Madonna - Vogue (Barry Harris Remix)

To mark the start of Madonna's new Rebel Heart tour, Barry Harris (formerly of duo Thunderpuss) has produced a brand new remix of the club classic which recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. The song has been a staple of Madonna's tours (it appears in the current tour in abbreviated form) and is routinely updated and reinvented. Barry got ahold of the original vocal stems and made a fresh production which is faithful to the melody of the original, but he changes it up for today's dancefloors. He thankfully has used all the vocals. The result is a booming dancefloor anthem which brings this song into the 21st century.

Listen to the mix and download it here:


Grade: A

Madonna feat Nicki Minaj - Bitch I'm Madonna

The Diplo produced Trap/Hip Hop song is the 3rd single from her Rebel Heart album. It has been a fan favorite that went viral after Madonna performed this on Jimmy Fallon's show. It's a catchy, silly song in its original form with Nicki Minaj joining her in the middle. Remixes by Dirty Pop, Fedde Le Grand, Junior Sanchez, Oscar Gaeten, Rosabel, and Sander Kleinenberg will be released later this week on the digital remix EP. Dirty Pop's mix is a hard-hitting mainstream Electro/Tribal one. Fedde Le Grand's swing beat mix incorporates some elements of the original but it has lots of fun vocal effects and stutters. Junior Sanchez goes in a Deep House direction, using just a few re-arranged vocal and instrumental samples. Oscar Gaeten's mix is a tribal dub with just a sprinkling of vocals. Rosabel's main mix uses the most vocals and ends up utilizing the vocals the best. The dub mostly uses Nicki's vocals. Sander Kleinenberg's mix is atmospheric with some cool orchestral and EDM elements. Rosabel's ends up being the best of the bunch.

Grade: B+

Madonna - Ghosttown (Remixes)

The second package of remixes of the power ballad have been released. Armand Van Helden, Mindskap, and Offer Nissim. Armand Van Helden's mixes are a throwback to the 90s and feature a Deep House production and a killer bassline, however, the majority of the vocals have been removed and the few that are there do not fit with the production. Mindskap's mix is in a similar vein, however, it has even less vocals. Offer Nissim saves the day with his two mixes. The first is the Drama mix which begins with a stunning orchestral intro leading into the first verse. This mix contains nearly all of the vocals. The mood of the original has been perfectly translated into remixed form with this one. The other mix has a proper intro and is just slightly harder and omits the first verse. This one feels more like a vocal dub. The Drama mix is easily the best mix of the song so far.

-Listen to the mixes on Madonna's YouTube channel

The remix EP will be released for purchase in mid May

Grade: A

Madonna - Ghosttown (Remixes)

This is the second single from her critically acclaimed Rebel Heart. The song had been a favorite when it was released as part of the first 6 in late December of 2014. The power ballad is a post-apocalyptic love song (the cinematic music video released last week plays up that post-apocalyptic angle) and has one of the best vocals on it that she has done in a long time. Remixes have also been produced. Dirty Pop, Don Diablo, Mike Cruz, and Thrill. Dirty Pop provides a straightforward Electro/Pop mix. Don Diablo's heavy Electro mix has some nice moments when the vocals come in, but the emotional aspect of the original doesn't translate well. Mike Cruz's circuit mix brings the energy but the production doesn't go with the vocals. Thrill's mix has a good production but it doesn't go with the vocals either.

Listen to the mixes here (YouTube)

Grade: A+ (for the original)
Grade: C (for the remixes)

Madonna - Rebel Heart (Review)

The highly anticipated 13th studio album from the Queen Of Pop is slated to be released next month, and there are rumors it may be moved up to next week to coincide with her Grammy Awards performance on Sunday.

Madonna began work on this album last year. She was very active on Instagram throughout that year documenting her process with many collaborators including Alicia Keys, Avicii, Diplo, Kanye West, Mozella, Nas, Natalia Kills, Nicki Minaj, Ryan Tedder, Toby Gad, and many others.

Nearly a week before Christmas, a number of unfinished demos and work in progress versions of songs from the album leaked online forcing Madonna and her team to release the first 6 songs as 'instant downloads' when fans pre-ordered the album on iTunes. The lead single "Living For Love" was one of the songs to be released then. A full remix package has also been released and a music video is in the works. The album was originally envisioned as a concept project with two discs each containing a particular them with one being "Rebel Heart" with the more socially conscious and emotional songs and then "Unapologetic Bitch" with the more playful and light-hearted songs. That concept was abandoned due to the leaks and it is now one album going back and forth between the themes.

