The 5 Dance Tracks You Need to Hear This Week
Written by djfrosty on March 6, 2023
Every week, Billboard Dance gives you a look at the new jams that you need to know about for the dancefloor days and nights to come. These are the five recently released tracks keeping the beat going as we ease back into the workweek.
Solardo & Idris Elba, “Big Talk”
The Artists: Noted actor/DJ/producer/good-looking person Idris Elba links with Manchester duo Solardo.
The Label: Ultra Records
The Spiel: After meeting at EDC 2017, Idris Elba and Solardo eventually linked in the studio to deliver a fast-paced production over which insistent beeps/bloops/laser sounds and waves of high-hat lay a happily frantic foundation for Elba’s rapid-fire flow.
The Artists Say: “Overall, it probably took a year or so going back and forth with ideas which were both reflective of our styles,” say Solardo. “We wanted the track to both sit in the underground market as well as being a little more accessible to the larger audience. I think we did that with ‘Big Talk.’”
The Vibe: Extremely peak time.
Fred again.. x The Streets x Dermot Kennedy, “Mike (desert island duvet)”
The Artists: The apparently unstoppable Fred again.., along with U.K. legend Mike Skinner of The Streets and Irish singer Dermot Kennedy, who previously worked with Fred on Actual Life (April 14 – December 17, 2020)‘s aptly titled “Dermot (see yourself in my eyes).”
The Label: Atlantic Records
The Spiel: Skinner’s 2002 classic Original Pirate Material meets Fred’s piano lullabies meets Kennedy’s milky falsetto for the first 2023 single from Fred again.., who’s already having a Very Big Year following his Skrillex collabs and sold out Madison Square Garden show with Skrill and Four Tet last month.
The Artists Say: “This is one of my favorite things I’ve ever been a part of,” says the man Fred Gibson. “Mainly because it’s just like listening to one of my favorite ever musicians. Well it’s not like that, it IS that.”
The Vibe: A fresh and quite pretty love song for the comedown hours.
Michael Bibi & KinAhau feat. Audio Bullys, “Different Side”
The Artists: Solid Grooves boss Michael Bibi with label signee KinAhau working a vocal sample from “We Don’t Care,” the 2003 single from English electronic trio Audio Bullys.
The Label: Solid Grooves Records
The Spiel: An in-demand ID from Bibi’s buzzy 2022 DC-10 residency, the dark, sort of funky, happily demented “Different Side” fiiiiinally gets an official release, marking the U.K. producer’s first drop of 2023.
The Vibe: The good kind of trouble at 4:00 a.m. in Ibiza.
ILLENIUM feat. American Teeth, “Insanity”
The Artists: Mega-fav Illenium links with L.A.-based band American Teeth
The Label: Warner Records
The Spiel: Illenium pushes even further into his predilections for emo/screamo via this giant singalong future-based infused rock anthem, the newest from the producer’s fifth studio album, coming April 28.
The Vibe: Cathartic singalong at full lung capacity alongside your best pals. (Perhaps during the producer’s upcoming ILLENIUM LIVE world tour.)
John Summit & Hayla, “Where You Are”
The Artists: Chicago phenom John Summit and U.K. singer Hayla.
The Label: Off The Grid/Darkroom Records
The Spiel: Dance’s current golden child John Summit, who dropped his excellent debut Essential Mix over the weekend, links with U.K. singer Hayla, who follows up her excellent, enduring vocal performance on Kx5’s “Escape” with a similarly power-lunged, similarly moody, similarly lovestruck delivery, which rides a spacey, sophisticated progressive house production from Summit.
The Vibe: Longing for the object of your affection — but like, at Burning Man.