Ok let’s run down the news for this week… First and foremost – you all ROCK for helping to support our newest release, True Pseudo’s “Freaking Me Out Part 2″ with remixes by Designer Drugs and Pilotpriest! We’ve been getting so many blog mentions and we’re charting on Beatport as well! If you haven’t listened yet, you can do so on ITUNES and BEATPORT. Get it while it’s hot!

Next week I am shooting the music video for my song “Poppin’ Bottles”! We have an all-star crew werkin with us and I’ll be providing some behind the scenes footage as we go along, starting with our dance rehearsals this Saturday! If you’re in Chicago and want to be an extra in our shoot – it’s not too late. Email dani@danideahl.com with your name, phone number and a head shot.

And misc. news… Subscribe to my podcast on iTunes! I have a new monthly feature I’ll be doing for URB – kind of like a Page 6 thing for the house/hipster/electro/dance/techno/etc. crowd! My label, Calamity Jane also has a podcast on iTunes! There will be a contest announced tomorrow! I wanted a cupcake for dessert tonight, but I didn’t have one! I tried to shoo a squirrel off our porch today, but it didn’t move and it just looked me square in the eye which I thought was creepy!

On to the music.

These Duotone tracks were just sent to me via a friend in Canada. There were a smattering of originals and remixes and only a few spoke to me so I pulled them out. They all follow the same format – nice heavy synths (they also tend to use the same synths in all their songs), crunchy snares, and they tend to love the high end range for filling in their melodies (something that you don’t see a ton of right now) – it helps make them not overly dark. The real star here though, is their remix of Yuksek and Amanda Blank’s “Extraball.” It’s an oh my moment as it has a simplified synth melody (that works in the remix’s favor), a luscious long build up that features a large section where the meat of the track is brought in via lo-pass filter and spare choppiness in just the right sections.

Yuksek feat. Amanda Blank: Extraball (Duotone Remix)
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Duotone: Say Want & Do
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Duotone: She Hits On Me
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Duotone feat. Rebekah Star: You Better Dance
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I’m a big Stereoheroes fan and the guys have come a ways from the first track they sent my way. Their remix of Pony Pony Run Run’s “Hey You” is quite solid with synths complimented by tiny bits of guitar and the bulk of the melody deliciously sliding away when the vocals come in, creating a bit of drama. The sounds are nice and crisp and they avoid the pothole I most often gripe about – their vocals are nice and bright, loud and with a slight stereo on them. Ahhh…..

Pony Pony Run Run: Hey You (Stereoheroes Remix)
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I’ve always been a big fan of The Glass and I’ve been itching to get clearance to post their latest single “Wanna Be Dancin’,” a song which has already been highly praised by the most respected outlets. Finally…the email came, along with a remix by Fantastadon. If you haven’t heard “Wanna Be Dancin’” yet, it’s utterly smooth with vocals delivered with the utmost melancholy. Touches like piano riffs during the chorus and airy pads round out this superb single. The remix manages to blend the dreamy elements from the original with crisper synths that suddenly make it a hard tune fit for peak hour.

The Glass: Wanna Be Dancin’ (Radio Edit)
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The Glass: Wanna Be Dancin’ (Fantastadon Remix)
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Ok, yes this next song is a 128, but a) it’s awesome, and b) it was sent to me by DJ Spiller. If you don’t know who DJ Spiller is may you forever be banished from DSquared. DJ Spiller as in the man who made “Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love)” – one of my FAVORITE house tunes of all time. This song is a remix of a single by Glitch, an artist on his label. The Density mix of “Emotion Commotion” (it must be noted, by Glitch AND Tommie Sunshine), has a nice deceptively slower tempo that’s heavy on percussion and light on synth work. The result is a dramatic mix that begs to be danced to.

Glitch feat. Tommie Sunshine: Emotion Commotion (Density Mix)
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Barletta knocks it out of the park with this latest remix of the Black Eyed Peas’ “I Got A Feeling.” Nice sidechaining action that’s not overdone and super clean sounds with some inventive percussion including what sounds like some reversed sounds adding a little something different to the mix. His productions seem to continually get better with each one he sends in.

Black Eyed Peas: I Got A Feeling (Barletta Edit)
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Two different takes on Master Shortie’s “Dead End” here from Chew Fu and Don Diablo. Don Diablo is slowly growing on me. Then again, his stuff lately has more meat to it, as evidenced by this mix which has super dark and intense layered synths that alternate with slightly more lighthearted patterns with picked electric guitar and vocals. Then as soon as you’re used to that – bam – back into the evil. The Chew Fu mix is typical of the artist, chunkier and built as a fun party track.
BONUS: CHEW FU DOWNTEMPO REMIX OF DAFT PUNK’S “MAKE LOVE.”

Master Shortie: Dead End (Don Diablo Knows You Like It Hard Remix)
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Master Shortie: Dead End (Chew Fu GhettoHouse Fix)
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Daft Punk: Make Love (Chew Fu & Substantial Small Room Sax Fix)
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How do I describe the noises in this Hot Pink Delorean and Knowlton Walsh remix of The Faint’s “Get Seduced”? Like I want to hurt someone and dance all at the same time? That seems pretty accurate. That is one mean-ass synth these guys have here playing front and center. In the main part of the track it plays off some guitar and glitched-out vocal, but to me the most original and catchy part is that damn noise that kicks in at 1:00. I would love to see them rework it or do something completely separate where that loop is the main star.

The Faint: Get Seduced (Hot Pink Delorean and Knowlton Walsh Remix)
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Dan Sena of Dim Mak was soooo excited to get this remix he did of N.A.S.A. he actually did it a little prematurely and then had to tell everyone to sit tight for a bit. I don’t blame him though – this remix is completely fun. Yes, it has a completely unfriendly dj intro, but with a little creative mixing, you can get that hit at around 2:20 to kick the dancefloor in the arse. If it were me, I think I would boost the vox slightly (it gets a little lost when the additional top melody comes in around 3:00) and the sounds need to be a bit crisper. It’s less noticeable from 3:00 on, but earlier the mainline sounds a bit flat and it doesn’t help that the snares and hi hats are on the muted side as well. A little EQing on the fly though and you’ll be right as rain.

N.A.S.A.: Way Down (Dan Sena Remix)
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Big fan and supporter of Buffetlibre over here, so when they sent over their new remix of Patrick Wolf I knew it would be stellar. With super arpeggiated synths (something I’m not hearing as much now…) making up the bulk of the track, it might have a melodic quality but this is something to drop primetime. The breakdown with the violins is stellar, especially when the bells kick in right before 3:00. I don’t know what it is about violins…I’ve always thought they’re such an emotional instrument to use in electronic tracks (when done right, of course).

Patrick Wolf: Who Will (Buffetlibre Remix)
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