Day 36: Fake ID by Riton ft. Kah-Lo

It seems like Riton and Kah-Lo are joined at the hip, having released the wildly successful Rinse and Repeat, Betta Riddim and Ginger together. This is my favourite of their work together and is a huge club-ready banger.

Born in Newcastle, Henry Smithson adopted the ‘Riton’ moniker when he started out in the dance and rave scene of the 1990s. Since then, he has gone on to produce, remix and create music in a number of genres. From electro-punk to remixing the Scissor Sister; from house anthems to producing for MarkRonson and MNEK, he has had a varied and interesting career, and it since 2016 his work with the New York and Lagos singer Kah-Lo has seen him attempt to capitalise on the shift in pop music towards electronic basslines and hip-hop features.

Fake ID is a perfect example of this. Kah-Lo’s vocals are playful and feel very youthful, whilst still maintaining a heavy Nigerian accent that gives it a more textured feel. The looping vocals build into the drop and the drums are a unique blend that reflects Riton’s experience.

This wasn’t actually the original beat he had planned to use to accompany Kah-Lo’s vocals. He scrapped his original plans and recorded a new one in New York, however, it was Kah-Lo who had the idea for the song. In interviews, she said she was inspired by the cult classic film, Superbad, and specifically the character Fogell. Played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse, the character acquires a Fake ID to buy alcohol, but changes his name to McLovin and claims he is 25 years old. Kah-Lo wanted to make a fun party track about friends and going out and, with Riton’s high-quality production, they have given a new track for party playlists around the world.

Spotify Playlist Link: https://spoti.fi/2CKuVex

Day 35: Motorola by Gorgon City

Another huge dance banger that I played CONTINUOUSLY on my student radio show last year. Motorola is a massive marmite track I will grant you, but I am a huge fan and I’m determined to get you all on board with this anthem.

House music titans, Gorgon City consist of duo Kye Gibbon and Matt Robson-Scott and have worked with the likes of JP Cooper, Duke Dumont, MNEK, Yungen, and previous featured artist Elderbrook. They have established themselves as a big player within the UK house scene and regularly sell out venues and grace big festival stages.

Motorola is a true house tune and has received negative feedback from Gorgon City fans who were introduced to them as a dance/chart artist. As with many artists we’ve featured, chart success has been a reflection of their success within the house scene, and Motorola is a throwback to the early days of Gorgon City. Memorable vocals and a heavy, easy to dance to the bassline, it is a great amalgamation of everything that Gorgon City stand for; new and old.

There is a really nostalgic feel to the lyrics “why don’t you put your number in my Motorola”, which is in reference to the very popular Motorola Razr flip phone, prior to the smartphone dominance. The use of old-school ringtones evokes great memories of middle school lunchtimes and after-school football sessions, whilst the sultry bassline makes it unavoidable to club DJs up and down the country.

I realise it’s a fairly decisive song, but give it a try and I think it’ll kickstart your weekend (I know it’s Monday; come back on Friday and rave away).

Spotify Playlist Link: https://spoti.fi/2CKuVex

Day 34: Aerosol Can by Major Lazer ft. Pharrell Williams

It won’t be often that I first hear a track that I review on here on Soccer AM, but here we are. Major Lazer’s Aerosol Can was released before the chart domination they have enjoyed since their 2015 hit Lean On (with a sizeable 1.2 BILLION streams on Spotify). This has significantly fewer, but is still a banger and encapsulates the early sounds of Major Lazer; aggressive electronic beats with unique sounds to supplement it.

Hard drum beats and literal aerosol can sound effects lie underneath Pharrell’s vocals and hit the ground at a blistering pace. As the lead track from the 2014 EP Apocalypse Soon, it sets a tone that unfortunately isn’t really followed through on as the EP progresses, but if it is taken as a single, then Aerosol Can is a great example of a producer/rapper collaboration and embodies the nuclear artwork of the EP in its pace and beat.

Major Lazer have a Sugababes-esque past (what a sentence), in that it was founded in 2008 by Diplo and fellow DJ Switch, who ended up leaving in 2011 to be replaced by Jillionaire and Walshy Fire who are also both DJs. Now a trio, the group use the Major Lazer name as an experimental project in many ways, portraying themselves through a cartoon American mercenary and collaborating with a wide variety of artists; with Pharrell, Ellie Goulding, Camilla Cabello and Nicki Minaj just a small selection of names to appear on a Major Lazer track. They have certainly become more of a chart-machine since Aerosol Can, but by no means has that made them any worse.

Spotify Playlist Link: https://spoti.fi/2CKuVex

Day 33: Dye My Hair by ALMA (Felon Remix)

Big summery remix coming for you today, with Felon remixing ALMA’s 2016 hit, Dye My Hair. 23 and Finnish, ALMA is one of a number of female pop powerhouses coming out of Scandinavia in recent years, with Zara Larsson, Sigrid and Lykke Li filling out an impressive roster.

