This week in dance music: We spoke to members of the US breakdancing team ahead of the Summer Olympics, caught up with Empire of the Sun in the wake of their new album, followed Charli XCX from her Boiler Room in Ibiza to her wildly successful sale of tickets to her upcoming Sweat Tour with Troye Sivan on Billie Eilish's “Guess” edit. Meanwhile, PinkPantheress announced she's canceling the rest of her 2024 tour to focus on her health, and we spoke with Channel Tres about his new album, his upcoming tour with Kaytranada and more.
Speaking of much more, these are the best new dance tracks of the week.
Isoknock feat. Cade Clair, “4evr”
The emo-meets-trance-meets-bass track you never knew you needed (nor knew anyone was capable of making) arrives via its self-titled track 4EVR, the surprise album from Isoknock — the collaborative project from San Diego wunderkinds IsoXo and Knock2. The ravey song is accompanied by a sleek video that gives off shades of “November Rain,” but with a more opaque ending that's more fully showcased in the nine-minute short, Isoknock: 4evr. The film comes alongside the eight-track album, which combines trap, bass and plenty of wild sounds into a gritty, laid-back, very fresh 27-minute ride with a thrilling ride that includes RL Grime's previously released collaboration 'Smack Talk. ”
The Blessed Madonna feat. DJ E-Clips, “Godspeed”
Blessed Madonna announces her highly anticipated debut album, Godspeed, with the release of the album's title track, a collaboration with the always excellent DJ E-Clyps that serves as a warm welcome and thesis statement for the entire project. “So sing your song and dance. godspeed the boogie, this is your chance,” E-Clyps commands while listing all the good and mysterious things God does over a funky, squelchy beat. This song comes along with the news that Godspeed — out Oct. 11 via Warner Records — will feature the Kylie Minogue collaboration “Another Saturday Night.”
“Godspeed: the word marks the beginning of a journey and sometimes the end of one,” says the blessed Madonna. “After almost a year in lockdown, when I signed the papers and knew I would be allowed to make this album, I called my father in Kentucky to tell him the good news. He couldn't contain his pride and somehow his relief. I was going to be okay. He says it better than me at the beginning of the record. I lost him suddenly a few weeks before the first session, but his voice will live on Godspeed forever and make a million more trips to anyone who will listen.”
Jamie xx feat. The Avalanches, “All You Guys”
In the midst of a very long month that finds Jamie xx playing nearly a dozen nights at clubs in New York and Los Angeles as part of his pop-up club party, The Floor, the producer has released the final track from his upcoming single. In WAVES. A collaboration with legends The Avalanches, the song is a call to arms for the album and the track, with lyrics encouraging “all you guys get together, we'll dance… together” over warm '80s chants and a kind of chant reminiscent of the necessary “Apricots” of the Biceps for 2021. In WAVES out via Jamie xx's label Young on September 20th. Meanwhile, The Floor continues tonight in LA
“Avalanche has always been an inspiration to me,” says the producer. “Their sample of technique and how they combine different sounds is incredible and working on a track with them showed me new ways of making music.”
Caribou, “Volume”
Caribou takes a sample from M|A|R|R|S' 1987 all-time jock jam “Pump Up The Volume” and places it inside a deep, almost ambient at times production that soars with such subtlety that in finally you might be surprised if you find yourself dancing with your eyes closed. The track comes ahead of an extensive 27-date fall and winter tour that will take Caribou mastermind Dan Snaith and crew across the US, Europe and Canada.
“'Pump Up the Volume' was the first time I ever heard electronic music,” says Snaith, “sitting in front of the family stereo listening to Countdown 40 on the radio as a kid. It completely blew my mind – it sounded like something from another world. It's stuck with me ever since – I've always wanted to rework it somehow. I didn't think about it consciously when I started working on my track, but I think there's something very special about going back to the beginning to make it.”
Carlita feat. SG Lewis, “The Moment”
Given how prolific SG Lewis has been as a producer lately (check out his A+ work with Tove Lo on their recent collaborative EP Body temperature), one could be forgiven for forgetting that he's also a pretty good singer. His silky vocals are at the forefront of “The Moment”, a lush collaboration with Turkish-Italian scene star Carlita and the third single from her forthcoming debut album. Sentimentalcoming this November to Ninja Tune.
Nicole Moudaber with House of Molly, “Slap Back”
Techno titan Nicole Moudaber takes a proper turn into tech house via her Higher Ground debut, “Slap Back,” a super-ready jam packed with bouncy synths and earworm vocals from London duo House of Molly. Moudaber will likely drop it this weekend during her set at France's Family Piknik, where she appears alongside Sven Vath, LP Giobbi, Josh Wink and more.
Armin van Buuren, “Es Vedrà”
Dutch titan van Buuren has done 16 laid-back Ibiza residencies during his unparalleled career, so it's fair to say he understands the island's vibe and channels that sweat, salt water and sunset into his latest, 'Es Vedrà “. Out via Armada and named after the huge rock that juts out of the water on the west coast of the island (which many people say has mystical powers), the song is riveting and high-energy, rich and tight and really just catchy . Van Buuren returns to Ibiza for four Sunday runs in Ushuaïa this September.
