'Late-To-The-Party' Anthem of the Week - Western Disco - The Sun ft. Lura (Black Box Remix)

The biggest problem with Western Disco's "The Sun", remixed for radio by Black Box, is summarized in the top comment of its YouTube video. User usscience muses "Makes me happy! I wish it had started the summer instead of ending it."

Although sometimes a big, euphoric summer track that misses the 'May-August' peak period can redeem itself by converting to an winter club anthem, some songs are just meant to be enjoyed in the sunshine - particularly those that reference the "sun" directly. So whilst this season-specificity means Western Disco's debut single is twice as effective in the summer months, it looses its momentum when there's nothing but grey sky and drizzle outside the window.

Of course, that's not to say the track will be swept under the rug for good. A good deal of our summer hits are slow burners that become big the summer after their release - look at "212" in 2011/12 and "I Love It" in 2012/13. So although Western Disco are left to clean up the party poppers after summer 2013, I've a sneaking suspicion that come May '14, we'll be hearing "The Sun" everywhere.



- Joe Copplestone, 4/10/13

Party Tracks of the Week!

AlunaGeorge - Attracting Flies (Shift K3y Remix)
#2Step #Garage

AlunaGeorge's sultry anthem gets the full on UK garage treatment from Shift K3y, with popping kick drums and jittery synths, and the song seems catchier at this speedy tempo. And it's no secret that Aluna's squeaky clean voice is straight from the 1999-school of garage anyway, so she sounds right at home here.



Goldroom - Only You Can Show Me (feat. Mereki)
#NuDisco #House #Dance #Synthpop

The summery, nu disco that the LA producer brings rises like a midday sun into a ravey piano house number, laced with catchy, giggling synths and a sugar sweet Ibiza vocal courtesy of Mereki.



Justin Timberlake - Suit & Tie (Dillon Francis Remix)
#Trap #HipHop

Token trap track of the week! I may well be beginning to lose interest in the genre, but multi-talented Dillon Francis still brings a magnificent vocal mash-up at the drop of this addictive remix.

Classixx - Borderline (feat. Kisses' Jesse Kivel)

A little bit nu disco, a little bit chillwave and a little bit house, the sunkissed, blissed out electronic music that Classixx have been making for years has managed to skip all the genre trends it could've fallen into, and it's for that reason everything they do sounds timeless. Their glorious remix of Phoenix's "Lizstomania" in 2009 is as stunning as it ever was today, and their original material, fairly scarce until the announcement of their debut album, is looking to be as long-life as their modern-day-classic remixes.

The new wave synth chords of "Borderline" pulse along purposefully through a typically gorgeous, balearic chord sequence, and the melt-in-your-mouth vocals of Jesse Kivel from the similarly sunny synthpop band Kisses float thoughtfully up into falsetto. It could indeed, by all means, burst into a huge dance anthem at any point, but it doesn't. The percussion never rises above a sparse kick drum pattern, some tastefully placed clicks and the occasionally tom drum roll, that hints at a beat that never kicks in. On first listen this baffles, but on subsequent listens, the perpetual build-up is actually comforting and rather beautiful.

Their long-awaited debut album, "Hanging Gardens", is due May 14th.

FOR FANS OF: Krystal Klear, Cut Copy, Toro Y Moi

Party Tracks of the Week!

Alison Valentine - Peanut Butter (Moon Boots Remix)
#NuDisco #Dance #FREEDOWNLOAD

An absolutely joyous synthpop/piano house hybrid from the ever reliable Moon Boots, as Alison Valentine's dreamy voice floats around the soundscape.

Savage Skulls & Douster - TRT

#Garage #Bass #House

Hints of 90s rave give way to a thunderous bassline. Savage Skulls' "Bass Kick" EP is a massive testament to modern garage and bass, and "TRT" is its old school heart.

DJ Snake - Bird Machine (feat. Alesia)

#Trap #HipHop #FREEDOWNLOAD

First heard on Flosstradamus' Banned 2 Mixtape, "Bird Machine" is hands down one of the most bizarre tracks to come out of the Trap craze, with one of the most surprising drops ever, a menacing kick chasing after eerie chopped up bird tweets, quite literally. Yet this is, somehow, ridiculously addictive.