Friday Dance Music Guide: The Week’s Best New Tracks From Daft Punk, The Blessed Madonna, Eliza Rose and Calvin Harris & More
Written by djfrosty on November 17, 2023
This week in dance music: We broke down the top 25 tracks played at ADE 2023 and caught up with Tiga about the 25 year anniversary of his Turbo Recordings label.
And, as always, here are the best new dance tracks of the week.
Daft Punk, Random Access Memories (Drumless Edition)
The Label: Columbia Records
The Spiel: A half year’s worth of 10-year anniversary celebrations for Daft Punk’s 2013 Grammy winning masterpiece Random Access Memories culminates today in what is arguably this anniversary’s greatest achievement — a new version of the album stripped of all percussion.
What sounds like a potential gimmick instead gives new life to the LP by allowing greater focus on everything that was always happening, but which one can now hear better without all the drums. Elements that maybe weren’t thoroughly noticed or appreciated on the original — Panda Bear’s gorgeous, glowing acapella on “Doin It Right,” Nile Rodgers’ rhythm guitar on “Lose Yourself To Dance,” the pulsing bass on “Get Lucky” — all get space to breathe and shine on the Drumless Edition, with the project achieving standalone status in the duo’s lauded catalog, rather than just being a footnote to it.
The Blessed Madonna with JOY (Anonymous) & Danielle Ponder, “Carry Me Higher“
The Label: Warner Music
The Spiel: At its essence, house music is and always has been church music, with the latest from The Blessed Madonna, U.K. duo JOY (Anonymous) and singer Danielle Ponder delivering a big dose of spirit with the tremendous “Carry Me Higher.” A simmering, slow build multi-movement production is the base for Ponder’s power-lunged vocals, which insist “carry me higher!” — a task this one achieves in that ecstatic manner the best music dance music is capable of achieving.
The Artist Says: “The day we made this in New York it felt like we cracked a code and we’ve often talked about it in those terms since then,” The Blessed Madonna wrote on Instagram. “It felt like a musical breakthrough then and it still does. It’s finally time for us to give you the code.”
Calvin Harris & Eliza Rose, “Body Moving”
The Label: Ministry of Sound
The Spiel: Calvin Harris and the ever-ascendent Eliza Rose deliver a quick hit of sunshine as the days get darker, with their “Body Moving’ collab — clocking in at two minutes and 34 seconds — amalgamating punchy brass, cooking percussion and Rose’s sinewy, shimmery voice for one last blast of summer as the holiday season gets started.
The Artist Says: “My goal was to create a track that captures the essence of summer while also igniting the dance floors,” says Rose. “The vibe with Calvin has been fabulous. He couldn’t be more down-to-earth. It’s been an honor to work with one of the best producers in the world! It’s something I never thought would be possible. We have created something that I believe has really combined our two identities into something unique and also reflective of our own personal work.”
Shygirl feat. Cosha, “thicc”
The Label: Because Music
The Spiel: The latest from Shygirl is the stuff peaktime dancefloor bliss is made from, with layers and layers of staccato synths building to an ecstatic climax that’s balanced with pared down moments of kickdrum and vocals from Shygirl and Irish singer Cosha that give the track a sublimely feminine feel.
The Artist Says: “[This was] originally a song we’d made around the same time as some of the album tracks but I decided to hold this one back. I’ve enjoyed teasing this one at festivals and shows while still in demo mode for over a year already with the idea of somehow infusing the energy of the crowd into this final version of the song – ‘thicc’ is fun and carefree and definitely a tease – all the classic traits of club shy infused into one track.”
Vintage Culture, Tube & Berger, Kyle Pearce, “Come Come”
The Label: Virgin Music
The Spiel: Brazil’s Vintage Culture links with German duo Tube & Berger and vocalist Kyle Pearce for the looming progressive house cut “Come Come,” which demonstrates how the genre, when done right, achieves a balance between human emotion, epic size and machinistic appeal.