Dance
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Eric Prydz is making moves. The Swedish producer is now represented globally by WME. The news marks Prydz’s departure from North American representation with CAA, where he signed in 2021. Prydz continues to be managed by Michael Sershall at London’s Sershall Management. Prydz’s team also includes global press by Infamous PR. Prydz is among a WME […]
This week in dance music: Beatport announced that it’s awarding $150,000 in grants to initiatives supporting diversity and equality in dance music, and we went behind the scenes of Toolroom Records — the U.S. tech house label currently celebrating its 20-year anniversary — with the imprints founders Mark and Stuart Knight.
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New music? We’ve got it. These are the best new dance tracks of the week.
Calvin Harris with Sam Smith, “Desire”
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The Label: Sony Music Entertainment
The Spiel: Harris continues on the trance tip started with his March Ellie Goulding collab “Miracle” by pairing up with another old pal, Sam Smith. Together the duo also delve deep into the trance realm, with flecks of piano giving hints of Robert Miles’ genre classic “Children” while a galloping beat serves as a foundation for Smith to breathily declare, “You are my desire, and just the thought of you is keeping me awake.” The star of the show here is the squiggly synth line that Harris inserts throughout, giving the song a very late night club vibe that nonetheless will surely work on the many mainstages Harris is playing this summer.
The Vibe: Urgent. Anthemic. Maybe also acid?
DJ Koze, “Candidasa”
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The Label: Pampa Records
The Spiel: The press release for the German producer’s latest notes that it’s “the result of DJ Koze’s inspiring stay in a secluded Benedictine monastery on the enchanting island of Sulawesi. Amidst this idyllic setting, he found the perfect environment to unleash his musical vision. He composed all of the music of ‘Candidasa’ while lying on his stomach, in an act of deepest devotion and self-reflection. In doing so, he fed exclusively on so-called heroin kebabs to immerse himself in a trance-like state of creative flow.”
This all might be true, or none of it might be true, or some of it might be true. In any case, the 10-minute experimental production is the kind of hypnotic, inventive, playful, kind of mystic music one would create if they were indeed in such a stomach-down trance like creative flow. The song comes from the two-track Wespennest EP, which are together Koze’s first new music since 2018 and part of the lead up to a new album coming in 2024.
The Vibe: Deepest devotion and much dancing.
Jungle, “Back on 74”
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The Label: Caiola Records
The Spiel: Jungle return with the same kind of tight, breezy, throwback production that’s become their signature. A warm summer afternoon of a song, “Back on 74” comes with one of the intricately choreographed music video’s that have become the duo’s signature — this one leveling up as a first-of-its-kind interactive music video made with WeTransfer. The clip functions like an interactive art gallery, with viewers able to download works of art as they watch. When the viewer claims an artwork they like, it is pulled from the video canvas in real time, revealing a blank canvas in its place. Every viewing of the video populates with six different art pieces, pulled from a bank of 10,000 unique works created by the duo’s J. Lloyd.
The concept creates a different viewing experience for each person, with tickets for Jungle’s upcoming tour hidden in some of the downloadable artwork. For the next two weeks, the video is available exclusively at junglejunglejungle.wetransfer.com. The song itself is from the U.K. duo’s forthcoming album Volcano, coming August 8.
The Vibe: The classiest gallery on the internet.
Mia Moretti, “Sweet Juju”
The Label: Spaghetti Moretti Records
The Spiel: Fresh off DJing the Barbie premiere party last weekend (check her playlist from the event here), DJ/producer Mia Morietti demonstrates why she was the woman for the gig with a fresh, fun, extremely effervescent new single, “Sweet Juju.” The song sounds exactly as its name suggests, with Moretti layering a funky guitar lick with loads of hand percussion and whistles and crowd sounds and an infectious vocal hook into a track that really does sound like a party.
The Artist Says: “‘Sweet Juju’ is a NYC summery disco bop,” Moretti says. “I made this track during a cold New York winter, dreaming of the days when it would be too hot to do anything but dance. Sweaty block parties, impromptu stoop hangs, boombox bicyclists, funky bodegas and dark basement clubs are the summer moments ‘Sweet Juju’ is made for. It’s infectious, delicious and full of summer soul.”
The Vibe: What she said.
SIDEPIECE, “What You Need”
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The Label: Big Beat Records
The Spiel: The SIDEPIECE guys just know what they’re doing, adding another hypnotic tech house anthem to their catalog with “What You Need.” The song’s success is largely a function of an earworm vocal that adds melody over the track’s thumping, scintillating percussion which builds to a perfectly effective build and release, altogether cultivating the kind of party anthem these guys have made their name on. The song is part of a two-track release that also includes the similarly effective “Stimulate.”
The Vibe: You do actually need it.
Listeners are feeling the rush! Troye Sivan’s newest single debuts across a wide spread of July 29-dated Billboard charts, spanning genres and geographical borders.
“Rush” is new on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 77. That marks Sivan’s first entry on the list since 2021’s “You” with Regard and Tate McRae, and first solo appearance since “My My My!” in 2018. The new track scored 6.1 million on-demand streams and sold 2,000 copies in the week ending July 20, according to Luminate.
Sivan adds eighth career Hot 100 hit, having hit a No. 23 high with “Youth” in 2016.
Sivan released “Rush” on Thursday, July 19, spurring enough activity to debut on last week’s HotDance/Electronic Songs at No. 30 from one day of consumption. This week, it blasts to No. 3. It’s his first solo hit on the chart; he spent eight weeks at No. 1 with “You” in June-August 2021.
“Rush” also hits No. 1 on Dance/Electronic Streaming Songs and Dance/Electronic Song Sales.
The song’s success extends beyond these U.S.-based charts, debuting on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. survey at No. 29 and the Billboard Global 200 at No. 34. Worldwide, “Rush” drew 23.4 million streams and sold 4,000 downloads in the tracking week. It’s Sivan’s first time in the top 100 of the Global 200, much less his first in the top 40.
The immediate success for “Rush” builds upon the slow-burn rise of Sivan’s “Angel Baby.” Released in September 2021, “Angel Baby” first appeared on Global Excl. U.S. seven months later, on the April 16, 2022-dated chart. It ultimately rose to No. 75, and No. 156 on the Global 200, largely backed by consumption from Asian countries. It topped Billboard’s Hits of the World charts in Malaysia and the Philippines and hit No. 2 in Indonesia and Singapore.
“Rush,” on the other hand, opens at Nos. 13 and 14, respectively, on Australia Songs and Ireland Songs, while hitting No. 40 on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100. While traditional ballads like “Angel Baby” are welcomed Asia (Justin Bieber’s similarly paced “Ghost” was the lone other English-language track in the top 10 in Malaysia at the time), these primarily English-language markets, particularly in Europe and Sivan’s native Australia, tend to be riper for a pop-dance track like “Rush.”
On July 27, 1983, Madonna released Madonna, a self-titled debut that introduced the world to a Michigan-born, New York City-based woman who would become one of the most influential pop stars of all time. The album entered the Billboard 200 at No. 190, eventually hitting No. 8 and producing three top 20 singles on the […]
“Toolroom” isn’t some metaphor.
In 2003, the electronic record label was launched by producer Mark Knight and his brother Stuart. The imprint was named for their office space — an actual tool shed in the yard of a house in their native Maidstone, 90 minutes southeast of London. From this humble setting, the pair began releasing house records largely by Mark, who was then also fusing house and techno into a new sound.
20 years later, the genre that Toolroom helped create its name on — tech house — is the most popular sound in commercial dance music. But while Toolroom laid the foundations for this phenomenon, Toolroom isn’t necessarily the genre’s biggest commercial star. The Knight brothers are okay with that.
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“We were always just a little bit too early,” Mark says over Zoom. “We would always do the groundwork for everyone to just come and go, ‘Thanks for getting that off the ground.’ I remember 15 years ago, talking about why I love tech house, and people were just looking at me like, ‘What the f— are you playing me?’”
But that hasn’t stopped Toolroom from becoming not just a respected label outputting relevant records, but a company that’s evolved its offerings, and revenue streams, in each era of its existence
With Mark as creative lead and Stuart heading the business, Toolroom launched in a precarious moment, two years after the advent of the iPod and at a time when physical sales were dwindling. “We could see on the horizon how digital would take over and how it would affect us,” says Stuart.
The early years found Mark traveling to New York and other U.S. dance hubs to play shows, staying on friends’ couches to save money while trying to break his name in the States. The label gained real traction during its initial treks to Miami Music Week, which provided, says Stuart, “the first opportunity we had to be around both industry and customers.”
This customer access expanded significantly in 2004 with the launch of Beatport, the digital download store for DJs. Toolroom was one of the first labels to put its music up for sale on the platform, which was then based in Denver. For the following few years, 70% of Toolroom music bought via Beatport was by customers in the U.S. By 2014, Mark would become Beatport’s best selling artist, behind deadmau5. He now ranks at the platform’s No. 7 all time house artist, with Toolroom ranking as the No. 2 all time house label.
Mark Knight and members of the Toolroom staff
Courtesy of Toolroom Records
“We were a small label in a tool room in a small town outside of London selling our music in the U.S., which has always been the hardest territory for a U.K. label to break in,” says Stuart. “It was an eye-opener that we didn’t have to jump on a tour bus and tour the whole of the U.S. [to gain success.]”
In this same era, circa 2007, Mark was also touring the States, capitalizing on the label’s U.S. growth and proselytizing for his still-then-underground house/techno fusion. Hits in this era included Knight and Funkagenda’s “Man With the Red Face” and Knight’s remix of Florence + The Machine’s “You’ve Got the Love.” Meanwhile, Toolroom was also releasing tracks by greats including Fatboy Slim, Underworld, Armand van Helden and a flurry of rising stars.
Then, a few years later, EDM happened. Like many labels at the time, Toolroom was swept into the phenomenon, despite the fact that they didn’t necessarily care for it. (“It was so big and also unrelatable,” says Mark, “when you see people jumping out of private jets spraying champagne on each other and we’re working nine to five trying to make those records big.”) Still, they shifted releases to fit more into the big room sound that was pulling millions of new fans to the genre while generating billions of dollars for the global dance industry.
“In the midst of that, we were putting out music from Hardwell and people like that,” says Mark, “which wasn’t really what we were about.”
In time, feeling a course correction was necessary, the label launched a 2014 #RESET campaign during which it slimmed down its artist roster, launched a new album series and reconfigured its live events in an effort get back in line with the Knight brothers’ original vision.
“I don’t mean to sound condescending, but it’s really basic music,” Mark says of EDM. “And it’s great because it appeals to a broad audience, but we always knew that if we just stay true to ourselves, when those people have kind of refined their tastes and the drugs have worn off a bit, they’ll realize, ‘I don’t actually like this, because it’s actually crap — but I really like this, because it’s the more sophisticated end of that world.’”
Mark Knight with fans
Courtesy of Toolroom Records
In fact that’s actually happened, with house, techno and tech house becoming the prevailing commercial sounds of U.S. dance music, with the U.S. scene catching up to the sleek, sexy, adult vibe Toolroom has been promoted since its inception.
“I stuck with it, and I guess if we hadn’t made those move,s we wouldn’t have the Fishers and Chris Lakes of this world enjoying the success of the groundwork we put in, and look — good luck to them. They’ve embraced what it’s about, and they’ve commercialized and done very well from it.”
Meanwhile Toolroom and its 15-artist roster have stayed largely in the realm of club records and clubs sets, which include upcoming shows in New York, Toronto, Montreal, Chicago and London throughout August. Toolroom has also evolved the business, with its Toolroom Academy launching in 2016 to offer DJ courses, sample packs, software and plug-ins. Prices range from $50 for an online course to $10,000 for a three-month intensive, with the label using the school as a talent pool and often signing particularly good productions. The Academy now has roughly 7,000 students. Mark says Toolroom also now earns more revenue via Peloton than it does from Beatport sales.
“We have evolved from a record label to a record company,” says Stuart. “A record label puts out music; a record company puts out music, but finds everything they can around putting out music to monetize. That’s really exciting, because one week it can be putting out music, the next week it’s, ‘How does that fit into someone doing a spin class, or educating someone how to produce?’”
Two decades in, Toolroom now has a staff of 22 and an actual office space for them to work from. Mark’s weekly Toolroom Radio program draws 16 million weekly listener. In 2018 the label launched its We Are Listening Initiative to identify releases from female producers. 2023 releases from KC Lights, Leftwing & Kody and ESSEL have been streamed millions of times. It’s a lot of accomplishments for a label Mark says has always just been “a little bit ahead of the game.”
“That’s cool in our own way, because we’re pioneering,” he continues. “We can always look back and say we were the first to make these moves. Did we make as much money as some of the other guys? Maybe not. But you know, we’re very happy with where we are in life.”
