Chris Brown - Don't Wake Me Up

Continuing with his foray into Dance/Electronic music, R&B bad boy Chris Brown's latest single is produced by Benny Benassi. They previously did "Beautiful People" together. The production on the main version is radio and club-ready. Despite being severely autotuned, the vocals are pretty good. This song would work well as a downtempo if such a version were to be made. William Orbit also produced a laidback remix version. The vocals have more room to breathe on this version. Both versions are very well-produced. This should be another hit for the singer this Summer.

Purchase the song (iTunes)

• Benny Benassi Mix
• Free School/William Orbit Mix

Grade: A-

Madonna - MDNA (Deluxe)

The highly anticipated 12th studio album is finally here! After the lukewarm reception to her 2008 Hard Candy, she returns to her Dance roots as she did with 2005's Confessions On A Dance Floor. The producers she has worked with this time around are Alle & Benny Benassi, Demolition Crew,  Free School, Indiigo, Martin Solveig, Michael Malih, and William Orbit.

Here is a track by track writeup.

Wayne G feat Melissa Totten - Frozen

This is the second Madonna cover release that Wayne G and Melissa Totten worked on. The original ambient/electronic ballad was the lead single from her critically acclaimed Ray Of Light album in 1998. It had some exquisite remixes by Victor Calderone, Stereo MCs, and William Orbit. Melissa Totten's vocals are decent on this one, however, they are rather lackluster in comparison to the original. There are remixes for this one by Wayne G & Andy Allder, Tony Moran & Warren Rigg, Paul Goodyear, Jamie J. Sanchez, and JRMX. All of the remixers did a superb job on their respective mixes. It must be noted that the Wayne & Andy and Paul Goodyear mixes make use of a recreation of the orchestral bits from the original song. Overall, the Wayne G & Andy Allder and JRMX remixes are the standouts.

Listen to clips and purchase here:



Grade: B+

Katie Melua - The Flood

This is the lead single off of her upcoming 4th album. Produced by William Orbit (best known for his fantastic work on Madonna's Ray Of Light album), this song bears only a fleeting similarity to his work of the past. "The Flood" is absolutely gorgeous. It's a perfect mixture of ambient electronica and pop/rock. Katie's vocals are wonderful as well. The music video is really stunning as well.

Watch the music video here (YouTube)

Grade: A