened to be a man. We wanted to carry on the tradition on this list with Zhu, but decided an honorable mention would probably be more appropriate.
The rest are a fine mix of 17 female singers that have such damn beautiful voices. Every single one of ’em. How all of these ladies haven’t gotten more mainstream airplay this year is beyond me, minus Lykke Li & Little Dragon, but I guess that’s what we’re here for and so are they.
Odesza is releasing their next album, In Return, in September and this is the perfect track to preview it (along with Sun Models). They’ve always had that Phil Spector “Wall of Sound” going on, at least in the electro sense, and ‘Memories That You Call’ continues it with a film worthy, chorus sound added on.
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Disclosure‘s influence appears to be popping up all over the place. They may not have created the sound, but they have undoubtedly popularized it. We’ve found many who try to dup their style, but few can do anything well with it.
Not only is Linden’s sound not just some blatant repeat, but he brings in vocals from Sam Frank on ‘Be Like You’ that bring much more than good sound. Lyrics usually don’t resonate too profoundly with me, but Sam Frank’s message is so telling of our time. I never really got people’s obsession with performers… without acting on it at least.
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We were so close to putting Zhu at the top of our 2014 R&B list. And even though he didn’t make the cut, he did help us distinguish the difference between today’s R&B and electro soul.
Before, the most notable difference the two was whether it was vocal or producer based, respectively. Where as R&B is focused on the soulful voices of today, electro soul generally cuts & chops memorable voices from the past and blends in heavy electro influences. Zhu is really the perfect intersection between the two, but we eventually came to the conclusion that his deep house influence was more fit for electro soul than the more traditional R&B (“traditional” in loose terms).
Also, keep in mind that even the musicians featured here are still electronically influenced in some way. Most music is nowadays. However, they play much more of a balancing act than their counterparts in electro soul. Hear for yourself and let us know your thoughts on today’s soul music and how you define it.
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I know I focus too much on chorus too much of the time, but Corinne Bailey Rae’s is damn near perfect in ‘Put Your Records On.’ It quite literally put me to tears. She’s as inspiring in words, for the most part, as she is in vocal zest and Nehzui’s remix gives it the extra oomph it deserves. His electro brass is a bit… brass but essential for the sing-a-long.
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Never have I ever (love that game) been so impressed by a mixtape’s intro than on Goldroom’s latest Verano mix. Not only is it a thrill of a chill track, but it’s so unexpected coming from Goldroom.
Creep Crawl Flash’s ‘At Bay’ reminds me of my earlier years with downtempo, especially our second beats to blaze [plug], and it’s good to get back to it. We need to start fishing out more music like this.. for mixtape purposes of course. Recommend!
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Looks like these Game of Throne remixes are keeping up with my taste in music. First with Rameses’ GoT dubstep remix back in 2012 and now with Steve Duzz’s 80’s disco theme.
It would’ve been nice if it played out for a little longer, but it’s a great reinterpretation of one epic theme song, especially with the fitting intro theme to accompany it.
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