Julie Bergan rose to recognition by releasing a series of covers on YouTube, at the age of 16, eventually signing a deal with Warner Music Norway in 2013.
This particular song (‘Kiss Somebody’) was actually released a year ago, in January 2020 and saw Bergan team up with Norwegian production duo, Seeb.
The song itself uses vocal distortions to make part of the backing beat (with the lyrics, “Make out with her, Make out with him”) alongside other traditional EDM-style components. It’s a banging anthem that begs to be danced to.
The video is fun too and features various couples kissing (including a gay couple), interspersed with shots of Bergan performing with a group of back-up dancers as well as by herself.
This synthpop meets EDM banger is the perfect track for #WildCardWednesday, as Bergan has yet to break into the UK market but I’m sure it won’t be long before she becomes more of a household name over here, if this track is anything to go by.
What are your thoughts of this synthpop banger? Do you have a #WildCardWednesday track to recommend us? Please leave your thoughts or song suggestions in a comment or via social media.
I recently had the privilege of doing a Skype interview with Irish producer and remixer, John Gibbons, following the release of his latest single and cover of the massive 1994, ‘Hotstepper’.
We spoke all about how some of his cover versions came to be, who he’d most like to collaborate with, what his passions are outside of music and one of his most embarrassing moments on stage. It’s all here…
Sigala (aka Bruce Fielder) is an English DJ, producer and remixer from Norwich in Norfolk. His first single, ‘Easy Love‘ (which featured a re-recorded interpolation of The Jackson 5 song, ‘ABC’) reached Number 1 in the UK Charts. In total, he has released a rather impressive, 12 singles, 6 of which have reached the Top 10 in the UK Charts. Now, with 10 of these singles featuring on his debut album, it’s easy to see why there is a lot of excitement about this release and indicates just how strong of an album it is. Here’s what we have to say about it…
To say that this album is star-studded is an understatement – it is utterly packed to bursting-point with incredible collaborations and downright epic tunes! Very rarely do you find that an album is filled, from start to finish, with singles but truly, every song on this record could be a single in its own right…and most of them have been!
With ten of the sixteen tracks having been released as singles, you could not be forgiven for not having heard at least one of these tracks before now! ‘Easy Love‘, ‘Sweet Lovin’‘ featuring Bryn Christopher, ‘Say You Do‘ featuring Imani Williams & DJ Fresh, ‘Give Me Your Love‘ featuring John Newman & Nile Rodgers, ‘Came Here For Love’ featuring Ella Eyre and ‘Lullaby’ featuring Paloma Faith all reached inside the UK’s Top 10. They’re all uplifting, summery songs which are filled with feel-good vibes. (For more about these tracks, hit the links above – as a massive fan of them and having reviewed them before, there’s so much else to focus on with this record!)
It’s easy to see why Sigala is such a big hitter – he’s created an instantly recognisable sound by combining dance music with tropical house and topping it off with some sensational pop collaborations, meaning his tracks just rocket up the charts…and the unreleased tracks on Brighter Days continue this trend. To make it clear just how many collaborations are on this record, here are a list of all the features:
With a lineup like that, it’s no surprise that this guy’s tunes are so damn good! Not only has he been dominating the UK dance music scene but with a whole host of international collaborations, he’s surely going to become a global hit!
The summer may well be drawing to a close but with this album, it feels like it’s just getting started; it’s the ultimate feel-good album that you just want to keep on repeat!
Aside from the obvious singles, this album features a few unheard tracks, starting with ‘Brighter Days’. With vocals from Paul Janeway (of St. Paul & The Broken Bones), you are eased into the album with a spacious verse that continually builds before unleashing a massive drop into the chorus…and the album doesn’t let up from there!
‘You Don’t Know Me’ is a huge track with shimmering synths and a monster beat (in collaboration with Shaun Frank) and some wonderful vocal lines from Flo Rida and Delaney Jane whilst ‘Somebody’ has some big, gang vocals in the lead-up to the chorus and great vocal harmonies shared between HRVY and Nina Nesbitt.
One of the biggest tracks on the album (and probably the most surprising that it’s not been a single) is ‘What You Waiting For’ featuring none other than pop princess Kylie Minogue! Think ‘Put Your Hands Up (If You Feel Love)’ but mellowed into a tropical house anthem with an ever-evolving beat – it’s musical euphoria at its best.
‘Revival’ sees Fielder collaborate with American production trio, Cheat Codes with the addition of wonderful falsetto and full-on vocals provided by US artist, MAX, supported by a crowd. The beat is intense; something you can easily find yourself getting lost in. Lastly, is ‘All For Love’ which features Irish rock band, Kodaline. The song is somewhat reminiscent of The Chainsmokers‘ track, ‘Something Just Like This‘ featuring Coldplay and the vocals have a certain quality to that of Danny O’Donoghue from Irish band, The Script. This really is testament to just how diverse Fielder’s production is and illustrates his superb songwriting skills too.