Here is a track by track writeup.

Madonna - Living For Love (Remixes)

This is the lead single from her forthcoming 13th album Rebel Heart. The song is a return to her Dance/Pop roots. It's an uplifting song produced by Diplo about moving forward after a breakup. It features traditional House elements including a groovy piano hook and straight out of church diva backing vocals. There are plenty of remixes already by Dirty Pop, Djemba Djemba, Mike Rizzo, Offer Nissim, and Thrill. The Dirty Pop remix is an electro-drenched one with a limited amount of vocals. The Djemba Djemba one is close to the original however it strips down certain sections. His mix uses all of the vocals. Mike Rizzo's remix takes the concept of the original and turns it into a hands in the air floorfiller. Offer Nissim delivers a darker, big room full vocal take that is appropriately titled as it does bring the drama. Thrill's remix is techy and plays up some of the choir backing vocals but it lacks direction. Overall, Mike Rizzo and Offer Nissim's mixes are the best of the bunch in addition to the fantastic original.

-Listen to the original here
-Listen to the Dirty Pop remix here
-Listen to the Djemba Djemba remix here
-Listen to the Mike Rizzo mix here
-Listen to the Offer Nissim remix here
-Listen to the Thrill remix here

Grade: A

Barry Harris - Toronto World Pride Set

Barry Harris, best known for his work with Chris Cox as Thunderpuss from 1997 until 2003. During their time together, they produced chart-topping remixes with their distinct tribal, big room sound with melodic elements for many heavyweights of the music industry including Amber, Britney Spears, Cher, Christina Aguilera, Donna Summer, Enrique Iglesias, Janet Jackson, Jennifer Holliday, Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, Shakira, Tamia, and Whitney Houston. Both Barry and Chris have continued to produce ever since they split in 2003.

Earlier this week, Barry released an extract of one of his live sets for Pride containing a number of brand new reworks and updates to some of the songs that him and Chris had remixed as Thunderpuss. Many of the new mixes contain elements from the original mixes they did, but they also contain contemporary sounds as well.

Part of or full tracks included in the set:
Ariana Grande feat. Iggy Azaela - Problem
Barry Harris feat. Pepper MaShay - Dive Into The Pool
Barry Harris feat. Pepper MaShay - I Got My Pride
Britney Spears - I'm A Slave 4 U
Chad Jack - Gag On It
Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya & P!nk - Lady Marmalade
Ed Sheeran - Sing
Iggy Azalea feat. Charli XCX - Fancy
Katy Perry - Birthday
Kon Kan - I Beg Your Pardon 2K14
LeAnn Rimes - Can't Fight The Moonlight
Madonna - Don't Tell Me
Madonna - GHV2 Megamix Part 2 ("Ray Of Light", "Deeper And Deeper", "Music")
Mary J. Blige - No More Drama
Queen - We Will Rock You
Simone Denny + Barry Harris - Drama Queen (Texting U)

Suzanne Palmer - Hide U

Tamia - Stranger In My House
Whitney Houston - It's Not Right But It's Okay

Listen and download here:

DJ/Remixer Peter Rauhofer, 48 passes away

The Grammy winning DJ/remixer/producer/record label owner lost his battle with brain cancer today at the age of 48. Originally from Austria, Peter began his career working as a record label A&R for Gig Records. He made forays into DJing and production a short time after.

Peter's first major release was under the alias Danube Dance with "Unique." which went on to be an underground hit. Under his most famous production alias of Club 69 with Eric Kupper and Georg O'Luksch, "Let Me Be Your Underwear", "Sugar Pie Guy", and "Take A Ride" followed. These appeared on the full length album Adults Only released in 1995. A second album, Style was released in 1997. In addition to usual vocalist Kim Cooper, he introduced a new singer Suzanne Palmer who had only done a handful of songs at the time. "Drama", "Much Better", "Alright", and "Muscles" were the major hits from the album. After Twisted Records closed, Peter created the Star 69 label to release his own tracks as well as for a number of other artists. Amuka, Lula, Offer Nissim with Maya Simantov, and Suzanne Palmer were some of the label's biggest successes.

