(via Shutterstock)
Get up and dance people!
Life may have stomped all over you or you might be so drained and stressed that it’s scarcely conceivable you could move anywhere, especially onto to a dancefloor but these five gloriously good tracks are here as your official Friday reminder that we need to dance even when the world feels like it’s screaming at us not to.
Especially when the world is screaming at us not to.
It’s self care for the feet and for the soul and you will be glad you fired up these danceable poptastic gems which enliven even the dullest moments with thoughtful, emotionally meaningful lyrics, catchy melodies and a sense that joie de vivre is far from a redundant phrase!
“Something We Would Dance To” by henri
(courtesy official Instagram account)
Finnish producer henri is a music artist who invests as much emotion as musical energy into his work.
Case in point is ‘something we would dance to’ which is a mix of upbeat musicality mixed with some melancholic regret that works absolutely perfectly as Acid Stag insightfully observes.
‘something we would dance to’ showcases a true contrast between electronic and organic influence, with the grand and textured stylings of the pianos providing an elegance to the spectrum all while the electronic stylings of the chopped vocals and synths/pads providing splashes of colour and energy all across the jubilant soundscape created.
It’s this mix of danceable enrapturing with the lyrically affecting that makes this song something different and beguilingly repeatable and I can’t help but agree with the Podcart take on the track that “[henri’s] distinct style and unwavering dedication to pushing his own musical narrative is something quite special”.
“heavun” by hemlocke springs
(courtesy official Instagram account)
Isimeme Naomi Udu, better known by mystically poetic stage name hemlocke springs has been one of this year’s most enduringly wonderful musical discoveries.
With hints of Kate Bush and a style wholly and compellingly her own, she is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer who infuses her songs with real emotionality and melodies that are both ethereally light and yet somehow muscular in their impact.
Her zestfully upbeat slice of danceable electro-pop is a perfect example of her craft, imbued with a driving beat, a wraparound melody which entrances heart and ears at once, and lyrics that speak of longing, waiting and enduring tenacity, the kind that comes from a need to satisfy the urging of a lovestruck heart.
It’s a fantastically perfect mix of everything and you walk away from the song, so to speak, feeling both moved to dance but also feeling as if someone has really engaged with how you’re feeling and nailed it.
She’s that good and “heavun” is one of those songs you will not soon forget …
“Better Times” by KC Lights, Låpsley
(courtesy official Låpsley Instagram account)
Collaboration between musically gifted people is almost always a giving joy.
“Better Times” proves this to be true, the song the joint work of Glaswegian musician KC Lights and English singer, songwriter, musician and producer Låpsley which feels buoyantly alive and as summery as you could ask for. (Though for those of us in the wintery southern hemisphere, it’s a melodic light on those dark and freezing nights so the timing is good here too, really.)
There’s an infectiously upliftingness to the track which Acid Stag notes is “the perfect dance floor podium primed for moving and grooving!”, the inspiration for which KC Lights describes thus:
The idea for ‘Better Times’ manifested while I was on the train to London to meet Lapsley for a writing session. I wanted a sound that felt warm and familiar but also new and exciting. Almost immediately, Lapsley & I knew that we had a creative connection. A few hours later, we had written the track. We just knew the nostalgic vibe and sound felt so right. For me, ‘Better Times’ is about letting go of anything weighing you down in life and looking ahead optimistically. Looking ahead into summer, I think this song will be a big moment in my sets.
“Big Bird” by Arty Ziff x Timi Afilaka
(courtesy Arty Ziff Instagram account)
Get your dancing shined and laced up because here is another track that will have you up and moving whether you’re ready or not!
Melbourne, Australia-based producer Arty Ziff (aka Mitch Kelly), who in his own Soundcloud bio says he “makes electronic/disco music that can be likened to a mix between SG Lewis and Alice Ivy” has teamed up with South African singer Timi Afilaka have teamed up for “Big Bird” which is as gorgeously uplifting slice of dancefloor-filling and good mood-enhancing pop that makes the world feel all shiny and bright. (Have you seen the world lately? That’s a pretty impressive achievement to shift that sh*tshow dial at all.)
Meeting on TikTok, the two have, in the words of Acid Stag, “unearthed a homage to the disco era with a groovy foundations filled with infectious beats, smooth bass lines and uplifting synths that set the scenes for Afilaka’s commanding vocals that take the track to a whole new level” and which has a lyrical intent every bit as uplifting as its music.
‘Big Bird’ is about being in the presence of something that is breathtaking. It could be about meeting a new person or being so impressed by someone, and you’re floored. Whatever it is for you, we want to find that ‘Big Bird’. (Arty Ziff via Acid Stag)
“Da Da Da” by Wongo
(courtesy official Facebook account)
Feeling fizzily alive and exhilaratingly happy is one of the great gifts of music generally, and “Da Da Da” by Gold Coast producing wunderkind Wongo.
The songs is as club ready as they come, kicking off with almost subliminal vocals and a sweetly insistent minimal beat which percolates garrulously along until it bursts in full-bodied form, added layers of emotion and synth-drenched lushness along the wway.
It’s one of those tracks with so much insistently listenable momentum that it’s the perfect soundtrack for driving along some long and winding road or sitting back in your house after a long day and picturing yourself leaping and dancing like a fiend wherever your imagination takes you.
“Da Da Da” envelops you completely and you will live it as much as you will dance to it, returning to it again and again every time your soul needs a bit of a party hit and a reminder that life can indeed be worth dancing to!