Hey Champ

I'm a huge fan of Hey Champ. After I heard "Cold Dust Girl" I immediately thought these cats must be from Australia or somewhere burgeoning with glossy, electro-pop talent. Or Illinois. That's right, these fellas hail from the Windy City. Like many acts nowadays, Hey Champ was discovered by posting a music video on YouTube (see above). Shortly thereafter, none other than Chi-town native Lupe Fiasco had them touring with him and signed them to his label. Gotta love the internet....

"Cold Dust Girl" is their gem, and I absolutely love it. It's got a Cut Copy/Phoenix feel to it that is impossible not to like. Also included is a more DJ-friendly remix by 80Kidz. For me, it's a tough call which I like better, but I'm guessing most people will enjoy the original more.

Hey Champ - Cold Dust Girl (MP3) - Click to Stream

Hey Champ - Cold Dust Girl (80Kidz Remix) (MP3) - Click to Stream

Finally, I was first turned on to Hey Champ this summer by their remix of French Horn Rebellion's "Beaches and Friends." It is the perfect summer jam - laid-back and fun. A great tune for hot summer pool parties, at least until the floating beer pong game turns into a raucous game of "survivor cup."

French Horn Rebellion - Beaches and Friends (Hey Champ Remix) (MP3) Click to Stream

RIP DJ AM

"New york, new york. Big city of dreams, but everything in new york aint always what it seems."

Here is a interview from our friends at Schitz Popinov which came just before his passing. On behalf of the editorial staff at FourOh7, our hearts go out to his friends and family.

Weezer- Troublemaker (DJ AM and Eli Escobar Remix) (MP3) - Click To Stream

Drake feat. Eminem, Lil Wayne and Kanye West - Forever

So Drake is the big thing in Rap right now. I like him, but he seems to be a mold of rap's latest direction, which I believe started with Lupe Fiasco (which Kanye would surely take full credit for). That being said, this is an all-star lineup, and this song needs little introduction. Kanye, Wayne and Eminem should form rap's supergroup...I would buy the album. I'm very glad to see Eminem back on point, after a dissapointing Relapse release. It looks like he just needed a little time and help from his friends to get him back on his 'A' Game. Enjoy.

Drake feat. Eminem, Lil Wayne and Kanye West - Forever (MP3) - Click To Stream

Zoot Woman - Things Are What They Used To Be

Les Rythmes Digitales...Jacques Lu Cont...Paper Faces...Thin White Duke...Zoot Woman....................Stuart Price is a man of many aliases, usually constructing electronic masterpieces and remixing pop's biggest names by his lonesome, the situation changes when Zoot Woman hits the stage. Stu partners up with Adam and Johnny Blake to tell us that "Things Are What They Used To Be." (Note: When performing Live Jasmin O'Meara joins the band to help with the bass, vocals and synthesizer). The beauty of Zoot Woman, to me, is that now Stuart Price has control over more than a set of lyrics and the instrumental, he actually has a say in what the words are. Overall, the vocals are mediocre, and while they are nice to have in the foreground, this could still be considered by some to be an instrumental album. It is Stuart Price's electronic brilliance that makes this album shine. I would like to see what could be done with a wider range on vocals; the possibilities would be endless. That being said, when the lyrics and the vocals deliver on top of a Price track, it is an amazing feeling [see Saturation]. Zoot Suits might have been popular in the 1940s, but "Things Are What They Used To Be" gives us a taste of 2040. Enjoy some of the standout tracks from the album, including a very nice Desire Remix of the title track.

