This week in dance music: Movement dropped the full lineup for their May festival in Detroit, Beatport announced a livestream benefit for the Ukraine happening this weekend, Alison Wonderland released a Western-inspired new single and announced her album name and release date, Kygo took us into his realm of relaxation in his new Billboard cover story, Grimes (accidentally) revealed she’s had a second child with Elon Musk, and Kygo (again!) saw his new single “Dancing Feet” (with Joe Jonas’ DNCE project) hit the top 10 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs.
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And new music? We’ve got it. Let’s dig in.
Kx5, “Escape”
The 13 year professional relationship between buddies Kaskade and Deadmau5 antes up today with the debut track from their new collaborative project, Kx5. This is of course the duo that delivered us peak ’00s progressive house with their 2009 classic “I Remember” and this new track, “Escape,” gives shades of that song via soft, glowing, slow-build synths that have this pairs’ fingerprints all over them. Hefty vocals come from British singer-songwriter Hayla, and the track is set for its live debut at EDC Las Vegas this May, where the pair will perform together as Kx5. This will be their first in tandem public appearance since Deadmau5 turned up during Kaskade’s historic show at L.A.’s SoFi Stadium this past July. — KATIE BAIN
Whethan Feat. Slump6s & glaive, “Mental”
One of dance-pop’s brightest stars is back with a glitched out hit. “Mental” ups the ante on Whethan’s sophisticated sweetness, injecting an upbeat hook with complex counter-melodies and crunching synth sounds. It’s a clean-edged hyperpop jam with pop-punk roots and mumble rap verses from Rochester rapper Slump6s and brooding vocals from teenaged Florida singer Glaive. It follows “Think You Right” (with Glaive and Ericdoa) as the second single from a forthcoming Whethan project that hasn’t yet been named in the public sphere, but which is turned in and due out later this year. – KAT BEIN
LP Giobbi & Bklava, “Sinner”
No matter if you’re up or down, music has the power to lift your spirits and free your soul, and so it goes with LP Giobbi’s latest house mantra. “Sinner” is a bright and bouncy reminder that, despite our past mistakes or faults in the eyes of others, we are all beautifully human, and tomorrow is always a new day. The song’s lyrical message comes courtesy of a strong performance from UK producer/singer Bklava, while the underlying melody and movement sees the piano house queen trade her classic stabs for synthier sounds.
“Sometimes you can try to make a drop with all of the stuff and do all the technical tricks, and for some reason, it just doesn’t have that magical dust that makes you wanna throw your hands in the air,” Giobbi says. “Luckily, the studio gods were on our side for this one because that drop just came together in a euphoric way! Really, it’s all Bklava. She wrote an incredible song with a perfect uplifting melody, and I just tried to match that in the production.” – K. Bein
Nia Archives, “Part of Me”
The lyrics on “Part of Me,” the new song from Nia Archives’ Forbidden Feelingz EP (out now on her Hijinxx label), read like a final DM you send your soon-to-be ex before blocking them on your phone and social media. “A part of me is gone,” she laments. “My heart’s been worn and torn/ And you’re treating me so wrong/ I ain’t never had to be so strong.” Beneath the sadness, however, there’s a lightness and resilience to her art when she realizes loving herself is enough. The contrast plays out in Archives’ playful jungle production, balancing bass-y breakbeat whirlwinds with serene synth breakdowns in the way one switches between donning emotional armor and baring vulnerability. Deceptively sunny, “Part of Me” is a bittersweet vibe worth playing (and singing) on repeat. — KRYSTAL RODRIGUEZ
Floating Points, “Vocoder”
After making one of 2021’s best jazz albums – nay, best albums – in Promises with Pharoah Sanders, Floating Points is back to making club bangers. His new single “Vocoder,” out now on Ninja Tune, feels like a callback to tracks like “LesAlpx” and “Anasickmodular” from his last solo work, the 2019 LP Crush, with intricate electronics that are as beautiful as they are disorienting and borderline-aggressive. “Vocoder” starts out innocently enough, but soon its bright tip-toeing melody mutates into a looming form whose oscillating synths wrap tightly around you, while a chopped vocal sample emerges with increasing urgency. Among the sudden percussion flurries, brick-wall bass and combustible drops, there’s a gracefulness to this brusque groove, beckoning all into the void. — K.R.
The Chainsmokers, “iPad”
Les ‘Smokers return with the second single from their forthcoming LP, and the first one that really, truly sounds like dance music. While the debut “High” was closer to straightforward pop-punk, “iPad” is forged from effervescent electronic production that swells into a gliding, shimmery chorus. Over all this is layered vocals from the duo’s own Drew Taggart, who laments about what sounds like a sad break up via lyrics like “All your friends are verified/Acting like they’re first in line/I’m looking at your life through cellophane/Hoping things would stay the same.” Pop-oriented without veering into EDM bubblegum, this one is our favorite thus far from the impending LP. — K. Bain