Russian producer and DJ BYOR has been on the scene for a while but with his latest offerings including today's featured track, he's showing his versatility as a DJ experimenting with different sounds, the Cure is one that shows this. Its a great mixture of beats with a sequential build up, and the drop with the vocals just adds a different complex to the overall sound of the track. Its a song that has been doing the rounds for a while now with its release being in early March so it's had its fair time out there to gain popularity and that it did.
American DJ and producer, Jason Elliot Ross needs no introduction to this feature, he's had a few songs and remixes featured in the past and he is back with another brilliant track. 'The Accord' see's Jason going back to his trance roots as this track was made for Anjunabeats Volume 15 and has been one of the hits from there so far. It really harks back to his old sounds which will ignite the inner flame for any trance lover. The songs build up and melodic vibe is enough to send you into upliftment, just the thing needed when listening to Volume 15 of Anjunabeats. It really is a brilliant track and one that will be played for a while to come.
There's a recipe when doing a remake of a cult classic, most of it ensures that you don't do anything drastic to ruin the essence of the original, it still must have those heart pulling moments that evoke feelings of that you had when listening to it for the first time and with today's featured track, Estonian DJ and Producer Kaimo K did just that. He said in an interview recently that this is one of his all time favourite tracks and being entrusted to do the official remake was unbelievable. 20 years on from the tracks first release, Kaimo said it was quite the challenge to deliver the final product but it was worth every second of it, he even got Susanne Teutenberg to re-sing the vocals for this track which adds even more character and depth to it. We all remember the original 4 Strings music video for this which was shot in Cape Town, if it were not for COVID it would have been cool if they shot this one in Cape Town as well.
UK based Trance DJ Ilan Bluestone is known for his uplifting trance beats and is widely featured on many shows, most notably Above and Beyond's ABGT. Ilan's latest offering is Malacosta which is on the Anjuna Beats Label and was mashed up quite brilliantly during Above and Beyond's set at Ultra Miami a few weeks ago with their song "A Peace of Mind" which features the vocals of Zoe Johnston. Unfortunately that mashup isn't released yet and I'm not sure if it ever will but we do have Malacosta for you this week which is equally brilliant.
After this weekends weather, I think the whole country can agree with the title of this weeks featured track, Bring back the summer! It's been a freezing cold 48 hours and it's set to be here for most of the week so here's a hot track to warm things up. Rain man, of Chicago teams up with Oly for this one. It was released 4 months ago and part of the remix package was the Arpex Remix, it was one which stood out for me and really gave the song something that it was lacking. It's high tempo and great vibe, one I'm sure you will enjoy too!
It's the second week in a row that we've featured a British Producer/ DJ, in our Monday Choon segment, probably a first with the Dutch being so dominant in recent years. This weeks DJ hails from Tyneside in England, thats Newcastle for those not that familiar with the country. Olly James is his name and the first time I heard of him was when I heard his remix of Sash's Ecuador in January, then the day day while listening to a few podcasts, I heard this song featured and instnatly loved it, it has a right balance of fast electronic beats and vocals. It features Swedish DJ LoaX and Christina Pasion on vocals, a brilliant track and a firm current favourite of mine. This won't be the last you hear of Olly as well as he dropped another single last week which is equally hot.
It's finally the week we've all been waiting for, Ultra South Africa 2016 week! This Friday see's the 3rd installment of the coutries premier electronic dance music festival taking place over 3 days in Johannesburg and Cape Town. This weeks is our last of the headliner artist feature and we've saved the best for last, Tiesto! What more can we say about the Dutch DJ legend? He's done it all in his career as a DJ, playing to sell out crowds and now having residency in Las Vegas, he is undoubtly still one of the world's greatest and he's gracing Ultra SA for the second time. Catch him playing his extended set on Saturday in Joburg and Sunday in Cape Town.
His latest single done with Oliver Heldens "Wombass" has been doing well on the charts since it's release late last year, and this year it was re-released featuring the vocals of Natalie La Rose with a change in name, and the song now called "The Right Song". It's going to be on his set list for this weekend and is a banger of note, so this one is to get you ready and in the mood for the biggest Ultra South Africa we've seen yet!
As always, follow the offical Ultra South Africa social media streams for the latest news regarding the festival.
Welcome to the first Monday of the year and what better way to start it off with than some epic music? 2015 saw two DJ/ Producer heavy weights, Skrillex and Diplo combine their talents and form Jack U. The first hit single from the two involved pop icon Justin Bieber. They have since continued with their project and have played at various festivals since. The latest offering from the duo is our featured track and has the vocals of English Electronic music duo AlunaGeorge, it has hit number 1 on many of the top 40 charts around the world. Don't forget to catch Skrillex next month at Ultra 2016, in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
There's no need for an introduction when it comes to Ferry Corsten. The trance DJ has been mesmerizing crowds at electronic dance festivals for the past decade with his uplifting beats. He's toured SA a few times now, I haven't been lucky to attend either of them but here's hoping I do get to see him at some stage. Fresh off his set at Tomorrowland this year, he played his latest single Angel Dust from his latest Album, "Helle World". The single still hasn't been officially released as yet but I just have to feature because its that good of a song!
Ummet Ozcan, the Dutch-Turkish DJ has been a rising star on trance in the past 2 years. He's been supported by many of the big names in the electronic music industry, from the likes of Sander van Doorn, Armin van Buuren and Tiesto and now seems to be doing big things going solo. I've heard many of his sets from the ASOT festivals and the guy is certainly doing great a job, today we have his latest single featured, with the vocals of Katt Niall.
