Singer, songwriter and producer Big Wild (aka JacksonStell) is back with his first new music since his 2019 debut album, Superdream, in the form of brand new single, ‘Touch’. This time he has taken on a new edge with a blend of almost western movie soundtrack vibes and electronic production, creating something perfect for Feel-Good Friday.
‘Touch’ is a disco-infused, bright indie single with seriously catchy pop undertones that really increase the rich, colourful emotion that Big Wild has become known for.
Although it was written before the current coronavirus pandemic, the song is about longing for a loved one – something that will probably resonate all too well with people during lockdown.
Speaking on the new single, Stell added: “I’m sure with the current state of the world ‘Touch’ will take on a different meaning than I intended but that’s the best part of writing music, seeing where a song goes. I can’t claim any foresight, but the feeling of deep longing and desire is universal. It’s interesting because I was writing from a personal place but this theme is something we’re feeling on a societal level right now. People need connection.”
The lyric video suits this song perfectly too with it’s spaghetti western edge to it. No music video has been released as yet.
What are your thoughts of this producer’s latest single? Do you have a #FeelGoodFriday 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…
Mark Ronson is certainly a household name already and having released several collaborative hit tracks this year, the five-time Grammy Award-winning artist and producer now returns with a brand new single of his own, ‘Nothing Breaks Like A Heart’ featuring the incredible Miley Cyrus.
The track was co-written by both Ronson and Cyrus, alongside Ilsey Juber, Thomas Brenneck, The Picard Brothers and Conor Rayne Syzmanski, and produced by Ronson, The Picard Brothers and Jamie XX.
The track serves as the first single to be taken from Mark Ronson’s forthcoming studio album, coming in 2019. It’s also his first pop single as a recording artist since the musical phenomenon that was ‘Uptown Funk‘! However he’s been busy since then, co-writing the Number 1 song, ‘Shallow’ performed by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, featured in Cooper’s directorial debut, A Star Is Born, as well as being a member of supergroup, Silk City (with Diplo), releasing the Top 5 UK Chart hit, ‘Electricity’ featuring Dua Lipa.
The track is already making waves around the world, with video trending highly on YouTube. The high-energy video was filmed in Kiev, Ukraine, directed by WAFLA (We Are From LA) and executive-produced by Romain Gravas (M.I.A, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Jamie XX). It features Miley Cyrus being pursued by police with a tongue-in-cheek approach to the reasons behind it. It’s clearly a big-budget affair and really well shot – definitely worth a watch!
📸 Benoit Debie
What are your thoughts of this duo’s collaboration? Does it top ‘Uptown Funk’? Do you have a #WildCardWednesday track to recommend us? Please leave your thoughts or song suggestions in a comment or hit us up via social media, using the hashtag.
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.
George FitzGerald is an English, electronic musician who previously worked for London label, Black Market Records, but after relocating to Berlin in 2010, began recording and releasing his own music. 2015 saw the release of his debut album, Fading Love, and now in 2018, he’s releasing his second record, All That Must Be. Here’s what we have to say about it…
The album opens to the sounds of the hustle and bustle outside FitzGerald’s London studio, nicely setting the theme for the rest of the record, which very much echos the thrum of urban life.
In amongst the production, vocals are present, however, save for the tracks with guest vocalists, Lil Silva and Tracey Thorn (Everything But The Girl), they are barely recognisable, through much distortion and production wizardry. This is executed perfectly though, as they blend so well with the instrumentation, that it actually takes a few listens to properly realise they are in fact vocals.
George further explains, “In many of the songs the vocals are disembodied and processed to the point you can’t make out what they’re saying. I wanted that to mirror the uncanniness you feel when a massive event happens in your life. Everything looks and sounds the same but it’s somehow different. Your surroundings are less intelligible.” This is very much reflected in the album’s lead single ‘Burns’, which was also played regularly on Radio 1.
This album is a complete body of artistic work that has a unique story-like quality to it.
All That Must Be is very much an album of music that brilliantly depicts urban life. It is almost a soundtrack to the commotion of a city and represents the rhythm and heartbeat that so many cities often seem to have.
On first listen it’s easy to feel like all the tracks on the album are quite similar and that it stays the same from start to finish. However, it’s only when you listen again that you can truly appreciate just what a remarkable piece George FitzGerald has created, with subtle, intricate variations and changes in atmosphere. This is a complete body of artistic work that has a unique story-like quality to it. It might not be to everyone’s taste but it is astounding how an almost entirely instrumental album, can so clearly illustrate a picture in the mind and audibly represent so many moods. It’s both hypnotic and melancholic in places and there is a real sense of motion about it; it certainly doesn’t stand still.
Some of the most stand-out tracks are ‘Frieda’ for its meditative quality, ‘Burns’, for simply being the monster track that it is and ‘Roll Back’ and ‘Half-Light (Night Version)’ for their collaborations with Lil Silva and Tracey Thorn, respectively.
This is a record that could easily be experienced and enjoyed on a long drive at night, with the warm summer air breezing through the open windows or as something to ultimately sit back, relax and chill out to.
19 March – Munich, DE – Ampere
20 March – Berlin, DE – Schwuz
21 March – Cologne, DE – Yuca
22 March – Paris, FR – Nouveau Casino
23 March – Brussels, BE – AB Club
24 March – Utrecht, NL – Catch Festival
26 March – Brighton, GB – The Haunt
27 March – London, GB – Islington Assembly Hall
28 March – Glasgow, GB – The Art School
29 March – Manchester, GB – Gorilla
09 May – San Francisco, US – The Independent
10 May – Echo Park, US – The Echo
12 May – Salt Lake City, US – Kilby Court Gallery
13 May – Denver, US – Larimer Lounge
15 May – Chicago, US – Subterranean
16 May – Toronto, CA – Drake Hotel
17 May – Montreal, CA – Bar le Ritz PDB
18 May – Boston, US – Great Scott
19 May – New York, US – Rough Trade
We hope you’ve enjoyed our review of George FitzGerald’s second album, All That Must Be! What do you think of it and what would you rate it? Please let us know your thoughts in a comment or share your feelings about it via our social media.
