Since its release a couple weeks ago, the anthemic ‘Naked’ has amassed over 13 million global audio and video streams, but now the hit-maker Jonas Blue and exciting young talent MAX are releasing the club mix of their collaboration, which sees Jonas create a mix true to his roots.
This particular track is a high-octane display of the pop hitmaker’s specialist production talents. Armed with pumping kick drums and euphoric piano keys, the club mix adds a fresh dimension to the already, highly-infectious original, making it the perfect track for this week’s #FeelGoodFriday.
No music video has been released for the club mix but the original music video can be seen below, featuring the pair performing amongst neon and silhouetted ladies.
What are your thoughts of the club mix of this pair’s new single, ‘Naked’? Do you have a #FeelGoodFriday track to recommend us? Please leave your thoughts or song suggestions in a comment or via social media.
Klingande started out as a production duo back in 2012, releasing a couple of notable tracks. However, following the departure of one half of the pair in 2014, Cédric Steinmyller chose to continue using the moniker, as a solo venture. Since then and with a string of singles and remixes under his belt, the French DJ and tropical house producer, is now releasing his debut album, The Album. Here’s what we have to say about it…
Klingande‘s aptly-titled debut album, The Album, sees the producer putting out a double-disc record. The first of which is a body of work that sounds sonically polished and wonderfully well collected together, whilst the second disc is more a collection of the producer’s previous hits and well-known tracks.
The first disc is definitely an album that has been inspired by the likes of the late Avicii, blending real instruments with electronic elements. It would appear that there are other influences being played with too, with a real sense of the Deep South of America interwoven throughout – such as ‘Sinner’ (featuring Stevie Appleton) with country-style acoustic guitars in the verses and bluesy guitar riffs in the chorus. Or‘By The River’ that has slick guitars and features the raspy yet soulful vocals from Jamie N Commons. Even a harmonica finds its way onto the album (courtesy of French harmonica player, Greg Zlap) on the refreshing and rather frantic, surefire fan-favourite, ‘Ready For Love’ (also featuring vocals from UK singer-songwriter, Joe Killington).
The album opens with his latest single, ‘Amsterdam’ (the first of two collaborations with pop duo BRIGHT SPARKS) an acoustic-led, mellow dance track with a heavy underlying bass which sounds almost separate to the rest of the track, in a really interesting way. The second collaboration with BRIGHT SPARKS is previous single, ‘Messiah’ a subtle yet very catchy track, with some interesting fills, like a great dubstep-style wob-wob, leading into the final chorus.
‘Simple Man’ has some beautiful, distant gospel backing vocals, topped off with a deep lead vocal. This track is definitely a nod to his older sound, as it’s very saxophone led. Meanwhile, ‘Famous’ is quite different in tone to the rest of the album, particularly as it’s the first track on The Album to feature a female vocal.
The Album is a wonderful collection of songs that bring about an interesting new depth to dance music, making it stand out from a lot of other EDM.
Besides ‘Ready For Love’ (a personal favourite!), the final two tracks are possibly the best ones on the record. ‘Alive’ is a very positive track about things you won’t allow to get to you or defeat you and whilst the lyrics are not necessarily the deepest or most well-written, it’s catchy as hell and the message is great! Equally, closing track, ‘Only Breath’ (and the second to feature an unknown female vocal) is an airy and atmospheric song, with a synth rhythm that is pure euphoria – a wonderful track in spite of the inevitable dance drop.
The second half of The Album serves as more of a greatest hits, collating a bunch of Klingande‘s previous releases from the past few years – a time when he was more recognised for his prominent piano and saxophone use.
Whilst reviewing The Album, I chose to focus my attention mainly on the first half of the record, due to it being a more comprehensive collection of songs, however what the second half does do, is bring most of his previous releases together in one place and showcase just what growth this artist has been through, whilst the first half marks a new chapter in his career.
The Album is a wonderful collection of songs that bring about an interesting new depth to dance music, making it stand out from a lot of other EDM, but at its core, still uses tried, tested and much-loved dance sensibilities. This is a record that will be enjoyed by people of all ages and could quite easily be the perfect party companion. Given the growth demonstrated on this record, it’ll be interesting to see what direction Klingande goes in next!
By The River featuring Jamie N Commons (Official Video)
Jubel (Official Video)
We hope you’ve enjoyed our review! What do you think of the producer’s debut album? What would you rate it out of 5? Please leave your thoughts in a comment or via our social media and feel free to share our review.
