Once upon a time, dance music had meaning. It had soul. It had melody! It had vocals! Then, in the late 90s, bedroom DJs took over the planet with a crate full of dubs and they killed it off. Now, it seems people are clamoring for substance. Something they can sing along with.Great dance records are few and far between. However, I'm pleased to inform you that there has been a bumper crop of them floating around lately. And "Stronger" by house veteran, Erick Morillo, along with his sidekick, Eddie Thoneick, has enlisted the formidable vocal duties of Shawnee Taylor. Together, they have produced one of the most infectious and downright ass shaking club anthems of the last few years.
As a DJ, it's refreshing to be able to spin something with an uplifting vocal and a solid melody. It's a promising development. I feel like we haven't had many arms akimbo, pop house hybrids like this since the mid-90s when "Free" by Ultra Naté saturated the worldwide airwaves.
Let's hope "Stronger" is the start of a trend rather than an oasis in the musical desert. Please pass the poppers!
I have to agree Stronger is a wonder and welcome track! It's nice to see Mr. Morillo paying attention to the vocals again! But it constantly frustrates me and disappoints me how much good vocal house out there gets passed over. There is a vibrant vocal/soulful house scene out there that gets little to no press because nubile 20 year old boys and girls aren't the one's listening to it. Sure if you live in NYC and Chicago and even a few hold out spots in the UK you can hear a dj throwdown wonderful tracks from Fanatix, Danism, Ananda Project or Richard Earnshaw, but I don't see enough press behind some of these hard working artists.
ReplyDeleteBrother, have you got that right! In the 90s DJ culture morphed into something with almost no human essence and that's when it lost me. I'm all for a glorious human voice; not a sample repeated ad infinitum. And I demand some melody, hooks, and complexity with my dance music! It used to be that dance remixes added this to pop fodder! In the 90s it all got so reductive, though. Hmmm. I used to have "Blue Notes In The Bassment." I'd forgotten all about Ultra Naté.
ReplyDeleteI think dance cycles a lot. Sometimes the tide brings in many good things, other times not so much. I can think of pro's and con's for any era, each has something I like. I do like that you mentioned Ultra Naté. Her "Situation: Critical" & "Stranger Than Fiction." Nice post.-QH
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