Tag: dance music

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Music Video: Majestic X Boney M ‘Rasputin’

As we hope to head back out to clubs this summer, the official music video for the smash remix of “Rasputin” by Majestic and Boney M serves up an invigorating dose of nighttime debauchery. The original disco confection by Boney M was released in 1978 but has enjoyed a resurgence thanks to the remix with Majestic and a TikTok dance challenge that has gone viral. Shot at the Soho nightclub The Box, the video features a star-studded cast including Ru Paul’s Drag Race finalist Bimini Bon Boulash, Pete from grime duo Pete & Bas and an array of the venue’s entertainers. The track has already racked up over 154 million global Spotify streams to date and is charting on Spotify in the UK, the Netherlands, France, Australia, Ireland and more. Stream/download “Rasputin” here.

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New Music: Ten City ‘Be Free’

Ten City releases its first new music in 25 years - Be Free Dance band Ten City shares its first new music in 25 years with their new single, “Be Free.” Byron Stingily (lead singer & songwriter) and electronic music producer Marshall Jefferson bop along to the disco beat as the track finds its groove with a funky bass guitar and dance-tastic horns. “’Be Free’ encompasses the spirit of Dance and House Music! Many times people focus on our differences but ‘Be Free’ speaks to how we are more alike than different,” says Stingily about the song. “It is a song about respecting and appreciating our differences!”

L-R Marshall Jefferson and Byron Stingily
L-R Marshall Jefferson and Byron Stingily
Having released their first album Foundation in 1989, Ten City are best known for their singles “Devotion,” “Right Back To You,” and “That’s The Way Love Is” which peaked at #8 in the 1989 UK charts and #1 in the US Billboard Charts. At a time when we can really use it, “Be Free” has an underlying message of inclusivity with lyrics that remind us we are all alike, that we all deserve freedom and we deserve to be respected. Hit play and bounce into the weekend like a boss. “Be Free” is available on all major download/streaming platforms.

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Out Music: NIKO ‘Thinking About You’

Out singer/songwriter NIKO recently released his latest – a dance floor filler titled, ‘Thinking About You.’ After his romantic single, “Try,” NIKO ups the heat and the tempo with this dance track that explores the darker side of love and seduction. “The song tells the story of someone who is constantly chasing after the next thrill, but in doing that, loses the person who really cares for them,” says NIKO. “It’s about the emotional dynamics of not being able to resist your physical instincts, and then having to face the consequences.”

Singer/songwriter NIKO (via official website)
Born and raised in Milan, NIKO’s first musical endeavors began as creative collaborations with DJs as a songwriter and vocalist in the Italian city. After spending time in the UK, working with music producers in Manchester and London, NIKO decided to launch his career as a solo artist with his first EP RMNC 21 in 2019. Listen to the new single below and you can check out my previous coverage of NIKO and his music here.

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Bright Light Bright Light Celebrates Gender Expression “It’s Alright, It’s OK”

Bright Light Bright Light (aka Rod Thomas)
Recording artist Bright Light Bright Light (aka Rod Thomas) serves up the perfect diversion for Hump Day with his new music video for “It’s Alright, It’s OK.” The track, a collaboration with Canadian pop trio Caveboy, is a celebration of gender expression and empowerment. “I was in the studio with Babydaddy of Scissor Sisters and we wanted to make something that would make us dance, and as we were building the sounds it started to remind me of Ghetto, a queer club in London that is long gone, but where Scissor Sisters songs were blasted in a tiny basement club where anyone and everyone under the LGBTQ+ umbrella used to go,” said Rod about the inspiration for the track. He added, “It makes me feel so at home so I ended up writing the lyrics about identity, belonging, and the fight to free yourself from being put into a box.”

Did you come as a boy or a girl? Or did you come as yourself, even better If you want to be part of a world where your heart doesn’t hurt Say the word and we’ll make it there together

The video stars gender-fluid drag performer and activist Glow Job coping with life in lockdown by getting all dolled up to stay home and live her best life complete with an apartment stripper pole and rooftop stage all to herself.

On Instagram, Glow shares the astounding news that she was hit by a motorcycle while riding her bike to a protest in July resulting in a broken leg and clavicle just weeks before the video shoot. “Pole community, don’t judge too harshly,” jokes the queen decked out in regal red. “But the song isn’t about what I am physically able to do, but how I am simply able to be,” added Glow Job. “Able to be me in whatever way that looks. What you are seeing is my life. That is my home. This is my expression.”

