Cyndi Lauper - Sex Is In The Heel

Cyndi's latest release arrives just as the Pride celebrations get under way. This ultra campy track about shoes is from the upcoming Broadway musical Kinky Boots. The song's subject matter is unconventional indeed, however, it is so fun to hear as sung by Ms. Lauper. The song has a "Vogue"-esque 'rap' section. The original is produced by Rich Morel. He opts for an early 90s runway house styled production which is so apropos given the nod to fashion in the song's lyrics. Rich provides another mix along with Danny Verde, Honey Dijon, Jochen Simms, and RLP. Rich's Hot Sauce mix is darker and has more of an electro sound. Danny Verde offers a hard circuit-oriented mix, turning the song into a full on anthem. Honey Dijon's mix is tribal and drummy taking inspiration from the heyday of 90s X-beat mixes. Jochen Simms has a chill 80s sound. RLP's mix is similar with some pretty synths.  Overall, every single remix is wonderful with Rich Morel's original mix, Danny Verde and Honey Dijon's mixes being the best of the bunch.

Listen to streaming previews of the mixes here (MaxiPromotion)

Grade: A

Honey Dijon feat Dajae - Until The Day

Miami's Funky Green Dogs (the duo of Ralph Falcon and Oscar Gaeten with then vocalist Pamela Williams) had a hit with this in 1998 with mixes by Peter Rauhofer, Masters At Work, Superchumbo, and Marshall Hansen. This has been given a deep house makeover courtesy of Honey Dijon with the help of a few people including Alex Kenji, Uner, and Aki Bergen. Legendary singer Dajae does a fine job on the vocals, taking thing in a different direction. Alex Kenji's mix is an electro/house floorfiller. Uner's minimal mix is deeper while Aki Bergen's is much darker slightly industrial sounding.

Listen to clips and purchase the mixes here (Beatport)

Grade: A-

Junior Vasquez - Junior's Nervous Breakdown 2: Demented

After last year's successful Generation Next comes Junior's newest mixed CD. This is the second CD he has done for Nervous Records in this particular series. The last was released nearly a decade ago and was filled with many of this productions at the time. This one features only a single production with his name attached to it. The mix begins with some darker tribal songs but the light, soulful vocal-oriented cuts arrive very soon. There are several sections which alternate between the dark and the light. The flow between these sections is smooth. Junior is known for his multiple hour sets which span across multiple genres. Transferring that aesthetic into a 60 minute mix can be challenging, but it works perfectly here. All of the tracks bring something special to the set, however, some of the highlights include the Joe Salcedo track which is the namesake for this compilation, and the new Inaya Day track. All of the vocal-oriented cuts are beautiful. Overall, this is a great mixed CD. This will be released on August 17.

Tracklisting:
01. Male FX – Intro
02. FX – Siren
03. Nick Harvey – Junyork featuring Junior Vasquez
04. Junior Vasquez – X-tatic (JMBW & Joel Dickinson Saturday Mix)
05. Honey Dijon – Walls Down (Tom Stephan Remix)
06. Honey Dijon – Noise Violation feat Paul Alexander (Masi & Mello’s Beatz 2 Da Brain Remix)
07. Kid Massive – Doesn’t Matter feat Elliotte Williams N’Dure
08. Lisa Millet – Bring Me Down (ATFC remix)
09. Laidback Luke & Gregor Salto – Step By Step feat Mavis Acquah (Abel Ramos Remix)
10. Lisa Pure – Can’t Say No (Tommyboy Dub)
11. Oscar G – Your Love feat Tamara Wallace (Jaimy Remix)
12. Jonny Montana – I Don’t Want To Lose You feat Stephanie Cooke (The Str8jackets Mix)
13. Joe Salcedo – Demented (Joe’s Demented Drumm Loop Mix)
14. Alyson Calagna & Jose Spinnin – Ahora feat Micah and Ash Ruiz (Jason Chance Remix)
15. Tom Sawyer – Alone featuring Ana Herrero (Benny Royal Mix)
16. Inaya Day & Antoine Dessange – Joy (JMBW & Joel Dickinson’s Club Mix)
17. Dawn Tallman – Feel It (Todd’s House Is A Feeling Mix)
18. DJ Mike Cruz Presents Inaya Day and Chyna Ro – Movin’ Up (Jonny Montana Remix)
19. Kim English – Supernatural

Grade: A