In addition to the original productions, Peter remixed almost every major artist including Annie Lennox, Beyonce, Cher, Christina Aguilera, Deborah Cox, Depeche Mode, Donna Summer, Duran Duran, Janet Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, Justin Timberlake, k.d. lang, Kristine W, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Nelly Furtado, Pet Shop Boys, P!nk, Rihanna, Seal, Scissor Sisters, Shakira, Toni Braxton, Tori Amos, Whitney Houston, and Yoko Ono. These are just some who he did remixes for. Of the aforementioned artists, he notably remixed Madonna's songs more than any of the others. Peter won a Grammy in 2000, and was nominated again in 2001 and 2004 (for his mix of Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful"; the category of Best Remixer used to be for a body of work for a particular year until it was changed in 2002).

In just the past year, Peter had begun to actively remix again completing both official and private mixes of Adele, Alicia Keys, Gossip, Inaya Day, Janet Jackson, Kazaky, Madonna, Miasha, Mika, Offer Nissim, P!nk, Rihanna, Scissor Sisters, Swedish House Mafia, Toni Braxton, Tori Amos, and will.i.am & Britney Spears.

In addition to his many remixes and productions, Peter DJed regularly, often playing his many private collection mixes. For several years, he had a regular residency at the legendary Roxy club until its closure. He also played at Spirit and Stereo at various times too. He notably played at The Saint At Large's Black Party held at Roseland. Peter had his Work party events several times year, often co-headlining with other newer DJs.

Despite the many changes in Dance music both in terms of tastes, styles, and industry shifts, Peter constantly reinvented himself staying relevant and successful more than 2 decades. He leaves behind a tremendous body of work that is almost unparalleled by any of his contemporaries. He will be truly missed.

Condolences, messages, and stories may be posted and shared on his official Facebook page here

Some of Peter's best remixes:

Eurythmics - 17 Again (sorry, it won't let me embed)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIfsXlSMbYw

 

Donna De Lory - My Sweet Lord

She rose to prominence in the late 80s as a backing vocalist for Madonna on several of her albums and accompanying her on tours for nearly two decades. She also worked with many other artists. Donna has recorded a number of albums including one containing Sanskrit mantras. Her latest single is a cover of the spiritual George Harrison song. She interprets it in a contemporary style. The laidback production calls to mind Natalie Merchant's dreamy "Carnival". Donna's voice is amazing and mesmerizing as can be expected. The message of the song is just as relevant as it was when it was originally recorded.

-Listen to a clip and purchase the song here (CDBaby)

Grade: A

Christina Aguilera - Let There Be Love (Remixes)

This is reportedly the 3rd single off of her Lotus album. The uptempo is produced by Max Martin and Shellshock. The song's production immediately calls to mind Ke$ha's "Tik Tok", Katy Perry's "California Gurls", Usher's "The DJ Got Us Falling In Love", and Madonna's "Girl Gone Wild." While the song's lyrics aren't terribly exciting, it's still a lot of fun. Christina sounds great.

Remixes for the song were serviced recently by Ark Angel, Cutmore, DJ Kue, Jump Smokers, and TV Noise. Ark Angel's R&B/Dubstep mix is pleasant. It has lots of buildups and breakdowns. An edit of that could help it on radio. Cutmore's big room House mix maintains the chord progression but really beefs it up in terms of bass, beats, and synths. DJ Kue's mix is in a similar style, though slightly less melodic. The Jump Smokers doesn't deviate that much from their formula and is good. TV Noise's electro mix changes up the structure of the original and makes it dub-like.

Overall, Cutmore's mix ends up being the best of the bunch.

Listen to streams of all the mixes on Soundcloud (these were NOT uploaded by Sweet Muzik)

Ark Angel | Cutmore | DJ Kue! | Jump Smokers | TV Noise


Grade: A

Madonna - Turn Up The Radio (Remixes)

This is the 3rd single off of her MDNA album. Produced by Martin Solveig, this is another fun retro track. It is in a similar win as last year's hit "Hello." This could be thought of as a cousin of that song. Perfect for radio and the clubs, there is also a full remix package including mixes by Leo Zero, Marco V, Offer Nissim, R3hab, and Richard Vission. The remixes by Offer and R3hab are new while the other three were previously released on the special Smirnoff edition of MDNA a few months back. Leo's mix has a Giorgio Moroder-esque sound with the "I Feel Love" type production. Marco and Richard's mixes lack melody and direction and feel like a vacuum cleaner set to beats. There are some good sections in both mixes, but the bad parts overshadow the good. Offer's mix is mostly light and airy with nearly all of the vocals. The original melody is retained for the most part. It has its darker moments, however, they fit in quite well. R3hab also delivers a surprise with his mix. It is rather melodic and complements the original quite well. Offer and R3hab's mixes are the best of the bunch.

