When all else fails, dance

[drwex]

I write a lot about dance music, mostly because I find that to be an interesting set of genres. One of the surest metrics for 'goodness' in music I listen to is "does it move me?" If I'm moved then there's a much higher chance I'll like it. What measures 'goodness' in music for you?

http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/We_Have_Band/track/Honeytrap_Co-Pilots_Flying_High_Edit
We Have Band have a gorgeous tribal rhythm thing going, and a sharp-edged electro-dance thing going and I'll be damned if I can classify them. They've appeared at several festivals and have single tracks on a bunch of compilations and their "debut album" was just released this month. The stream on RCRD LBL gives you a wide-ranging sample of what they can do. I'm guessing most people will find something to like here.

http://www.mashup-industries.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=277&Itemid=36
http://www.mashup-industries.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=278&Itemid=27
The DJs at Mashup Industries do so much work in English that it's easy to forget they're European. Then they pull out mixes like this that I can't even begin to parse the lyrics for, but man does it have beat!

The first one is Clivester putting Skero's Kabinenparty (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9I-I6yMx23g) up against David Guetta & Kid Cudi's "Memories" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Px3_wP2LQj0). Watching that first vid will give you a good idea of what a "kabinenparty" is, even if you don't speak any German. Both of these are pretty standard house-dance tracks and the mash doesn't do much that's original, but it's still moving me.

The second is Marc Jonce promoting a local (to him) German band called Rosenstolz. You can find the original for "Blaue Flecken" on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhtD5we5sCg) which really lets you sink into the luscious vocals and rock piano arrangements. Jonce has stripped that down, pitch- and beat-shifted it, and tightened everything up to give a much more techno-dance result. From what I can find on the Web, Rosenstolz has been performing for almost two decades and it's really a shame their music hasn't made it over here before now. AnNa R. (as she is apparently known) is really worth a serious listen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwnefUaKCbc
I think I'm indebted to 'song for this one. Janelle Monae (http://www.jmonae.com/) blends together some of the best elements of at least four musical styles - R&B, funk (dig that horn section!), rap (with help from Big Boi), and hip-hop. If you said there were gospel influences in here you probably wouldn't be far wrong. Of course all of these styles are woven together at least to some degree. Anyway, one of the fun things is watching the video, which is a straight-up dance vid that itself plays around with several styles. And yeah, makes me want to dance.