 

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I know I am not alone in feeling like this year has really put us through the wringer. One thing that gives me solace is that I really feel I am discovering the truth about a lot of things including myself these days. I was super honored to be asked to star in Bright Light Bright Light’s latest music video because the lyrics spoke to exactly how I was feeling about myself. Bright Light called me on July 9th to ask if I was interested. I listened to the song and immediately knew I HAD to be in this video! I popped my headphones in my ears and got on my bike to head to a protest all the while I started fantasizing about what the video would be like, and then BAM!!!!! I got hit by a motorcycle. I think I convinced Bright Light I was barely hurt and I would be good to go in 4 weeks time when the video was to be shot, even though I had just broke my leg and clavicle and had a huge 12” gash along my calf. I couldn’t move for the first 2 weeks and leaned on so many friends and family to get me through. But exactly 1 month later, I was able to shoot this video. Pole community, don’t judge too harshly, my leg and clavicle were technically still broken, and I discovered then and there how much I could do! But the song isn’t about what I am physically able to do, but how I am simply able to be. Able to be me in whatever way that looks. What you are seeing is my life. That is my home. This is my expression. I hope this song touches y’all the way it did me. I hope it encourages you to explore your self expression and gender identity. I hope you know we will get there together! I hope it also gets you to dance! 🙂 Thank you @brightlightx2 for including me on this album in this way! I am honored!! Thanks @tylerrayjensen for directing! Stying by me with some awesome leather work and harnesses by @jglifeboats . The good wigs styled by @shelby_late_queen – love my new Neon one! And thanks for @everybodyloveskaek for helping me on the day of the shoot, playing assistant, getting me in and out of outfits, and providing the support I needed. VIDEO LINK IN BIO 🎵: @brightlightx2 📹: @tylerrayjensen 👗: @queenglowjob 🐄: @jglifeboats . #musicvideo #genderfluid #nonbinary

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“It’s Alright, It’s OK” is the latest single leading up to the September 18 release of Bright Light Bright Light’s new album, Fun City. Thomas chose to record the vocals for Fun City on the empty dance floor of East Village gay club Bedlam as a way to channel the energy of the queer trailblazers that influenced him like Sylvester, Erasure, Scissor Sisters, and Hercules & Love Affair. The new album explores the ways marginalized people “stay strong, focused and creative through times of social and political hardships.” The collection includes collaborations with high profile artists including Andy Bell (of Erasure), Jake Shears (of Scissor Sisters), Justin Vivian Bond, Mark Gatiss, Niki Haris & Donna De Lory, and Sam Sparro.

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Out Music: Bright Light Bright Light & Jake Shears Are A Sweet “Sensation”

Bright Light Bright Light aka Rod Thomas (photo: Warren Giddarie)
Bright Light Bright Light has joined forces with Jake Shears (Scissors Sisters founder and global LGBTQ+ music trailblazer) on his high-octane new song “Sensation.” Written initially about the euphoria of meeting someone (friend, lover, etc.) you instantly connect with while in a fractured and divided world, the song’s meaning feels amplified when viewed through the lens of the current health crisis. The track is a sublime, upbeat bop with a disco-tastic beat and synthy horns that dare you not to bounce. “For a song about connection and celebrating who you are, Jake was totally my top choice,” said BLBL (aka Rod Thomas) to FLOOD about the collaboration. “It was so much fun to do a proper duet and have a voice that reminded me to be myself on a song about celebrating your community.” Shears echoed the enthusiasm: “Rod’s songwriting always blows me away, and getting to record with him is an absolute joy. ‘Sensation’ was just one of those songs, the first time I heard it, I was like— I flipping love this.”

“Sensation” is a cut from the forthcoming album Fun City, scheduled for release September 18, which will offer not only ’80s-inspired dance-pop, but will serve as a musical love letter to the LGBTQ+ community. The album title is a clever reference to a quote said by NYC mayor John V. Lindsay who, on his first day in office in 1966 amidst a crippling transit strike, said: “I still think it’s a fun city.” I recently wrote about the acclaimed first single from the upcoming collection, “This Was My House,” which was penned as a tribute to LGBTQ safe spaces. The evocative music video takes an unforgettable journey through NYC nightlife. Paper Magazine wrote, “It’s not every day that we get a perfect disco song” while Rolling Stone praised its “buoyant beat to dance through pain and trouble.” The vocals for Fun City were recorded on the empty dancefloor of East Village gay club Bedlam, a choice Bright Light Bright Light made as a way to channel the energy of the queer trailblazers that influenced him like Sylvester, Erasure, Scissor Sisters and Hercules & Love Affair.

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Diana Ross Drops New Remix “Love Hangover 2020”

Diana Ross proves she’s still ‘the boss’ with this new remix of her mega-hit “Love Hangover” by Eric Kupper. On May 29 the diva will drop a new album titled Supertonic featuring new remixes of nine Ross classics. Supertonic also will be available June 26 on CD and crystal-clear vinyl. All remixes are created from the original multi-tracks of the masters taken from the Motown vaults. Diana Ross rewrote history earlier this year when “Love Hangover 2020,” the first single from Supertonic, topped Billboard magazine’s Dance Club Songs Chart – her fourth consecutive No. 1 remix with a song that had previously been No. 1 in its original release. The original version of “Love Hangover” was a simultaneous No. 1 on Billboard’s Pop, R&B and Dance Club Play charts the week ending May 15, 1976.  