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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:
We felt it was time to create the ultimate remix playlist, to accompany/rival the likes of the latest Now That’s What I Call Remix album, putting all the world’s best remixes into one mammoth playlist.
This playlist has been lovingly crafted to include a variety of remixes we love, as well as suggestions from you guys!
If you already own the songs and want the custom artwork, please feel free to copy/download it below:
re:MIXTAPE Playlist
This playlist is packed to the brim with some of the best remixes around:
Bazzi – Mine (Jengi Remix)
Maroon 5 – What Lovers Do featuring SZA (A-Trak Remix)
NEIKED – Sexual featuring Dyo (Oliver Nelson Remix)
Shawn Mendes – There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back (NOTD Remix)
Charlie Puth – Attention (Bingo Players Remix)
Avicii – Lonely Together featuring Rita Ora (Alan Walker Remix)
Sigrid – Strangers (TIEKS Remix)
P!nk – What About Us (Tiësto’s AFTR:HRS Remix)
Kesha – Praying (Frank Walker Remix)
Craig David – I Know You featuring Bastille (Sultan + Shepard Remix)
Thirty Seconds To Mars – Walk On Water (R3hab Remix)
Maroon 5 – Wait (Chromeo Remix)
Taylor Swift – …Ready For It? (BloodPop® Remix)
P!nk – Beautiful Trauma (E11even Remix)
Niall Horan – Slow Hands (Basic Tape Remix)
Miley Cyrus – Malibu (Alan Walker Remix)
Rita Ora – Anywhere (R3hab Remix)
Britney Spears – Make Me… featuring G-Eazy (Tom Budin Remix)
Demi Lovato – Sorry Not Sorry (Freedo Remix)
The Chainsmokers – Something Just Like This featuring Coldplay (Alesso Remix)
Sam Smith – Like I Can (Artful Remix)
Zedd – Stay featuring Alessia Cara (The Kemist Remix)
David Guetta & Afrojack – Dirty Sexy Money featuring Charli XCX & French Montana (Banx & Ranx Remix)
Charli XCX – Boys (Nevada Remix)
Clean Bandit – I Miss You featuring Julia Michaels (Cahill Remix)
Liam Payne – Bedroom Floor (Cash Cash Remix)
Anne-Marie – Heavy (John Gibbons Remix)
NEIKED – Call Me featuring MIMI (Alex Adair Remix)
Fresh off his set at Ireland’s Electric Picnic festival, I had the opportunity to chat to producer and DJ, John Gibbons, about the success of his recent single, ‘P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)’ and what he’s got in store for us in the coming months. We also had the chance to talk about who he’d really like to work with and what other passions he has, outside of music. It’s all here…
Hey John, how’s it going? Really good thanks. Have just finished my set at Electric Picnic festival in Ireland, which is always a major highlight on the summer circuit so I’m in buoyant form and ready for the winter club season!
So you released ‘PYT’ back in April and the reception seems to have been incredible, how exciting has that been for you? Very exciting indeed! The reaction to ‘PYT’ has been phenomenal all over the world and it’s immensely gratifying to receive constant feedback from so many people who feel it has done justice to the memory of Michael Jackson – something I was very conscious of whilst producing the track. I can’t wait for the next single now!
What future plans have you got? Any new singles or an album in the pipeline? The most immediate plan is the release of the follow-up single to ‘PYT’. It’s an original track rather than a cover this time and will be out in the next couple of months so I’m looking forward to stepping things up another gear – it’s a banger! An album will follow at some point but for now the priority is the next couple of singles. I’ve a number of interesting remixes coming out soon too so keep an ear out for those.
Where do you take inspirations from when creating your music? From all over. I listen to all styles of music and have done from a very young age so I like to draw inspiration from that diverse musical background. I also like to put a little of myself into each track so the direction of much of my music is also influenced by what’s going on in my life at any given time and sometimes past experiences also. Overall though, I want to make people feel good about themselves and transport them to a place where they can leave the world behind for just a few minutes while listening – expression is important but sharing the experience is even more important in my opinion.
If you could do a collaboration with anyone, who would it be and why?
The Weeknd. I’m a big fan of him and vocally I think he’s so perfectly suited to what I do that he’d be foolish not to collab with me – our track would undoubtedly be the biggest moment in both of our shows – hit me up Abel!
What music have you been listening to most recently? In terms of dance music I’ve been listening to and playing out a lot of the new wave of latin-influenced house that’s been shutting down shows all over this summer – hit up my radio show every week to hear loads! Otherwise I’ve been listening to loads of Huntar, a UK artist who I’m a huge fan of and is gonna be massive, also Irish band, Walking On Cars, lots of UK grime and I’m also really enjoying Australian artist, Wish I Was, at the moment too.