The original song is powerful and creates duality in it’s meaning; on one hand, showing vulnerability to another by doing anything for that person (dying hair blonde in this case); on the other, an inquiry into beauty standards set by society, in particular towards women. This is typical ALMA, who outside of her music is very vocal in advocating women’s rights campaigns, body positivity movements and decreasing the taboo around female sexuality.

The remix encapsulates the very core of ALMA’s source track, whilst invigorating it with the sounds of an Ibiza summer. Released in 2017, it is yet again exactly what a remix should be; supplementary to the original without recreating an entirely different sound. The stuttering of the chorus is a refreshing approach to the song and the buttery smooth production of the original is only heightened by the addition of a drum-heavy bassline.

The vocals remain, for the most part, untouched, allowing her powerful voice to echo through the track and become a great addition to any summer playlist. ALMA continues to produce some really strong pop music and, with bright green hair and a voice worthy of ballads, you’ll struggle to miss her when she next returns to the scene.

Spotify Playlist Link: https://spoti.fi/2CKuVex

Day 32: bury a friend by Billie Eilish

New month, new music! Billie Eilish is back and, honestly, it pains me to see how much talent she has at 17 years old. She was literally born in 2001 and has already carved a promising career for herself in the brutal music industry. She’s from Los Angeles and was surrounded as a child by a family bursting with creativity; actors, musicians, and screenwriters made up her household and it is no wonder that her debut EP, Don’t Smile At Me, was one of the most praised debuts of 2017. She’s collaborated with fellow teen sensation Khalid as well as Vince Staples, and she looks to go from strength to strength as her debut album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do You Go?, will be released in March this year.

This single, bury a friend, is the first to be released ahead of that album and is typically Eilish; dystopian, creepy, but with obvious pop elements sewn into the track. It is produced by her brother, Fineas O’Connell, and is a very solid track to kickstart her album promo.

The drumbeat unapologetically drags you through the song and at the start, as a listener, the rhythm feels uncomfortable. This sensation is heightened by a lot of high pitched screeches and her twisted lyrics throughout. She constantly draws on her own death, citing “I want to end me” repeatedly in the chorus. The music video also embodies the creepy aurora of the song, as Eilish is dragged through an abandoned block of apartments by non-descript hands, with the tone of the video perfectly matching that of the song in general.

Eilish is a very unique artist. In an interview with Annie Mac on BBC Radio 1 this week, she said that she is very entertained by scaring people, and her music style reflects this mischievous tendency. In the same interview, she details how the album was written from the perspective of “the monster under the bed”. A dark album then, but that is what her fans, myself included, love her for. She has a unique melancholy and distress to her songwriting that feels raw and real, and that’s why I think she has exploded the way she has and the way I think she will continue to do so.

Her album artwork also draws a lot of inspiration from the horror genre, with straitjackets, hospital beds and completely white eyes combining for a particularly creepy cover that should be avoided by those of a nervous disposition! I have no doubt, though, that this project will just solidify her legitimacy as an artist and I am excited to hear the rest of the album in March. You will be hearing this song again, I promise you.

Spotify Playlist Link: https://spoti.fi/2CKuVex

Day 31: 48HRS by Disciples

We’ve made it through January! A song review a day throughout month one, and I’m excited to share more bangers with you throughout the year. To wrap up January, we look to South London and the trio of Nathan Vincent Duvall, Gavin Koolmon and Luke McDermott that make up the dance production group, Disciples. They got early traction on their debut EP Remedy, released on New State Music, through support from the likes of Annie Mac, Pete Tong and DJ Target on the BBC Radio Network, but they really burst onto the scene with a collaboration with little-known Scottish DJ Calvin Harris. How Deep Is Your Love was released in 2015 to critical acclaim and made the South London trio hot property on the dance circuit, both internally and internationally.

48HRS is today’s track and graced our ears in 2018 after it was released on FFRR Records (set up by the aforementioned Pete Tong). High hats and synths are the weapon of choice in this house anthem, and the wispy, ghostly vocals have more than a hint of inspiration from the work of previous collaborator Calvin Harris in my opinion. It is nice to see the entire creative process contained within the trio. Duvall and McDermott tackle the vocals on the song, with Duvall tackling the chorus and McDermott providing a complimentary deeper tone.

The track isn’t deep house, but does showcase their roots in the underground house scene nicely and is a lot less pop than previous hits On My Mind and How Deep Is Your Love. Disciples have positioned themselves well, with a foot in the camp of pop collaborations and regular radio slots to pay the bills, whilst still having the credibility to experiment with true house tracks. Not a bad deal really.

Spotify Playlist Link: https://spoti.fi/2CKuVex

Day 30: We Rise by San Holo

Shorthand for his birth name rather than a fanatic ode to the iconic Harrison Ford character, Sander Van Dijck is a Dutch DJ who has been releasing music under the San Holo pseudonym since his debut EP, Cosmos, in 2014. 2017 saw him receive a nomination for New Artist of the Year at the Electronic Music Awards and has a blossoming career, with a lot of his songs featuring on trap and future bass playlists and DJ’s USBs across the world.