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Sam Smith Covers Donna Summer Classic ‘I Feel Love’

Sam Smith (photo: Aria Shahrokhshahi)
Four-time Grammy Award winner Sam Smith has released a cover of the 1977 Donna Summer dance classic, “I Feel Love.” “As a queer person ‘I feel love’ has followed me to every dance floor in every queer space from the minute I started clubbing,” the non-binary/genderqueer artist wrote on their Instagram. “This song to me is an anthem of our community and it was an honour and most importantly so much fun to have a go at it. Highest song I’ve ever fucking sang. But a joy. I hope you all like it xx” Take a listen below.

And, of course, how could I touch the subject without referencing the oh-so-awesome original version by our diva, Miss Summer? Produced by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, the track (considered the first electronic dance hit) was a Top 10 smash in the US and went all the way to #1 in the UK, Australia, and other countries.

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Have ‘Faith’ – Dolly Parton & Galantis Make Musical Magic

Dolly Parton with Galantis (photo: Erik Melvin)
Country music icon Dolly Parton has teamed up with internationally acclaimed Swedish electronic dance music duo Galantis (Christian Karlsson & Linus Eklöw) for the rousing and spirited new track, “Faith,” featuring Dutch singer Mr. Probz. The track will be featured on the upcoming Galantis album, Church. Now, you might wonder how a country music giant would find herself collaborating with EDM artists? “I was on the phone with a Christian (referring to Karlsson), talking about a song called ‘Faith’ and an album called ‘Church,’” says Parton. “I knew I was in the right place.” The track, featuring Galantis’ top-shelf production, has been a work in progress for some time. Galantis tells Rolling Stone they had been wanting to build a song off of John Hiatt’s 1987 song, “Have a Little Faith in Me.”

“When you don’t know who you are I will find you so easily Don’t you worry – whenever you need me Have a little faith in me”

Calling Parton one of their ‘dream collaborators,’ Karlsson and Eklöw immediately flew to Nashville for the collaboration when the country diva agreed to work on the track. “I ‘Dolly-ized’ it a bit and wrote some more spiritual things inside [the lyrics],” Parton told Rolling Stone. The 73-year-old music legend apparently enjoyed the experience so much she’s open to writing/recording more EDM. “I always know inside myself what’s right and what’s wrong to do, and this felt really right,” Parton says. “I’m open to doing more with them and continue with this — if this does well.” The music video depicts Parton as the rhinestone-clad driver of a bus that breaks down. The country songstress offers her sunny side of cheer, Mr. Probz drops his spot-on vocals and pretty soon the passengers are dancing in the street to the gospel-tinged groove. “Faith” is now available on all major streaming/download sites.

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New Music: Hercules & Love Affair “Rejoice” Feat. Rouge Mary

Pump up that bump in your step as you boogie through hump day with the new track from Hercules & Love Affair, “Rejoice.”

Stereogum says the track is “exultant and ominous, a thumping industrial-tinged gospel-dance banger.”

Via press release:

“Rejoice” does exactly that. Taking things back to the dancefloor, this celebratory song marks four years of sobriety for Butler after years of serious drug addiction. Hercules regular Rouge Mary “a gender non-conformist” of Algerian heritage takes on vocals – a fitting choice given Rouge once found shelter in a church, finding his/her musical voice there, and given how, after Andy’s life was shattered by drugs, Rouge played a key role in helping him rebuild his life.

Rouge Mary explains – “The lyrics to ‘Rejoice’ were written in a day. It’s so obvious when you look around, that we all have so many reasons to be sad and we are so used to complaining about sticky situations. So much that we forget the ancient secret. ‘Rejoice’ highlights the importance of gratitude and the power of positive thoughts. ‘Smile though your heart is aching,’ Charlie Chaplin once said. I interpret it in a very powerful way, to symbolize the urgency of the message. I feel this song is like a solution to face problems of all kind. It truly is an ode to positivity.”

The song is from the disco-house project’s upcoming album, Omnion. Release date September 1.

Check it out below.

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News Round-Up: February 10, 2017

Pietro Boselli

Some news items you may have missed:

• First things first – from sexiest math teacher turned model Pietro Boselli’s Instagram (above). #dead #woof

• North Carolina state lawmakers have filed bills that would repeal anti-LGBT law, HB2.

• A new poll shows 35% of Americans don’t know “Obamacare” and the Affordable Care Act are the same thing.

• Melania Trump was conspicuously absent earlier today when Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and his wife visited the White House. First Ladies traditionally welcome and host the spouses of visiting leaders – but not today.

• Check out these 5 buzz-worthy off-Broadway shows you should see – including my pal Ed Dixon’s new hit show, Georgie: My Adventures With George Rose.

• Dance your way into the weekend with Hercules & Love Affair’s “Controller” featuring vocals by Faris Badwan. Check out the catchy, hypnotic sex anthem below: