Dobry Den DSP

After being completely mesmerized by the Emeli Sande concert last night, I came to the obvious conclusion that UK music really needs to have more of a platform here in the United States. There are so many artists who are selling out gigantic venues in London, yet can’t even sell out the smallest theater in San Francisco. It’s ridiculous and, quite frankly, I haven’t been really impressed with anything produced by the States lately. On the other hand, I’m really excited that I got to watch Emeli Sande perform two inches away from me (and I got to meet her afterwards! Eep!!).

Case-in-point: Olly Murs. Olly was a contestant on the UK X Factor a few seasons ago. He’s adorable and, as far as I know, hasn’t made his way over to us yet. Until he does, enjoy his latest track, Army of Two.

A friend of mine introduced me to Zara a few weeks ago, and it took me approximately 10 seconds of listening to her for me to be completely obsessed.

I did some preliminary investigation, and it looks like she was a finalist on Sweden’s Got Talent. She sounds like a younger, more talented version of Rihanna….and if she’s from Sweden, I can only imagine what kind of amazing producers she will be working with.

Say hello to Zara Larsson!

I don’t think I need to explain how fantastic this is. Jewel is releasing a Greatest Hits compilation, and, of course, she’s including her massive hit “Foolish Games” on it. In a move of sheer brilliance, she transformed the song in to a gorgeous duet with Kelly Clarkson, with both ladies singing the f**k out of this track.

This song makes me simultaneously nostalgic and excited for what else Jewel could have in the works for us.

Nicole Scherzinger is one of those artists that has all of the elements of a huge star - the looks, the voice, the presence - but, for some reason, her solo career has never really gotten off the ground.

I don’t think her latest single - “Boomerang” - is going to change that for her, but I will say this: her songs make for fantastic remixes. If I was her manager, I’d strongly advise Nicole to wait until her songs are remixed until she releases them, because they are so much better in their remixed form.

Cahill, as usual, is in top-form on this pop remix. Enjoy!

Marina and the Diamonds really pulled through with their last album, as it’s stocked with pop hit after pop hit after pop hit.

“How To Be A Heartbreaker” is one of the standout singles, and I’m so happy Almighty got his hands on it. He gives the song just enough bells and whistles to turn it in to a fierce dance track without stripping it of its original pop amazingness.

Enjoy!

Admittedly, I’ve never been an Alicia Keys fan. I think she’s talented and I appreciate the fact that she writes her music and keeps a pretty low profile most of the time (doesn’t seem to have much of an ego). I just have never been WOWED by her. I think her vocal range is limited and all of her songs sound relatively the same to me. 

WIth that said, I was really startled when I heard this remix of “Girl On Fire” - it changes this mid-tempo pop track in a bouncy, catchy, fun dance track.

Enjoy!

Ellie Goulding has been around for a hot minute, but I’ve never taken much notice of her until now. I thought “Lights” was great, but threw her in that one-hit-wonder category.

To my surprise, her latest album is incredible and has produced some fantastic dance tracks that, thankfully, have been remixed gorgeously.

Take a listen to this latest remix.

Enjoy!

After releasing their first incredible single “Closer” off of their soon-to-be released album Heartthrob, Tegan & Sara quickly convinced me that they were going to give us an incredible pop record.

“I Was A Fool For Love” premiered on Glamour.com, and it’s exactly in line with the type of music I’m expecting from these ladies: perfect, slick, meaningful, expertly produced pop.

The jury has been out for a while, regarding my stance on Lana Del Rey. I originally thought what everyone else thought: she was a label-concocted semi-talented attractive girl who made a mess of herself on Saturday Night Live. I really thought that was going to be the final nail in her coffin.

Apparently, she’s managed to produce a few good tracks and has continued to build her audience despite the initial setbacks. Truthfully, I’m not a fan of her original songs - they’re depressing and weak. However, remixed for the dance floor, these songs actually start to take on some color and are finally brought to life.

Cedric Gervais does a gorgeous job remixing “Summertime Sadness” - I can definitely see this one pulsing through the circuit scene this spring.