The only negative of the album is that because so many of the songs have already been released as singles, there’s only six tracks which haven’t been heard before (hence focusing this review mainly on them) but honestly this is an awesome record – the way the track list flows is perfect and ending it with ‘Easy Love’ is pure brilliance!
The summer may well be drawing to a close but with this album, it feels like it’s just getting started. It’s the ultimate feel-good album that you just want to keep on repeat – whether you’re out driving in the car, home alone and looking for a pick-me-up, having a few friends round for a BBQ or going all-out with a party; this is an hour-long, back-to-back, 16-track, banger of an album, that you simply can’t get enough of! Turn it up loud, play it proud and dance like fucking crazy! A sensational debut by a superb producer…and it’s surely only going to get more exciting from here…
We hope you’ve enjoyed our review! What do you think of this epic producer’s debut album, Brighter Days? Are you as much of a fan as us? What would you rate it out of 5? Please leave your thoughts in a comment or via our social media.
Enjoyed this? Check out some of our other reviews here:
Fatboy Slim (aka Norman Cook) is known for his incredible and creative use of samples to craft his tracks and this year sees his 1998, big beat smash hit, ‘The Rockafeller Skank’ (taken from the huge album, You’ve Come A Long Way Baby) turn 20…and it’s still as awesome as it was back then!
This particular track features vocal samples by rapper, Lord Finesse, from the track ‘Vinyl Dog Vibe’ by Vinyl Dogs, as well as ‘Sliced Tomatoes’ by Just Brothers, The Bobby Fuller Four‘s ‘I Fought the Law’ (featuring DeWayne Quirico‘s drum intro), ‘Beat Girl’ by John Barry and a guitar hook from the song ‘Peter Gunn’ by Art of Noise featuring Duane Eddy is also sampled.
It’s incredible to think that this song is made up of all those samples, each from a completely different background but when put in this context, have created something unique and truly epic in its own right.
There’s no doubt about it; this song was a big hit for his back in 1998 but it is timeless due to its distinctive sample use and sound. This could quite easily have been released in 2018 and is still as brilliant as it ever was! An incredible track by an incredible artist!
What are your thoughts of this epic Brightonian artist’s 1998 smash hit? Still love it as much today? Got a #ThrowbackThursday track to recommend us? Please leave your thoughts or song suggestions in a comment or via social media.
Petit Biscuit (less frequently known by his real name of Mehdi Benjelloun) is a French DJ and music producer, born November 10th 1999.
His song, ‘Sunset Lover’, was released in 2015 onto the music platform Soundcloud,when he was at the young age of 15. The song has been stripped back in terms of style compared to the mainstream electronica music which you frequently hear in the charts. What we are left with, is a melody that includes a simplistic yet heavily relaxing guitar line, single short notes, a basic kick drum, occasional clapping and strange yet intriguing vocals, which could be seen to mimic an infant sounding out words for the first time.
Source: Spotify.com
Source: Amazon.com
The song has now reached over 180 million streams on Soundcloud and Spotify combined, as well as it reaching No. 13 on the Hot/Dance/Electronic song chart. It can be found on his newest album titled Presence, which was released last year (2017).
“Sunset Lover is more about the chorus and verse, even if there aren’t lyrics” – Petit Biscuit
I personally find that the creative rhythm, melodic presence and unique style of this song is calming, relaxing and thought provoking. I frequently listen to Petit’s music while studying or occasionally when trying to sleep in the evenings after a particularly stressful day.
On Friday 19th May 2017, Chicane came to Brighton to perform a full-band set (which is a very rare thing!) It was an absolutely incredible night, with support from Chris Hopkins, who did an hour and a half DJ set.
Chris Hopkins (DJ Set)
One of Nick’s friends, Chris Hopkins did a great DJ set to get the evening started, playing a range of dance anthems as well as some remixes of classic songs by Prince and others; it was non-stop tune after tune.
Highlight:
The dedication made to Robert Miles before playing ‘Children’ was touching and had the crowd cheering and dancing along.
Also playing a Chicane song (not on the set list), right before he took to the stage, was a great way to get the crowd going.
Chicane
Chicane took to the stage with the recent, ambient, ascending track ’38 Weeks’, accompanied by his band (Karlos Edwards on drums and Simon Small on guitar and bass) and singer, Rosalee O’Connell. The set was then packed with his biggest hits from the past 20 years, in celebration of his recent album, Twenty. I particularly enjoyed the live performances of ‘Poppiholla (Anniversary Remix)’, ‘Fibreglasses’, ‘Don’t Give Up’, ‘Nite On Shore’ and ‘Saltwater’.
