Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull - Dance Again

This is one of the new songs from Jennifer's upcoming greatest hits collection. Produced by RedOne, this is a club-oriented track. Attempting to re-create the success they had with "On The Floor" last year, this song is in a similar vein. Jennifer sounds much better vocally on this one. Although not bad, Pitbull's rap feels unnecessary and out of place. A sample from the Dub Of Doom remix of Nightcrawlers' 90s club hit "Push The Feeling On" (Pitbull sampled the main riff on his hit "Hotel Room Service") during the second rap break is really interesting. Hopefully a full solo version will be released later on just as was done with "On The Floor." Overall, this is a fun song.

Listen to the song here:

Grade: A-

Audio Assembly feat. Paul Mahos & New Life Crisis

This is the latest original track from red hot production trio Audio Assembly (aka Joel Dickinson, John Michael DiSpirito, and Billy Waters) featuring the vocal talents of Paul Mahos of Rock band New Life Crisis. New Life Crisis is best known for their song "Daylight", which was remixed for the dancefloor by Tony Moran. On "Sway", Mahos delivers a rousing glam rock vocal that would make Freddie Mercury proud had he still been with us. There are remixes by Audio Assembly, Gomi, and Nick Harvey. Audio Assembly's mix is long and hard with dark synth stabs. Gomi's mix is trancey and hard. The production is so pretty with or without the vocals. Nick Harvey's mix has tons of blinding synths coupled with hard beats. All 3 have done a kickass job on their respective mixes. This is an excellent release.

Listen to clips and purchase the release here (Beatport)



 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.

Ralphi Rosario feat. Shawn Christopher - Menergy

This is indeed a remake of the Patrick Cowley song from 1981. Red hot producer/remixer/DJ teams up with Shawn Christopher for this remake. The main version only slightly captures the essence of the original, especially the vocals but with a modern twist. The dubs are far more exciting with the tease of the vocals. Barry Harris, Giangi Cappai, and Mark Picchiotti provide the remixes. The Barry Harris version however is very true to the original song. It's extremely well-done. Giangi Cappai keeps things really minimal and tribal. Mark Picchiotti's is a little techy and has some good buildups. Overall, the Barry Harris mix is the best of the bunch.

Buy and listen to clips here (Amazon)

Grade: A-

Bera - Light It Up (Remixes)

This is the followup single to his breakout "Favorite Things" last year. Produced by Darkchild, this is an uptempo perfect for the dancefloor and radio. Stylistically, it calls to mind some of Taio Cruz and Jason DeRulo's recent uptempo singles. The Eurodance meets Electo/Pop production is hot. Remixes are provided by Abe Clements, Bimbo Jones, and Dave Aude. Abe opts for a piano-laden circuit mix while Bimbo's is a bit more atmospheric. Dave's is the pick of the bunch as it stays close to the original and soups it up. With the right promotional push, this could be huge on U.S. and international radio this Spring.

-Listen to "Light It Up" here (YouTube)
-Watch Bera's EPK here (YouTube)

Grade: A

Various - Soul Jazz presents Voguing

This is a collection of songs that were the soundtrack for the unique dance style that first began in the underground dance clubs of New York in the late 70s. The Soul Jazz label in the UK has put together a collection of Disco, 80s Synthpop, and early 90s circuit tracks that were favorites of Voguers. Spread across 2 discs, all songs are full length and in their hit versions. The sound quality is great. Disc 3 is a continuous DJ mix by NY legend Junior Vasquez featuring nearly all of the songs from the first 2 discs. This collection is also available in vinyl and MP3 editions, however the MP3 edition omits all the Salsoul and West End tracks. This is an impressive release overall.

View the tracklisting, listen to samples, and purchase the compilation here.

Grade: A

Chris Rene - Young Homie

The Santa Cruz native wowed many with this song on FOX's maiden season of The X-Factor last Fall. He performed this original song several times during his time on the show, most notably during his audition. He placed 3rd overall in the competition. The autobiographical lyrics about his own struggles and issues will strike a chord with many. The new studio version is a lot better than the original version he that he performed live as his vocals are much better now. This is a solid first single. His new album is due later this year.

-Listen to the song here (YouTube)
-Purchase the song here (iTunes)

Grade: A-

Madonna - Girls Gone Wild (Remixes)

Just as the first clips of several album tracks were released, remixes for the second single were serviced. In addition to the album version and alternate Justin Cognito mixes, Dave Aude, Kim Fai, Lucky Date, and Offer Nissim provide remixes. Dave's big room electro house treatments are hard and driving with full vocals. The spoken word section from the album version as a bridge during a buildup is a nice touch. The dub is actually a little more exciting with the minimal vocal samples. Kim Fai and Lucky Date ditch the majority of the vocals for their mixes as well. There are some fun builds and synth breaks in Kim's mix, but it's kind of noisy. Lucky Date's mix is even noisier, grating on your last nerve. Finally is Offer Nissim's vocal dub. It begins with an inviting intro featuring bits of the spoken word and some Middle Eastern male vocals. Those additional vocals pop up in various places. The big room, techy-trance mix is thrilling with the big riffs. Only some of Madonna's vocals are in the mix and they pop up as samples. A full vocal version would have been nice, but that can be forgiven. Overall, Offer Nissim and Dave Aude's mixes are the best of the bunch.

Grade: A-

Toni Braxton - I Heart You

The R&B diva is back with a dancefloor ready number called "I Heart You." Co-written and produced by Toni herself and Keri Lewis, the song starts off slow, with Toni singing and then the uptempo production slowly comes in. Although it lacks the punch of her earlier material, the song is a return to form especially in terms of the vocals. The Electronic production may be a bit jarring for fans of her R&B material, but it does have the feel of a number of the remixes that Toni has had done for her songs throughout the years. The beginning of the breakdown in the middle of the song bears a striking resemblance to the breakdown in the anthemic Soul-Hex mix of her "Un-Break My Heart." Perhaps an R&B version may allow this to do better on her core format. This one should smash in the clubs though.

Listen to the song here:

Grade: A-

Tamia - Beautiful Surprise

The title is very appropriate for the R&B chanteuse's new single from her upcoming album reportedly of the same name. Tamia remains as consistent as ever delivering a soulful, beautiful song. Produced by veteran producer Salaam Remi, it is a smooth and sensual R&B number. Vocally, Tamia is in exquisite form. This is sure to be another big hit for her.

Listen to the song here:


Grade: A