Beatport on Tuesday (July 25) announced its second annual Diversity + Parity Fund, with which the company will award $150,000 to initiatives that expand diversity and equality in dance music. The fund will award two kinds of grants: one that awards amounts between $3,000 to $15,000 to smaller organizations consisting of one to three staff […]
This week in dance music: The dance music community mourned ghetto house pioneer DJ Deeon, who passed away at age 56, Mayan Warrior organizers announced one final party for its recently burned down art car that happen this Halloween in Los Angeles, we spoke with Odetari, the Houston producer behind some of the biggest dance tracks of the year, the Chemical Brothers announced that their tenth studio album is coming this September, Steve Angello’s SIZE Records announced a partnership with Astralwerks and we shared exclusive Lightning In a Bottle 2023 sets from BLOND:ISH, Zhu, Moore Kismet, Wreckno and Liquid Stranger.
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Along with all that has, once again, come a flurry of new dance tracks. Here are the best of the week.
Gorgon City feat. Santino Le Saint “Gasoline”
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The Label: Astralwerks
The Spiel: Gorgon City are out with their fourth studio album, Salvation. Containing the already released singles “Voodoo,” and “Lost & Found” the album demonstrates that ten years in, this duo is deeply consistent, racking up a decade of sophisticated, very pretty and often quite cool music that builds up on the general aesthetic with each new release, but which never veers off too far from the core idea. The same remains true with “Gasoline,” which comes towards the clubbier end of the album and pulses with a dramatic piano intro, a rolling bass line, flecks of acid house, offbeat synth stabs and the same lushness and mystique that’s always been a key feature of the Gorgon City catalog. The breathy vocals here are from London singer Santino Le Saint, who delivers the titular sweet nothing “in the flames of desire, you’re the fuel to my fire, like gasoline.”
The Artist Says: “We really hope you guys love it as much as we do,” the pair wrote on Twitter. “It was an incredible experience writing it with all the amazing collaborators.”
The Vibe: Hot blooded.
CC:Disco!, Confidence Man, “Chez Moi (Waiting For You)”
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The Label: Phantasy Sound
The Spiel: Australian-born, Lisbon-based DJ/producer/label head, etc CC:DISCO! links with the fellow Aussies of Confidence Man for “Chez Moi.” French for “at my house,” the title is a clever one, with the cerebral, dreamy deep house anthem floating in like a cloud before getting tough in a really nice way.
The Artist Says: “Thank you so much to everyone who has been so supportive and [Phantasy Sound] for taking a chance on this record,” CC:DISCO! wrote on Instagram. “Now get into the sunshine and play this at full volume. I hope you like it!
The Vibe: Friday night at chez moi
Alesso feat. John Newman, “Call Your Name”
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The Label: Tomorrowland Music
The Spiel: A song several years in the making, “Call Your Name” is majorly anthemic stuff, with Alesso’s maximalist dance-pop production serving as a large-ass foundation for John Newman to sing to the rafters about wanting to call your name when you’re lost in the heat of the moment and whatnot. Both artists play the mainstage at Tomorrowland this weekend.
The Artist Says: “‘Call Your Name’ is a throwback to the dance era that we all know and love,” says Alesso. “John’s vocal really carries this nostalgic, powerful feeling and playing this one out recently has shown this track is made for the main stage!”
The Vibe: So excited at the mainstage that you’re legitimately barely keeping it together.
REZZ Feat. MKLA, “Haunted Eyes”
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The Label: HypnoVizion Records
The Spiel: REZZ’s output has always had heavy elements, so a new EP exploring her rock influences isn’t all that surprising. But It’s Not a Phase does demonstrate how well her longstanding aesthetic — pummeling beats, headbanging, a general sense of darknesss — translates to less overtly electronic music, with the seven-track project heavily incorporating guitars and vocalists, much like the bands that the producer born Isabelle Rezzezadeh grew up listening to. A standout is the pummeling “Haunted Eyes,” which features Toronto-based singer, whose breathy vocals juxtapose expertly with REZZ’s slabs of sound.
The Artist Says: “With this goth EP, I’ve really encapsulated some of my early inspiration musically before I even got into dance music,” REZZ says. “I grew up listening to bands exclusively, and over time developed an understanding of what it was about those songs that I loved. Lots of use of guitar, eerie melodies and distorted basses – this is a blend between sounds I’m known for while also expanding on my range with using new vocal styles and instruments.”
The Vibe: The incredible catharsis of aggressively riding the rail.
Sam Divine feat. Josh Barry, “Take My Hand”
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The Label: Defected Records
The Spiel: U.K. house veteran Sam Divine sounds fresh as ever on her latest, “Take My Hand.” The track shimmers with sophisticated flourishes, which all exist above a pulsing bassline that adds weight to the effervescent production. The track is completed by vocals from Josh Barry, whose previously sang on tracks by groups including Gorgon City and Rudimental, and who here adds warmth and soul to the pristinely produced track.