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The Darkness are an English rock band from Lowestoft, Suffolk who first came to the public’s attention in 2003, with their debut album, Permission to Land. In particular, their debut single, ‘I Believe in a Thing Called Love’, was a monster hit, reaching Number 2 in the UK Charts. Now, 14 years on, and with a string of other successful singles and albums, the band have just released their fifth studio album, Pinewood Smile.
Right from the offset of the opening track, ‘All The Pretty Girls’, you get the feeling that this album is somewhat similar in style to their debut (Permission To Land); the guitars are layered and punchy and they’ve managed to re-create the magic of what made them so popular back in 2003, but this time with the incredible drumming talents of Rufus Tiger Taylor (son of Queen‘s Roger Taylor).
Pinewood Smile is without a doubt a more grown-up and darker record from the band. It definitely still has a lot of the charm that The Darkness have become so loved for (in terms of their mash up of classic rock with obvious pop qualities) but they’re taking on more political views (‘Southern Trains’) and cynical stances and clear frustrations of the modern music industry (‘Solid Gold’). Having said that, while it may be a brand new album, it’s packed with tracks which are sure to become classics. There’s still a lot of that tongue-in-cheek lyricism but they’re weaving it in with variations to their style of rock by experimenting with subtle style differences.
It may be a brand new album but it’s packed with tracks which are sure to become classics.
There are some lovely (and at times comedic) gems throughout the album, such as Justin’s Southern American accent on ‘All The Pretty Girls’, while the verses of ‘Lay Down With Me, Barbara’ are reminiscent of smooth jazz – something you might find in some sort of chill-out lounge. Then you’ve got ‘Buccaneers Of Hispaniola’ which contains some insanely great vocal harmonies; ‘Happiness’ which is quite the stadium-filling, chant-along anthem and it all comes to a close with the beautiful and intricate, ‘Stampede Of Love’, which descends into chaos by the end, making for a fitting end to the album.
The entire record was recorded in Cornwall, with award-winning producer and engineer Adrian Bushby (who’s worked with the likes of Foo Fighters, Muse and My Bloody Valentine) at the helm. He’s done an excellent job of managing to capture the band’s well-known sound but still put his mark on it too – the drums are a lot more prominent than on some of their previous albums and there are lovely elaborate parts to some of the tracks which he really brings out well in the production.
I would recommend this album to anyone who’s about to embark on a long journey and needs something heavy to spice up their travels. Once you know the words, it’s definitely a record you will want to sing along to, especially in a car packed with mates. It’s a witty, punchy and an interesting direction for the band – well worth getting/listening to.
We hope you’ve enjoyed our review of the band’s latest album! What are your thoughts on it? What would you rate it? Please leave your thoughts in a comment or let us know via our social media.
Enjoyed this? Check out some of our other reviews here:
Louis Tomlinson – ‘Just Hold On’ featuring Steve Aoki
Since breaking away from One Direction for a while, Louis Tomlinson has just released his first solo track, ‘Just Hold On’ featuring massive house producer Steve Aoki.
The track was first performed live at this year’s X Factor final, just days after his mum passed away and what an emotional performance it was! It saw Louis really take flight as a solo performer with a hugely successful reception from fans. It’s a really fantastic song – check it out!
No official video has emerged yet, but I’m sure something will; we’ll keep you posted.
After the hugely successful ‘Who Do You Think Of‘, M.O are back with a new song, ‘Not In Love’ featuring Kent Jones.
The song sees the trio continue in a similar vein of R&B/Pop – the song is very current but somehow remains unique. It’s got some serious reggae vibes to it, topped off with Kent Jones‘ rap verse. Turn this one up!
Again, there’s no official video yet, but when something emerges, we’ll let you know,
We’ve featured the American trio, A R I Z O N A before and damn it, we’re going to do it again! ‘Oceans Away’ is the most recent track to be released by the songwriter/producers and it’s as encapsulating as all of their other releases.
I love the sound of this track, and indeed the band, because they fuse the softer side of rock with the more contemporary sounds of pop, topped off with almost house-like beats. It’s virtually genre-less but it doesn’t matter; it’s damn catchy and their sound fills the listener with intrigue and admiration.
I know that the band are currently hard at work on their debut album, but in my opinion, it cannot come quick enough!
No video has been made as of yet, but we’ll keep you posted on this!
What are your thoughts of this band? What’s your favourite song they’ve done? Please let us know your thoughts or share your own #MellowMonday track in a comment below or via our social media, using the hashtag.
Sebastian Carter is an electronic artist, based in Brighton! His debut EP, City Lights is a rather special piece of work, which needs to be listened to, from start to finish, in order to fully appreciate the sonic journey it sends you on.
This particular track, ‘City Lights’, features the stunning vocals of Julia Church and it builds through cinematic soundscapes, across effortless beats, all the while, residing in an electronic and crisp production.
I am hooked on this track and implore everyone to check out his EP too!
What do you think of this song? Have you already heard of Sebastian Carter? Would you like to hear more from him? Please leave your thoughts or own #WildCardWednesday choices in a comment below or talk to us via our social media accounts.
Muzik Speaks 