Finding the Rhythm

I was a bit late this week with the chart processing, but the latest Top 25 Dance Chart has been posted. There are a few surprises this week in terms of movement.

Elena’s sad but well-produced track Before I Sleep has jumped to #1. The heart-wrenching lyric notwithstanding, I just love this song, and audiences are responding well to it too. With Velvet at #2 with Fix Me, this gives the top two slots to Robbins Entertainment, and I have to say, they’ve nailed it with some really strong single releases in recent months.

Unsurprisingly, Leona Lewis is now at #3 with Bleeding Love. This is one of those songs I liked at first, sorta wondered about, but that came back strongly for me. Audiences seem to have responded in kind. There’s a range of good mixes of the track, and it’s just superbly well done.

Oddly enough, #4 and #5 are held by the same artist: Andrew Spencer on my own label affiliate, CAPP Records. I’ve been spinning Zombie since I got the first rough cut of the track for U.S. release back in August of 2007. It did a soft hit late last year on the Bounce! compilation and had an official release back in February here. So for me, the song is hardly new, but I still really love it. I might be biased since it’s a CAPP track, but I think it more speaks to the incredibly solid production work on the track, and it continues to chart strongly with pools and mixshows.

As for the other Spencer track, To Be With You is a pick from the 50 Techno Electro Tunes compilation. It’ll be released as a single sometime later this year (stay tuned), but it stood out for me the moment I heard it. Another incredibly strong set of production work there.

Also noteworthy is DJ Bill Bennett with Breakaway. This is, simply put, an amazing electro house track. Inaya Day is a great vocalist, but I’m still amazed at how well this track is put together, every time I hear it.

I could go on and on with this blog entry, but let me at least mention a couple of stand-outs.

At #15, Aurora gives us Love Resurrection, a remake of a classic Alison Moyet song. Amanda Wilson does a great job with the vocals (I love her voice!), and again, the production work is superb. And at #16, Australia’s Raen delivers solidly on Dramatic Fanatic. I really dig this funky, kitschy track and its clever lyrics.

Have a great week.

Wes