Grade: C (for the Marco V, Richard Vission mixes), B (for the Leo zero mix), A (for the Offer Nissim and R3hab mixes)

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

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.

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-

Madonna - Girl Gone Wild

After the quick rise and fall of "Give Me All Your Luvin'" comes the second single. Produced by Benny Benassi, the song in many ways feels like the next logical progression for the new record. Starting with a spoken introduction that almost recalls her "Act Of Contrition" from Like A Prayer, the electro-pop production that calls to mind Dr. Luke's handiwork comes in. Vocally, Madonna sounds really distant and detached from the song. The lyrics are filled with cliches and lack much substance. Despite those major shortcomings, the chorus and bridge manage to be the best parts of the song. In addition to the original, there are remixes by Justin Cognito that basically soup up the original. The remix is actually better than the album version. Overall, this is much better than the mediocre "Give Me All Your Luvin'."

-Listen to the original version without the intro here (YouTube)
-Listen to the Justin Cognito remix here (YouTube)
-Purchase the original version with intro here (iTunes)

Grade: B+

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+

Madonna - Give Me All Your Luvin' (LMFAO Remix)

Hot on the heels of her much hyped Superbowl performance comes the LMFAO remix of the new song that she performed during her set. Sandwiched between "Vogue", "Music", and "Like A Prayer", the LMFAO guys joined her on stage briefly during the performance.

This remix significantly improves upon the original updating the production and increasing the volume on the vocals. LMFAO add a small bit of rap swapping out M.I.A.'s bit of theirs, plus a little towards the end. Nicki's section is still there. This version does lose most of the vocals from the original, however, it just seems to work better this way. This version may have a greater chance of getting radio airplay in the U.S. Additional remixes for the club release are forthcoming.

-Listen to the remix here (YouTube)
-View Madonna's entire Superbowl performance in HD here (YouTube)

Grade: B+

Madonna - Give Me All Your Luvin' (feat. M.I.A. & Nicki Minaj)

This is the lead single off of the Queen of Pop's upcoming 12th studio album MDNA. Produced by Martin Solveig, the song is a return to the Dance/Pop Madonna is usually known for. The song has a distinct retro feel, especially with the "Mickey"-esque chants. Rappers M.I.A. and Nicki Minaj join in on the fun with their respective portions. The song immediately recalls Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" from a few years ago that had a remix featuring Lil Mama. This song almost feels like the kid sister of that one. The 'dubstep' break in the middle with the bridge is probably the highlight.

For a lead single, this feels rather anticlimactic. Hopefully this is not a preview of things to come with the new album.

Purchase the song here (iTunes)
Watch the music video here (YouTube)

Grade: B

Wayne G feat Melissa Totten - Beautiful Stranger

This is indeed a remake of the Madonna song from 1999. This remake began life as a private mix featuring the original vocals, however, professional Madonna impersonator Melissa Totten has recorded new vocals for it. She tries to remain faithful to Madonna's vocal performance, managing to capture some of the subtle nuances and affects of Madonna's voice. But nothing compares to the real thing. The big room production on Wayne G and Andy Allder's main mixes contains some replayed elements from the Victor Calderone club mix of the Madonna one. Joe Gauthreaux, Casey Alva, and James Torres provide additional remixes. Joe's mix is far less dramatic than his usual. Casey Alva's mixes are really synthy. And James Torres's are more dubby. Overall, the main mix is the best of the bunch. Please do check out the Victor Calderone mixes of the original if you haven't already.

The digital release will happen on November 8.

Listen to clips of the mixes:



Grade: B+

Darren Hayes - Talk Talk Talk

The much-awaited new single from his forthcoming new album Secret Codes & Battleships was recently released. The midtempo Dance/Pop number is very much in line with the material from his critically acclaimed This Delicate Thing We've Made. Darren's crystal clear vocals are as beautiful as they usually are. The chorus is pure perfection. This is practically tailormade for the Adult Contemporary radio format and would be a surefire hit.

The B-side to this is a cover of Madonna's "Angel" from her Like A Virgin album. The chilled synthpop production is exquisite. Darren changes up the melody slightly with the vocals in a way only he could giving it a fresh take. This is excellent as well.

-Purchase the single (including both "Talk Talk Talk" and "Angel" here (iTunes)
-Check out the beautiful music video for "Talk Talk Talk" here (YouTube)
-Listen to the B-side "Angel" here (YouTube)

Grade: A+