The set was diverse, mixing his more upbeat, club anthems (which had the audience going wild; jumping up and down and singing along) and the more mellow, ambient tracks; at times joined by either of the two singers (Rosalee O’Connell or Gavin Conder) accompanying and others with just the musicians; it all flowed perfectly.
It was great to hear these tracks live and the combination of Nick’s synth tracks and keys alongside live instrumentation was a really unique way to experience his music.
The performance was about an hour and a half long and people loved every second of it (myself included); we could quite happily have gone on listening, watching and dancing all night. There was genuine disappointment when it came an end but an encore led to rapturous applause before closing the show with ‘Stoned In Love’, with Gavin Condor on vocals.
If you haven’t ever seen him play with a full band, you must! I’m already itching to catch him live again!!!
Highlights:
The set list was crammed full of hit after hit.
Nick mixed the sounds to perfection and whilst the quality sounded like the studio versions, the subtle changes to the track made them unique to that performance.
The bass sounds were so heavy and loud, you could feel them reverberate through your chest.
The guitarist was incredibly talented, particularly on the track, ‘Nite On Shore’ when he showed off some impressive acoustic guitar skills.
The superbly powerful vocals of both singers were stunning to witness.
The drummer’s use of both drum kit and samples pads added a diverse edge to the performance.
All of these excellent photos are credited to Elliot McRae. Go on, give him a follow – @EMcraePhoto
Setlist
38 Weeks
The Bridge
One Thousand Suns*
Poppiholla (Anniversary Remix)*
Saltwater (Kryder Remix)
Hiding All The Stars
Still With Me
Fibreglasses
Carry Me Home
Don’t Give Up*
Nite On Shore
Saltwater*
Encore Stoned In Love
* These songs can be viewed in the YouTube playlist, below.
Finally, I want to say an absolutely HUGE thanks to Louis for organising this review and backstage interview (here) and also to Chicane (Nick) for putting on such an immense evening; I loved every minute of it.
Kungs is a French DJ and Cookin’ On 3 Burners are an Australian 3-piece who merge funk, soul and jazz.
‘This Girl’ was originally a song recorded by Cookin’ On 3 Burners but since Kungs came along and put his spin on it, it’s become massive!
The song entered the UK charts at Number 5 but went on to knock Justin Timberlake‘s ‘Can’t Stop The Feeling’ off the Number 1 spot, earning it a Number 1! It’s no wonder either, the song is so summery and funky – it’s just got this awesome vibe to it and the ultimate #FeelGoodFriday song!
What do you think of this jammy little number? Loving the vibes? Please share your #FeelGoodFriday song choice with us, in a comment below too; we love new music!
Matoma is a Norwegian DJ and producer, known mostly for his tropical house sound.
Recently, Matoma (aka Tom Stræte Lagergren) remixed songs for the likes of One Direction, Marlon Roudette and Eminem.
This song was released back in 2015 and is a massive tropical house anthem but I’ve only just discovered it. It’s gaining popularity on the club circuits and is a tune!
David Guetta – ‘Bang My Head‘ featuring Sia & Fetty Wap
French DJ and Producer, David Guetta is gearing up to re-release his album Listen (as Listen Again) in the next few weeks. This has become a trend for him, to re-release his albums, either with additional tracks, remixes and/or reworked versions of the songs.
As a part of this re-release, David Guetta has added Fetty Wap to the song, ‘Bang My Head’, alongside long-term collaborator, Sia.
The song is catchy as hell and Sia’s vocals are powerfully captivating as usual and Fetty Wap’s unusual voice adds something unique to the song. I love this!
I discovered this song on Spotify, as part of their new releases, last week. Very little is available online about her, but she’s got my interest! This song’s casual dropping of the “f-bomb” amongst it’s pop-strewn melodies is unusual and her vocals remind me of Tove Lo.
No video has been released and you can’t even purchase it on iTunes yet, but she’s got my attention!
The Lion King has surely got to be one of the most notable films Disney has ever released!
Although it was released back in 1994, it is memorable for its incredible soundtrack, featuring the writing talents of Elton John and Tim Rice, as well as its epically emotional scenes, when Mufasa is killed by Scar and its comedic scenes featuring the dynamic duo, Timon and Pumbaa!
Timon and Pumbaa were such a hit with audiences, that they went on to have their own spin-off series and the film went on to have two sequels.
This particular song, ‘Circle Of Life (Mat Zo Remix)’, has been chosen because of its interesting remix elements! Mat Zo is a Grammy-nominated producer and DJ from Britain and he’s done an excellent job of remixing this classic Disney song. He has combined elements of the original song with dubstep/drum & bass qualities. The video is pretty trippy and cool too!
What do you think of this intriguing remix? A fan or not? Got any other interesting tracks for our Disney-themed #WildCardWednesday? Please spread the love by sharing the link to this post.
Muzik Speaks 