Major Lazer is an electronic group consisting of members Jillionaire, Walshy Fire and Boaz Van De Beatz, the group created by renown DJ and Producer Diplo has been bringing out some good tracks. Their latest single features Ellie Goulding on the vocals and is a current favourite on many of the playlists. Michael Calfan also seemed to be a fan of the track and added his own twist to it with his remix and it's nothing short of brilliant!
I know it's not Monday but since yesterday was part of the extended weekend, today feels like one and hence we thought we'd dealy the Monday Choon to Tuesday and a long with it bring you some exiting news. Well you see along with today's featured artist we also bringing you the great news that they will be visiting our country and Durban in particular!
Yes the Unicorn slayer himself, Markus Schulz will be tearing it up at Origin on the 11th of September. After listening to recent sets of his at Tomorrowland, it just gets me more amped to see the Dutch legend again live on South African shores after witnessing the madness back in 2010. It's bound to be an awesome event and for more info visit the events page on Facebook: Markus Schulz LIVE at Origin, for now you can enjoy one of his latest offerings featuring Delacy, called Destiny.
Martin Garrix really needs no real introduction any more. The Dutch sensation has been entertaining crowds world wide with this electric sounds and fast paced melodies. His stuff is always new and fresh, what makes him even more great is his ability to work with others on tracks so well. Whether he's colaborating with a big name like Tiesto or lesser known DJ's like today's featured song, Matisse & Sadko, he still manages to help produce a song thats of the same calibre. Dragon seems to be part 1 of a music video story with part 2 being another song by this colab, entitled Break Through the Silence.
R3hab, the Dutch DJ of Moroccan origin has certainly taken the world by storm in the past year. He's currently number 23 in the world DJ Mag rankings and set to jumper higher in 2015, with his unique style in electronic music, his ever growing fan base keeps on getting bigger with now over 1.1 million followers on Twitter alone. He's latest single featuring Skytech and Fafaq has just been released and the music video debuted on Friday, it's yet another top track for him to add to his collection and the music video is equally great.
We're being spoilt in South Africa of recent when it comes to the calibre of EDM artists that are visiting our shores, shortly after Ultra South Africa, Showtek graced us just last week and this week saw Above & Beyond play out to sell out shows in both Cape Town and Johannesburg. There's no doubting that A&B are one of the biggest names in Trance Music for the past 5 years, whether its classics like Sun and Moon or their live, unplugged concert in Porchester Hall, the Swedish Group have gathered a world wide following. Their weekly podcast, Above & Beyond Group Therapy (ABGT) has also grown in leaps as their 100th episode was celebrated at a sell out show in Madisson Square Gardens. This weeks choon is a mash up of their hit song "We're all we need" with Talemono's Overload, done by none other than himself, Armin van Buuren, the video is taken from his ASOT700 in Utrecht.
Never thought that an EDM DJ and a Disney actress would combine and make a good song but these two have! Rumour mill has it that they're dating but we don't really care about Hollywood gossip, we just want good music. This song has been out for a while now and been received well on most radio stations, its borderline commercial but I like it and Selena is hot.
Nate Raubenheimer, doesn't ring a bell? Probably because you better know him as Protoculture. The South African DJ has been blowing up a storm in the local and international trance circuit over the past few years with his music and his last big gig was at Ultra SA in Cape Town. I was disappointed that he didn't make an appearance in the Jhb leg but I'll have to catch him some other time. He's signed up to Armin van Buuren's Armada record label and most of his stuff can be heard on A State Of Trance, just the other week todays featured track 'Pegasus' was voted future favourite by listeners of the show. It's a great track that's been getting airplay from Armin himself during the ASOT700 global parties. Always been a fan of his work and love it when he's on the ultimix on 5fm, makes me proud to see a local doing great things in the world of EDM.
As everyone in South Africa is suffering from post Ultra depression this Monday morning, we decided to keep the good tunes going even though we're all in a major slump mode. Paul Okaenfold, the legendary English Trance DJ has had a few of his songs remixed of late, we featured one of them not too long ago on Monday Choon segment. This week see's another one of these great songs being remixed, this time it receives remix treatment from Markus Schulz and boy is it a good one! Enjoy.
It's the final week and its just a matter of days till South Africa is taken over by Ultra fever! Some of the biggest names in EDM will grace our shores for two days of Ultra madness. Friday sees the first leg of Ultra SA taking place in Cape Town, then shifting focus onto Nasrec in Joburg for the second leg. Among the star studded line up is the King of Trance music, Armin van Buuren. He held the number 1 spot on the DJ Mag list for a number of years and deservedly so, he's weekly show A State of Trance is broad casted to millions and with every 50th show, he celebrates with a sell out world wide tour. Armin's melodies are something to be hold, his on stage presence is like no other and even though he isn't the last one act of the night for Ultra SA, he's bound to be phenomenal.
Today's featured track is from the maestro himself, released last year Hystereo saw itself climb up the various charts and become an instant favourite on his show. A number of remixes were soon released but for me, the original is still the best. Be sure to see Armin and the other top DJ's at this years Ultra South Africa, tickets are still available, so don't hesitate and get yours now!
They're probably Britain's hottest duo at the moment in terms of music collaboration, there's also been wide speculation that the two may have been in a relationship which was quickly rubbished by both of them but we don't really care about the gossip, we're interested in the music they're making! Both Calvin and Ellie are at the height of their game, where they're producing and making some exceptional work and have a good showing for it. Calvin is currently the worlds highest paid DJ and Ellie is touring with sellout shows. Their previous hit song "I need your love" was a simple indication into what this working relationship was capable of, Outside is today's featured track and seems to be doing also pretty well worldwide.
