Despite the chill in the air, Spring is about to burst on to the city and spread it's sunshine goodness all over everything. Thankfully, I'm finding a healthy dose of good music creeping on to the dance floors of the world. So let's talk music.
Bobby D'Ambrosio, one of the great remixers of my lifetime, knows what a good diva is. He's torn up charts around the globe for over twenty years, remixing everyone and their momma. But he's still going strong, and has three brand new remixes featuring a diva named Lasala on a track called 'Runaway Love.' Yes, it's a Linda Clifford remake, but it's fierce.
Each of the three is a fine example of a House groove that showcases not only his talents in the studio, but the glorious disco-era voice of Lasala. The Osio Remix, the full vocal, is the perfect track to usher in springtime. Two dub versions, the Osio Dub and Marquito's Dub are a little harder but still very much prime time dance floor material. The moral of the story? When it's Bobby D'Ambrosio, buy it. You won't be sorry.
The beauty of House music is how often you can run across a track that came out six months ago, and it's still as fierce as the day it arrived. It's a pretty unique phenomenon in the dance music world. While others rush to be the first in line for a new track, my collection slowly evolves over time.
I stumbled into an ATFC track called 'Reach Out To Me' that came out in September. It leapt out of my headphones at me. The diva was none other than Inaya Day, on the Onephatdeeva label. Damn I love that name: Onephatdeeva. Anyway, in true Inaya style, with echoes of her 'Bad Habit' track, ATFC has whipped her voice into the kind of music that my prime-time DJ sets are made of. Funky bass line, horns, hissing drums, and those uniquely Inaya vocals make this one a perfect fit. Try it on for size and I bet you'll like it.
But ATFC didn't stop there. They dropped another floor shaker on Onephatdeeva that made the hair stand up on my arms the minute I listened to the sample online. 'Spread Love' is a big-room track that sounds exactly like you'd expect a dance track to sound in the year 2006. It's full of hype Disco strings, 8-bit keys, bright horns, and it has the purest of positive messages: 'Spread love all over the world.'
And I end this week with my latest feel-good track that dates back to mid 2005. Benji Candelario, a New York name that's been in my music collection for quite a while, produced a Disco House track called 'Gotta Have Love' with Leslie Carter on his Transitori label. Just as Benji is no stranger to the industry, neither is Leslie. The Dub Mix takes center stage as my spotlight track. Full of positivity and a piano throbbing out the bass line, it's perfectly perfect for Spring.
With you in 4/4,
Peter Mavrik
peter@windycitymediagroup.com
radiopeter.com