David Morales - Changes (Album)

This is the much-awaited artist album from veteran producer/remixer/DJ David Morales. He has enlisted the vocal talents of Ultra Naté, Janice Robinson, Tamra Keenan, Polina, Jonathan Mendelsohn, Polina, and Róisín Murphy. Each and every one of the tracks is extremely well-produced. Wisely, all the tracks fuse sounds of the past with what's hot and happening. The result is a collection of songs with wide appeal. Though every track is wonderful, some of the highlights include "Planet Called Love", "Fall In Love Tonight", "What Do You Believe In", and "I Don't Belong Here." Wisely, the entire album is unmixed making it perfect for DJs and music enthusiasts.

Listen to clips and purchase here (iTunes)

Grade: A

Tony Moran - Mix Magic Music

Nearly 2 years in the making, Tony's new album has finally been released. Continuously mixed by Tony himself, some of the featured vocalists include Deborah Cox, Jennifer Holliday Nicki Richards, Zhana Saunders, Frenchie Davis, Judy Torres, Ultra Nate, Trey Lorenz, some other newcomers and even Tony himself. Every track is top-notch. There is absolutely no filler. Some of the highlights include "Tenderness", "Magic", "Need Somebody", "Fly High", and "Spend My Lifetime Loving You." The latter is a cover of the song originally recorded by Tina Arena and Marc Anthony for the Zorro soundtrack. Most of the songs are around 4 minutes long with just a handful of them being much longer. Hopefully a special digital edition with longer versions will be released later on. Overall, this is one of the best mixed compilations of original material released this year.

Tracklisting:
01. Rolls Like a Superstar (featuring Sugar House Crew and Nicki Richards)
02. Fly High (featuring Judy Torres and Zhana Saunders)
03. Silly Love (featuring Angelica)
04. Magic (featuring Jennifer Holliday)
05. Blow the Top Off (featuring Sugarhouse Crew and Giuseppe D)
06. Destination (DJ Erry Remix) (featuring Ultra Nate)
07. If The World Could Be Mine (featuring Robert Aron and Soul Slip)
08. Need Somebody (featuring Nicki Richards and Trey Lorenz)
09. You Are (Ralphi Rosario Mix) (featuring Frenchie Davis)
10. Viva La Vida
11. Sensation (featuring Orion)
12. Can I Love You More (featuring Trey Lorenz)
13. La Tortuga (featuring Sugarhouse Crew)
14. Giving It Up To You
15. Spend My Lifetime Loving You (featuring Judy Torres and Tony Moran)
16. It Doesn't Get Any Better (featuring Diva Convention)
17. Tenderness (featuring Deborah Cox)

-Purchase the album here (iTunes)
-Masterbeat has it as well

Grade: A+

Nicole Graham - Make Me Jump (Badonkadonk)

This is the singer-songwriter's latest release. This is a playful, club-oriented song. Nicole sings this song in a style which calls to mind other legendary Dance divas including Ultra Naté and Crystal Waters. The song is a joy to listen to from start to finish. The main version is perfect for the clubs and radio. There are additional remixes for the clubs by Klubjumpers, Vincent De Azevedo, DJ Aylen, DJ Bashar, and Junior Vasquez. The Klubjumpers mix fuses current electro and 80's synthpop. Vincent De Azevedo's mix has a similar feel, but is much mroe laidback. DJ Aylen's is much more electro-ish. Taking things in a deeper direction, DJ Bashar's mix has some really rich bass. Last but not least, Junior Vasquez delivers a set of tribal, big room mixes. The dub is lots of fun too. Overall, every mix is really good, including the original. The Junior Vasquez and Klubjumpers mixes are the standouts.

Listen to clips and purchase the remixes here (iTunes)

Grade: A-

Ultra Naté - Turn It Up

Club diva Ultra Naté is back with a new single entitled "Turn It Up", just as "Destination" (her collaboration with Tony Moran) continues to be on DJ's playlists and top 10's almost half a year after its release. Produced by Brinsley Evans (of "I'm Beautiful Dammit" and "Make The World Go Round" fame), the song is a light electro/soulful house hybrid with super catchy lyrics. Ultra's vocals are great as usual. Remixes by Paul Oakenfold, Wawa, Ruff Loaderz vs. Scott Giles, Muthafunkaz, and Ruben Macias & Raffa Scoccia are coming soon. Based on the two previews Ultra posted on her label's YouTube channel, the Oakenfold and Wawa mixes sound really promising.

Listen to previews of the Oakenfold and Wawa mixes (YouTube)
Listen to the original here (MaxiPromotion)

Grade: A

Tony Moran presents Ultra Naté - Destination

This is a special collaboration between the legendary NY-based remixer/DJ/producer and the singer-songwriter diva. "Destination" is also the name of the main Pride event Tony Moran will be DJing at this year. This song is basically the 'theme' for the event. It is a hard, floorfilling anthem featuring Ultra's signature vocals. She delivers a great performance, as can be expected. The production is hard and driving with a slight Eurodance flavor. This is a wonderful track.

Grade: A

Sybil - Shining Star

Predominantly active in the 80's and 90's, the Dance/Pop singer has released a few singles here and there during the last few years. She is known mainly for the singles "My Love is Guaranteed", "Walk On By", "The Love I Lost", and "When I’m Good And Ready." Now signed to Ultra Naté's new label Deep Sugar, this is her latest release. It is produced by Thomas Roberts. Him and The Mac Project provide the remixes. Sybil's vocals are just as rich and emotive as they were back in the day. This is one of the stronger Dance-oriented releases of the year. The mixes are available at most digital music stores.

Watch Sybil perform this here.

Grade: A+

Ultra Naté - Automatic 2008

Her fierce cover of the Pointer Sisters 80's classic topped the club charts last year. It got a release overseas with some additional mixes which were unavailable until recently. Some new mixes by Tikaro, J. Louis & Ferran (all one remixing team for this one), Riff & Rays and Alex Gaudino, Discode and eSQUIRE make up this release. This is one of several new mixes of songs from Ultra's forthcoming Alchemy: GST Reloaded collection (coming out in August). It consists of remixes of songs from Grime Silk Thunder. These new mixes breathe additional life into an already strong song. It's worth mentioning that this song's steamy music video was directed by famed photographer/director Karl Giant. He is reportedly directing the video for Ultra's next single "Twisted 2008" which is a revisit of a song from Stranger Than Fiction.

Grade: A