If you had to cover/remix a recent chart song, which song would it be and why? I think ‘Glorious’ by Macklemore. The energy in that track is tailor-made for a big piano-house pop cover and his vocal would slot in deliciously. I can picture the live show together too – a high-octane match made in dancefloor heaven!
Do you have any other passions outside of music? My big passion is tennis. Whilst I don’t play anything like as often as I used to in the past (which was all day every day as I grew up!), I’m still a huge fan of the sport and in particular Roger Federer – the guy is an inspiration on so many levels. I also love languages and am generally in the middle of learning a new one. At the moment it’s Polish!
What really grinds your gears? The fact that most people in Western society spend too much time time looking outwards rather than inwards and down when we should be looking up. I feel the world would be a much better place if narcissism and vicariousness were replaced by quiet introspection and positive action.
What’s the best film you’ve seen lately? The Truman Show. I know it’s not a recent movie but I watched it just yesterday. It’s my favourite movie of all time, closely followed by They Live. Two movies with mind-blowing messages for those with eyes to see…
If, in say 20 years time, a film was made about your life, who would you want to play you? Leonardo di Caprio – sure we already look practically identical!
If you could be any chocolate bar, which one would you be? A Star Bar. That’s the direction I’m always reaching and where I’d be most at home!
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given? Read between the lines…
Swedish singer, Zara Larsson, has been making waves across UK radio since last year and her recent single, ‘I Would Like’, is no exception.
The song is a huge pop anthem and sees Larsson put her trademark voice to good use and samples ‘Dat Sexy Body’ by the Jamaican singer Sasha.
It is the second single to be taken from Zara’s upcoming, second studio album and has already spent quite a while in the Top 10 of the UK charts, peaking at Number 2!
No official video has been released as of yet, so check out the lyric video below.
‘Call On Me’ was the debut single from Australian singer Starley back in July 2016 but it was the remix, by Ryan Riback, that has recently found success across Europe.
It takes on that pop/tropical house style that is currently so popular but somehow still remains unique due to Starley‘s fantastic, catchy chorus. I’m definitely excited to see what else she releases in the future!
No video has been released for the remix single release but you can check it out in a YouTube video below.
Calum Scott first came to the public’s attention in 2015 when he appeared on Britain’s Got Talent.
Since appearing on the show, he’s released his debut single, ‘Dancing On My Own’, a cover of a song by Robyn. The track rocketed to Number 1 and although the original is beautiful, this Tiësto remix really struck a chord with me. The accompanying video is really emotional too. I am in love with this track – it really is stunningly beautiful and brimming with emotion.
What an incredible first month of 2016, it’s been! We’ve officially become a website (www.muzikspeaks.com) and done an amazing Skype interview with the hilarious Joe Ragosta from Patent Pending as well as the Race The Horizon boys (previously known as The Mend).
You’ll also see a new banner added to the top of the page, Big Lips Apocalypse.
We hope you have enjoyed the songs we’ve shared this month and you can find the Spotify and YouTube playlists below!
We hopefully have a couple more interviews lined up for February too, so keep your eyes and ears peeled.
As always, please keep sharing our posts and remember to share your song choices with us!
OUR CONTINUED AIM
We’d like to ask you, to go ahead and ‘like’ our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/muzikspeaks) and ‘follow’ us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/muzik_speaks). Then if you could please post a status or send a tweet to your followers and friends to ask them to check us out, we’d be really grateful! We want to grow this community and we honestly can’t do it without your support!
Lastly, please, please respond to our posts on Facebook or leave comments on each of our blog posts with your own tracks for each of the daily themes – we want you to share what you’re listening to because we love music as much as you, and we really enjoy finding out about new tunes. Thanks so much!
Can you throwback to a time your weren’t even born yet?! I don’t know, but I’m going to!
Earth, Wind & Fire released this massive tune, ‘September’, back in 1978. At the time of it’s release, it reached Number 3 in the UK charts. It was then remixed by Phats & Small and re-released (as ‘September 1999’) in 1999.
It has also been covered countless times and appeared in many forms of media, including Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show.
This song is just about everything fun you could want in a song; it’s the perfect blend of R&B and Disco and has enough Funk to almost be considered lethal; it’s awesome!
Are you a fan? Will this song get you groovin’? Please share it on your social media accounts! Much love 🙂
Muzik Speaks 