This week in dance music: The Tomorrowland mainstage was shockingly destroyed by fire two days before the event’s beginning, a situation an eyewitness at the scene told us was one of “disbelief.” The festival later outlined two options for its opening day, ultimately starting today (July 18) with its full grounds opens.
Meanwhile, Tomorrowland and Insomniac’s collaborative show at Sphere, UNITY, will feature headliner DJ Snake for the Sept. 19 edition of the residency, Swedish House Mafia will become the first ever dance headliners at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York this September, Kaytranada and Justice are hitting the road together for a co-headlining tour that starts in October, a new documentary about the rise of the EDM era featuring interviews with artists including Carl Cox, Fatboy Slim and Kaskade is being released later this summer
Elsewhere, Kesha’s new album . (Period) reached the top of Top Album Sales, Vinyl Albums and Top Dance Albums, a new museum exhibition about disco icon Thelma Houston opened in Long Beach, Calif., we spoke to Soulwax about their forthcoming album All Systems Are Lying and its two lead singles, a fundraiser was launched for Optimo (Espacio) member JD Twitch after he revealed a terminal brain cancer diagnosis, Palm Tree Festival announced that it will host its first ever event in Napa Valley, Calif. this fall, mau5trap signed its first ever virtual artist, Deathpixie, Fred again.. released a second edit of his Skepta collab “Victory Lap,” Nine Inch Nails released a surprise song co-produced by Boys Noize, Flume released a collaborative album with Emma Louise, Shaq released a new bass music EP and Above & Beyond dropped their first entirely electronic album in seven years, Bigger Than All of Us.
And to close it all out, there are the best new dance tracks of the week.
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FKA twigs, “Perfectly”
Coming in hot with a jackin’ house beat blended with soft, crystalline vocals is FKA twigs. The emotional synth pads, vocals and piano on “Perfectly” juxtapose the aggressive drums in an almost jarring fashion at first, but as you ease into it, it’s easy to imagine yourself dancing to this in the later hours of the night.
The bouyant, bumping track is a welcome house release from twigs, who’s better known for her experimental alt-pop cuts like “Two Weeks” and “Cellophane.” However, with an Anyma remix on her 2024 track “Eusexua”, an undeniable club heater in and of itself, and the two-step-tinged “Perfect Stranger,” the British act is leaning into dance music more than ever.
“Perfectly” is out on Young Recordings. Listen to it here.
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Daphni, “Clap Your Hands”
Dan Snaith, the mastermind behind Caribou, returns to his Daphni alias with a Chicago house-flavored banger, “Clap Your Hands.” This comes a month after Dahpni’s previous sadboi dance track, “Sad Piano House.” Both tracks center around thumping, gritty drums and short samples, but “Clap Your Hands” is clearly designed for a high-octane moment on the dancefloor, oozing attitude and tension with the titular mantra on repeat to lock dancers into the groove.
“Clap Your Hands” is out on Jialong. Listen to it here.
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Griz feat. Flowdan, “Coast 2 Coast”
An edit of “Coast 2 Coast” has been floating around online since Griz announced his “indefinite hiatus” from music in 2023, with Flowdan’s vocal on the song culled from the Sammy Virji’s “Shellaverse.” But for the song’s official release, which marks the second third from Griz since he emerged from his hiatus earlier this year, the U.K. grime artist recorded a new version of the vocal, making the heady bass bomb wholly original.
“Coast 2 Coast” is out via Griz LLC. Listen to it here.
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Two Shell, IIcons
Anonymous duo Two Shell put a flourish on their lauded Glastonbury set by this week releasing a surprise 12-track collection, IIcons which features a dozen previously unreleased songs. The music is as experimental and satisfying as the rest of their oeuvre, with the pair seeming to use the release as a sort of era closer.
On Instagram, they wrote that “anonymity sometimes feels like a mistake. when people message us saying ‘we know it wasn’t you up there! classic!!’ it feels sad. the intention was never to troll. it was to question what we are, and whether it matters. the world is a hard place. there are so many horrible things going on, and from our perspectives, our recent music is an expression towards that. a lot of it has been difficult to play. though through making the darker music we are lucky to have realized that it is not what we are only here to make.”
Whether that means they might finally reveal their true identities remains to be seen, but what’s fact is that IIcons is out Young. Listen to it here.
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Alice Glass, “Catch And Release”
Alice Glass releases her first new music of the year with the sharp, driving “Catch And Release.” The former Crystal Castles leader sounds both defiant and entirely in control, even as she sings about losing it over the darkly thumping, often distorted and absolutely undeniable production.
Listen to “Catch and Release” here.
Great Job Katie Bain & the Team @ Billboard Source link for sharing this story.