The Vibe: Take my hand, my heart, my bank account information, whatever — just don’t stop this song.
Keys N Krates & Rochelle Jordan, “What You Done”
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The Label: Defected Records
The Spiel: The always divine Rochelle Jordan links with the Keys N Krates guys for a very cool, very sexy, very simmering heater on which Jordan delivers gorgeously silky vocals over a smart, spare production that leans equally into straight percussion and waves of synth.
The Vibe: ’90s Mariah.
Lightning In a Bottle celebrated its 20-year anniversary with a characteristically loose party held at Buena Vista Lake near Bakersfield, Calif. this past Memorial Day Weekend.
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For those who’ve been going to LiB since its earlier days, the party was a reminder that the camping fest remains one of the most creative, comfortable, friendly and non-corporate on the circuit, with the community vibe that’s always defined the fest persisting today, even as LiB has grown from a gathering of friends to one of the West Coast’s premier festivals. (And in fact, one that attracts attendees from around the world, with the woman who checked us out at Target during a pre-fest supply run saying she’d also just checked out a group who’d just arrived from Spain for the event.)
This year, Lightning In a Bottle was characteristically whimsical, with installations including an enclosed dance area decorated like your best friend’s parents’ basement in 1999 (complete with Titanic playing on VHS), where a DJ played music from a wall of cassette tapes. Here, crowds danced to Billy Idol, Sophie B. Hawkins, INXS and many more until the early hours of the morning. Elsewhere, there was late night karaoke, an 11-year old busting out scorching sax solos during an afternoon jam session, yoga, meditation, tincture-making, booty shaking, swimming and loads of general fun and tomfoolery.
Driving it all, of course, was the music. The lineup has always balanced big names with underground and rising artists (typically leaning heavily into the house and bass realms), and this year was no different, with headliners including Purple Disco Machine, REZZ, SOFI TUKKER and Diplo and a flurry of rising acts playing across Lightning In a Bottle’s many stages.
Transport yourself back to the weekend with these exclusive Lightning In a Bottle 2023 sets from Liquid Stranger, Moore Kismet, Zhu, BLOND:ISH and Wreckno.
Liquid Stranger
Moore Kismet
Zhu
BLOND:ISH
Wreckno
SIZE matters for Astralwerks.
Today (July 20), the venerable dance label has announced a partnership with Steve Angello‘s SIZE Records. Under the terms of this deal, all future SIZE Records releases will be distributed by Astralwerks, with the agreement also encompassing SIZE’s back catalog.
Launched in 2003 by the Swedish House Mafia member, the SIZE catalog encompasses music by Angello, Laidback Luke, Eric Prydz, Afrojack, Don Diablo, AN21, Junior Sanchez and many other electronic stars and underground greats.
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The deal is also being punctuated by new music, with Angello releasing “What You Need” — a collaboration with masked duo Wh0 — tomorrow (July 21) via SIZE Records/Astralwerks and Wh0 Plays. The track marks the 250th release of the SIZE Records catalog.
“While I’m excited to honor the legacy of SIZE Records by re-launching the catalog, I’m every bit as thrilled by what the future holds,” Angello tells Billboard. “Teaming with Wh0 to make ‘What You Need’ the inaugural new release on the imprint feels like the perfect way to set the tone for everything we have planned. It’s a new era, new team, new SIZE, new collaborations, new music and lots of it! My gratitude to Astralwerks for taking this journey with us at SIZE!”
The deal marks a return for Angello and Astralwerks, with the label releasing Swedish House Mafia’s compilation albums, 2010’s Until One and 2012’s Until Now, which contained the trio’s all-time hits “One (Your Name)” and “Don’t You Worry Child.”
“SIZE Records is a powerhouse label and home to some of my all-time favorite records,” adds Astralwerks President Toby Andrews. “Being able to work with them as they kick off their 20th anniversary celebrations whilst Astralwerks is celebrating its 30th year feels like the perfect match. In addition to that, the whole team is excited to bring more of Steve’s music to the world and work with him and all his team to elevate the future vision and catalog of the label.”
Steve Angello continues to be managed by Wassim Sal Slaiby and Dina Sahim at SALXCO.
The Chemical Brothers will release their 10th studio album, For That Beautiful Feeling, on Sept. 8. The LP is the Brothers’ first since 2019’s No Geography, which won the 2020 Grammy for best dance/electronic album, with its lead single “Eve Of Destruction” winning for best dance/electronic recording. The forthcoming 11-track collection includes the already released […]