THE TOP MUSIC HITS FROM DJ SUSAN LEVINE
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SPINNING WITH DJ SUSAN LEVINE
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DJ Susan Levine
Just want to say hi to all you followers of Times Square Gossip. My big fan James Edstrom has spent many a night grooving to my tunes on my Fire Island dance floor and has asked me to write a dance music column for you about what's hot in the clubs. I am a pop music dance DJ primarily on the gay scene in the North East. I just won "Best Dance DJ" by GO Magazine (www.gomag.com). In the summer my favorite residency is the club "Cherrys On The Bay" in Cherry Grove on Fire Island. I will be reporting from there. I have been a resident DJ on Fire Island since 2006 which is a seasonal beach community attracting tourist from all over the world. The majority of the dance crowd on Fire Island are gays from the Tri State area. The clubs in the Grove are legendary and are an excellent barometer for what's hot in the clubs!
The Fire Island season officially kicks off with the BIG Memorial Day crowds and dance parties all weekend! The first summer dance hits will start their rotation this weekend. The question at the beginning of the summer is which song will eventually be the quintessential summer anthem for 2012! Last summer hands down it was Adele's "Someone Like You." We won't know until September but we can always make some early season predictions. Predictions anyone? Drop me a line at djsusanlevine@gmail.com
There is so much fun music out there moving the dance floor and J Lo's "Dance Again' is at the top of the pop request list at the moment. There are a bunch of excellent remixes out there, the original remix being a fav as well as the Cosmic Dawn remix and Miguel Vargas' remix.
At the end of last summer I was OBSESSED with the infectious David Guetta/ Sia collaboration on "Titanium." Still one of my favorite tracks. "Wild Ones" Sia's 2nd hit with David Guetta was an follow up and made me LOVE LOVE the Australian songstress. She was the vocalist in one of my favorite UK chill groups Zero 7! Check out Zero 7 if you're into chill tunes! "Destiny" is a dreamy ballad made for seduction! The "Wild Ones" remix I am dropping at the moment is the Basto Remix.
So, is Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know" on your iPhone yet? Gotye who's real name is Wouter De Backer is from Australia had his first US billboard #1 hit in April 2012 with "Somebody That I Used To Know." Listen to the Brian Cua remix which is highly danceable remix. "Somebody's" female vocalist New Zealander Kimbra just dropped her much anticipated solo album "Vows" this month in the US.
Who can resist the pop sweetness of Canadian recording artist Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe?" The remixer Lyrakill has taken it to a more interesting place musically by sampling in Daft Punk's "One More TIme" and Calvin Harris' "Feel So Close." FIERCE remix! Calvin Harris is the hot go-to producer of the moment and his work with Benassi on "Feel So Close" is dance floor magic!
There are tracks I like to call the singers because not only do you dance to them but you want to sing a long as well. Nicki Minaj's pop anthem "Starships" is one of those tunes ya can't help singin'! There are several remixes I like. Funk3D, Liam Keegan and Cosmic Dawn will get your feet moving and you singing at the top of your lungs!
When I first heard this Pitbull I loved it and thought it was a perfect example of how to mix a throwback into a new track. "Back In Time" which is from the soundtrack of the new "Men In Black" movie is a beautiful use of Mickey and Sylvia's "Love Is Strange." Works as well as the track Pitbull recorded last summer "Shake Senora" which of course it a clever remake of the calypso classic by Harry Belafonte "Jump In The Line" which also I love playing in it's original form when I spin an afternoon TDance.
Those are just a few of my commercial picks this week. If you have a broader taste in house music check out "Cry Me A RIver" by The Cliks the Tracy Young remix, "You and I" by Serge Devant featuring vocalist Rachel Starr. You might remember her from that dance floor fav from 2006 "Till There Was You." Serge Devant did another track I adore "Addicted" with the vocalist Hadley. Ida Corr who you remember from that dance floor banger "Let Me Think About It," has a new song I am vibing called "See You Later" a collaboration with the producer Bimbo Jones. The DJ's From Mars who always create the most interesting remixes and mashes have done justice to this track. "You can find and listen to my remix picks on youtube."
Have a fabulous holiday weekend and get out on the dance floor!
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