Questionable samples, Kylie vs Dannii and, would you believe it, Steve likes a song…

A few team members decided to take the week off this week, consequently missing a cracking music meeting. Let’s get straight to it this week, no messing about, Carpe Diem.

Aiden Grimshaw, another product of Simon Cowell’s X Factor, has reappeared on the music scene 2 years after his stint on the show, with his single ‘Is this love’. A lot of people were disappointed when Aiden was booted off the show as his vocals were up there with the best of them; his rendition of ‘Mad World’ is both haunting and memorable. ‘Is this love’ features Aiden’s strong, recognizable vocals and a dance beat which is borderline dubstep. The thing we like about this song is it’s clearly his own, and stays clear of the typical mainstream pop formula that has plagued so many fallen contestants before him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wm57rqkHmU

Next up was another dancey affair and Dot Rotten with ‘Overload’. This song samples ‘Robert Miles – Children’, and if that doesn’t sound familiar, the sample certainly will. Mr Rotten wanted to make it in to the charts with this one and has mixed his trademark grime, a recognizable sample and a dubstep beat in order to appeal to the masses. This will please younger fans of chart music and the slightly older crowd may find it nostalgia inducing, but it’s this desire to please a wide audience that makes it lack that little something special.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a24FlgXp1LI

Now this was in interesting one. Jessie Ware follows up her single ‘Running’ with ‘110%’. This tune is nice and summery on the face of it, featuring lyrics like ‘Won’t dance, not without you, small steps, they lead only to your heart’. However it was hard to ignore this strange, sinister sounding sample that kept appearing throughout, which sounded a bit out of place, like radio interference from another song. After some investigating it turns out the sample is from Big Pun and says ‘Carving my initials on your forehead’…so yeh…not sure what to make of that! It seems like a strange move but maybe that gives it that little something special?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eblGD5yuid8

And speaking of summery, Josh Osho’s ‘Redemption Days’ ft Ghostface Killah is a certified summer anthem; if only we had a summer to go with it. Josh’s inspirational lyrics are backed with a feel good, orchestral beat and combine to create a tune which has deservedly received a lot of airplay.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aocrgZQoz7g

Pop queen Kylie also makes a return to the music scene with ‘Timebomb’. It’s hard to believe the miniature blonde bombshell is 43, looking at her latest video, and while this is an enjoyable pop song to listen to and a confident return for the Aussie, many of us in the studio were preoccupied with settling the debate ‘Kylie or Dannii’. It was pretty much even stevens but I think it’s fair to say we wouldn’t say no to either…referring to their music of course.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zL2wGYCINwY

Here’s proof that not all meetings through the internet involve cheesy profiles and awkward videos. Aluna Francis and producer George Reid met when George remixed a tune featuring Aluna’s vocals. The track went on to get love from Radio 1 DJ Rob Da Bank and thus the two formed AlunaGeorge. This track, ‘You know you like it’ features glitchy, wonky sounds and smooth vocals, moulded in to a traditional pop structure. The result is a fresh sounding tune that our hard to please technical engineer even admitted to liking; thus making the track’s name even more apt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmXZuv5BaHg

Finally we have Swedish DJ and electronic dance producer Avicii with his latest anthem ‘Silhouettes’. Avicii, real name Tim Bergling, is only 22 years old but already one of the 25 richest DJs in the world, worth a cool $6m. For the video to this song, Avicii gave fans the chance to ‘claim’ a frame from it by clicking ‘like’ and sharing on social media sites. Once all 6,000+ frames had been claimed, the video was unlocked and released to the public. Anyone who’s enjoyed Avicii’s previous productions will no doubt enjoy this one too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VJBBUqr1wM

Other songs that were covered this week include:

Jamie Hartman – If I close my eyes
Jennifer Lopez – Dance again
Labrinth – Express yourself
Ladyhawke – Sunday Drive
DJ Fresh & Dizzie Rascal – The Power
Flo Rida – Whistle
Gary Barlow – Sing
Nelly Furtado – Big Hoops
Pure Love – Handsome devil’s club
Tiesto & Wolfgang Gartner – We own the night

We update our client’s stations on a weekly basis to keep them fr-fr-fresh, so as always check back next week to see what’s new.