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“R U MINE (SteLouse Remix)” is a lyrically driven dance track. The vocals are feminine and captivating. Rozes sings, “I’m terrified to tell you what’s on my mind, but it eats me up, there’s a reason why I keep it all inside.” “MINE” couldn’t be more beautiful especially the heavenly chorus, pounding beat and don’t forget that DROP. Thick bass plague’s this song in the most appealing way. Verses almost serve as hymns to a story about confusion and insecurity in a relationship. Pleading vocals truly make this song as epic as it is. It’s becoming more and more clear that lyrically driven dance tunes make a serious mark in the heads of music fans.
“What Do You Mean?” solidifies Justin Bieber’s cross into the EDM/Dance world. “Where Are U Now” served as a preview of what he’s trying to do with this next album. “Mean” keeps a soft texture with Bieber’s smooth baby voice singing, “Better make up your mind, what do you mean?” Although the lyrics are back and forth expressing a confusing relationship, the whistling back tones make you bop your head along as if it’s a happy-go-lucky fun anthem. This is without a doubt the right direction for Bieber. He keeps pop-y lyrics and unique generated sounds. A ticking clock is heard throughout the song resembling a lack of patience or time left in the relationship. I think his recent collab with Diplo & Skrillex brought out the best in him, sparking more creative energy for substantial material. I’m excited to hear more of what’s to come.
Recently new to the music scene, but no stranger to stardom, Troye Sivan released his EP titled Wild, this past Friday and fans are LOVING every minute of it. Sivan teased them with aesthetically pleasing teasers leading up to the launch of his EP. One video in particular titled “‘BLUE NEIGHBOURHOOD’ TRILOGY TRAILER, BY TROYE SIVAN” gained the most support from fans; “I just broke the replay button”, “HOW IS THERE SO MUCH EMOTION IN 48 SECONDS”, “i’m just letting you know that this only got 1,050,866 views because they’re all me. I’ve watched this so much, they’re all me i swear”, etc… Talk about RAVE REVIEWS.
Check it out for yourself:
Wild features six heavy tracks dealing with young love, coming out, growing up, and strong feelings. Sivan stands for the young wild youth. Eclectic compositions glitter through this EP from start to finish. It’s beautiful to see electronic music having such a strong influence on the pop scene right now. Producing strong unique material is becoming quite popular and I couldn’t be happier about it.
Sivan’s voice is extremely unique. He keeps the innocence of a youngster while his vocal range and quality go far beyond his 20 years. Title track “Wild”, features child-like back-up vocals while keeping the theme of young love with a hint of rebellion; “Running on the music and night highs, but when the light’s out, It’s me and you now.”
Closing track, “DKLA” takes on a different feel. Slightly darker, more intense, using hip-hop beats and more electronics. Not to mention, a verse from hip-hop artist Tkay Maidza. Sivan’s voice is the perfect contrast to the harsh beats surrounding the sultry verses; “Wrapped my thoughts around your mind, wrapped your body on my mind.” “DKLA” deserves to be on every “chill vibes” playlist known to man.
Although Sivan stands strong on his own, he did have some stellar guests add charm to his already enchanting records. Alt group, Broods guest on the song “EASE”. Front woman Georgia Knott’s breath-y vocals blend effortlessly with Troye’s soft harmonies making this record a serious stand-out among the rest.
Sivan with Caleb and Georgia of the band Broods. image via: projectu.tv
For a newcomer, Sivan is doing all the right things and surely making a name for himself in an industry that only gets more competitive day after day. Cheers to that!
A rework of alt/electro artist Chet Faker’s “1998” features the sultry-sassy Banks for a killer collab made for those late night summer drives. Heavy electronics are plaguing this song in the best way possible. Faker sings, “We used to be friends, we used to be inner circle, I don’t understand, what have I become to you.” The song reflects on people growing apart, something almost every human being can identify with. Banks swings in on the second verse making the song sound like it could easily be hers. Her echoing voice near the end of the song truly makes “1998” sound like another piece of her Goddess puzzle while Faker always keeps it real with subtle electronics and artistic lyrics.
Zedd’s second full-length album titled True Colors could be his most emotional yet. Almost every song features simple lyrics and of course the dance drop we’re all waiting for. Zedd pulls in help from vets like Selena Gomez and newcomers like Echosmith and Troye Sivan. That’s the cool thing about Zedd, he’s always willing to let other people shine on his music, whether they have a million fans or a couple hundred. He cares about the final product and not the popularity status. Zedd has perfected his own style as something I like to call Dalectropop. A fancy mixture of dance, electronic, and pop.
image via: concertfix.com
Songs like: “Bumble Bee” and “Addicted to a Memory” follow the harder side of dance music, while “Daisy”, “Illusion”, “I Want You To Know”, and “Straight Into the Fire” focus on storybook lyrics, impeccable vocals, and cohesive electro beats. The best thing about this album is the beauty heard in every song. True Colors is exactly what the dance world needed; to slow down a little bit and appreciate the power of dance/electronic music. It doesn’t have to all be “shake your ass and fist pump”, it can tell stories and provoke true emotions.
Zedd recently told Billboard magazine, “I’m just an album artist. There are singles artists and there are album artists. I don’t think i’m the guy to just be able to put out a song and be fully satisfied with that. Because that puts you so much more into a box.” Sounds like the words of a true artist, my friends. True Colors is meant to be consumed and heard as a whole. Every song has its own strength and weight to the album. A lot of people stereotype DJ’s thinking all they do is play on computers when really they are creating sounds and insane hooks that we normal people could never replicate. Back in December of last year, Zedd released a half hour documentary that explains his success with Clarity and gives more of a closer look into his life. Please watch:
Proof that this album is a continuous vat of emotion and beauty is heard on the final two songs titled “Daisy” and “Illusion”. The lyrics in “Daisy” set the scene for “Illusion”. “Daisy, always climbing up the same tree, finding love in all the wrong scenes, Daisy, you got me” are the words sung out of Julia Michaels mouth (also lends her vocals to “Straight Into the Fire”). This song illustrates the struggle of not knowing a good thing when its right in front of you. The innocence in Michaels’ voice helps the songs message of uncertainty and confusion with the concept of true love. Near the end of the song, piano chords start to play as the intro to the closing track “Illusion”.
This song is almost painfully gorgeous as Sydney Sierota, lead singer of Echosmith, sings, “It feels like the fairytale’s over, I really wanted these pages to begin, with once upon a time, like all those lullabies.” This is the song that makes you cry but also has the power to save you. The hook is “This love is your illusion”, which becomes a mantra you end up hearing yourself singing over and over in your head as Zedd takes over and creates an electronic symphony epically matching the vibe of the song. “Illusion” is absolute magic.
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