The song starts off quite galactic, fitting of the artist’s name, and immediately evokes the Dutch EDM sound that Holo would have grown up with. It is a showstopper of a dance track and feels tailor-made for the festival circuit. The heavy bass that pulls the rare vocal portions together is laden with synths and is the sensation is, to me, an aural laser show. These give way to primitive drum sounds under the female vocalist, giving the song layer after layer and providing a complex, heavyweight record. Influences can be heard all over the place, the song making the listener think of everything from Porter Robinson to African tribal drum ceremonies!

The song was released in 2015 as a single on Spinnin’ Records and is perfect for release as such. It doesn’t feel like a song that would benefit from being collated into an album where it would have to compete with other tracks. As a single, it can flourish and the production, in particular, can have its moment. You can hardly expect any less from a former ghost producer for some of the world’s greats in the dance music game!

Spotify Playlist Link: https://spoti.fi/2CKuVex

Day 29: Ride On Time by Black Box

HUGE anthem for you today. Italian house royalty Black Box with their 1989 hit Ride On Time is the focus of today’s review. If this doesn’t take you to a basement, rocking double denim and two-stepping with your mates then I don’t know what more I can do!

A garage/house classic that has been adopted as a gentle slope into the genre by radio stations up and down the country, it still holds value as an example of the genre. It was the biggest selling single in the UK when it was released in 1989 and took No. 1 spot which really helped elevate the profile of house music and the broader dance genre. However, it’s accomplishments were tainted when it came out that they had sampled vocals without permission. They came from Loleatta Holloway’s hit Love Sensation, released in 1980, and the French model Katrin Quinol was brought in by Black Box to mime the song, however her combination of poor English and poor lip-reading skills meant they were soon found out.

The song is still great, and whilst the vocals are a huge part of the song, it’s the piano and disco sounds of the instrumental that make the song. Super infectious, it’s no wonder that it has remained a huge hit whenever a DJ presses play on it. It seems the controversy has not had much of an effect on the song’s popularity, much to Holloway’s annoyance I imagine.

Spotify Playlist Link: https://spoti.fi/2CKuVex

Day 28: Hillside Boys by Kim Petras

Originating from Cologne in Germany, Kim Petras is a 26-year-old electropop singer, whose sound is reminiscent of artists like Charlie XCX, Avril Lavigne and Cyndi Lauper. Indeed, Girls Just Want To Have Fun seems to be a big inspiration to the instrumental. Synths and electro beats combine to create a teenage anthem. Her lyrics are of lust, romantic interest and break up. It takes you back to your first love, your first kiss, and I’ve never read anything more fitting than when someone described her sound in this song as “retro bubblegum pop”.

Petras is actually a hugely interesting person outside of her music. She hit German and international headlines in her mid-teens when she campaigned for early gender reassignment surgery. Her parents say that she has vocally expressed that she was a girl from as young as 2, and was one of the youngest people to undergo female hormone treatments and gender confirmation surgery. As such, she is a gay icon, actively raising awareness of transgender and broader LGBTQ+ issues and pulling in a huge fan base from that community. In an interview with the Huffington Post in 2018, she stated: “I think the ultimate goal for me is if a transgender person can be known for anything but being transgender”.

Her music speaks for itself and is very good, well-written pop. It is important to have artists like her to break down the stigma of these issues, and as time progresses I’m sure she will gain an even bigger fan base. Her music should be judged on its quality as art, not the artist’s identity, and I believe that the growing awareness and acceptance of the transgender community will only help the development of her growth, stripping away any prejudices and allowing her art to flourish.

Spotify Playlist Link: https://spoti.fi/2CKuVex

Day 27: The Video In The Pool by Francis and the Lights

Francis Farewell Starlite, as well as having the coolest name in existence, is known professionally as Francis and the Lights. He came to my attention through his huge hit collaboration with Chance The Rapper (May I Have This Dance) and, though I fell in love with the track, remained devastated that he didn’t use his real name for his alt-RnB project.

His October 2018 release, The Video In The Pool, is typical of Francis. It opens with a digital electronic beat that wouldn’t feel out of place as the theme tune for an arcade video game. When the vocals come in, they are heavily autotuned and are reminiscent of 808’s and Heartbreaks Kanye West. It evokes an eery mystery that Francis is so good at, and it is a beautiful amalgamation of tributes to his influences; Kanye West as mentioned, Bon Iver, even Phil Collins/Genesis. There are elements of all in there and hopefully signals a new, longer project from Francis over the coming months.

As he released the song, he tweeted out David Hockney’s famous painting, Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures), and cements Francis’ seeming obsession with pools. The music video for this song clearly signifies he took a lot of inspiration from Hockney’s work, whilst the album artwork for his 2017 project Just For Us features a man preparing to dive into a pool. Perhaps, then, this is the follow-up piece to that photo and album, with a similar looking character being the focal point of the Jake Schreier-directed video?

Either way, it’s an interesting angle for an interesting artist to maybe go in with his work, creating links within all of his art, not just the music. The song fits beautifully with the video and it sounds like it is being listened to whilst enveloped by calm water. His discography is perfect to wind down and relax to, and The Video In The Pool is another haunting addition to that.

Spotify Playlist Link: https://spoti.fi/2CKuVex