-CMac

Zoot Woman - Lonely By Your Side (M4A) - Click To Stream

Zoot Woman - Saturation (M4A) - Click To Stream

Zoot Woman - Things Are What They Used To Be (Desire Mix) (M4A) - Click To Stream

Zoot Woman - More Than Ever (M4A) - Click To Stream

The Streets

I once heard somewhere that Mike Skinner of The Streets had epilepsy. Since I have been a follower of his on Twitter I'm confident that he has epilepsy. In what are mostly tweets of incoherent ramblings and chattery posts I stumbled over some solid material. I must say, I still haven’t really caught on to being a tweeter(twatter?) though. I still don’t really understand it. It seems to me like maybe it won’t last. I sort of hope it won’t last. I hope Mike Skinner will last. Well at least, until his going into retirement album ‘Computer and Blues” which is set to release in February. With all of his unconventional mp3 posting of late via twitter I just hope he has made some time to work on the new material at all. Roof Of Your Car has a "end of summer" feel to it. I like it. I think that its appropriate. The songs really remind of his old stuff. Like ‘In the Middle’, before Nero went ahead and did his thing with it.

Blinded by the Stripes

The Streets- Roof Of Your Car (MP3) - Click To Stream


The Streets- In The Middle (Nero Remix) (MP3) - Click To Stream

Busy day of school today, but wanted to drop this little gem off before running to another class.

Amanda Blank has released her debut album, "I Love You," on Downtown Records. XXXchange, Diplo, and Spank Rock produced it, so you know it's fire. My favorite thus far is her first single, "Might Like You Better." The production is spot on, and the naughty, "Peaches-esque" lyrics are sure to, um, motivate even the most straight-laced chickadees. Here is a solid remix provided by GRVRBRS.

Amanda Blank - Might Like You Better (GRVRBRS Remix) (MP3) - Click to Stream

The XX

The XX are currently blowing up on Hypem, so I don't think I would be fulfilling my duty as a music blogger if I ignored them. I first heard their stuff at the beginning of the summer and liked it, but didn't love it.

However, Pariah transformed my favorite XX song, "Basic Space," into a delightfully disturbing, yet somehow comforting, tune. Like any good recipe, Pariah knows that contrast is good - sweet & salty, spicy & savory, crunchy & soft. Here, Pariah pairs The XX's signature silky smooth vocals with his own haunting creaks, cracks, and synths.

The XX - Basic Space (Pariah Remix) (MP3) - Click to Stream

This next song is just too good to ignore. (Maybe I do love The XX). LA producer/DJ, Them Jeans (great name, btw), took his turn at remixing XX, and hit a home run. My love for this song grows with every listen. Why do I like this song so much? Well, as Alec Baldwin might say, "I've got two ears and a heart, don't I?"

The XX - Shelter (Them Jeans Remix) (MP3) - Click to Stream

Calvin Harris

If his first album made you feel ‘acceptable in the 80s’, Ready For The Weekend will have no problem making your teleportation into 1995 nothing short of comforting. Harris’ sophomore album release has distanced himself from the watery electro pop production that came from I Created Disco. With intentions of creating ‘Stadium-Dance’ music this time around, having originality and complexity may not have been a priority. However, most of the time it doesn’t need to be.

DJ’s are all going to have fun with this one. I can only imagine how much airtime Mr. Harris is going to receive in the UK in the following year. I think it’s only a matter of time before he gets some here. Until then, here is a temporary solution. Here are three standouts that we at FourOh7 can’t get enough of.

-Paul

Calvin Harris- The Rain (MP3) - Click To Stream

Calvin Harris- Flashback (MP3) - Click To Stream

Calvin Harris- You Used To Hold Me (MP3) - Click To Stream

David Guetta feat. Kid Cudi - Memories

It's not often a DJ's career will peak at the age of 41, but it appears that French DJ David Guetta has put his fiber supplements and BINGO parties to the side, and developed a fresh musical concotion allowing him to burst into the American Mainstream.

Last night at Sharab Nightclub in downtown Gainesville, FL (352, not 407) his electro-hop collabo with Akon was spun to a great reception from the dance floor. Sexy Bitch is a banger to be certain, but the lyrics make my skin crawl at points (case in point: the overdrawn "disrespectfullll"). Akon has lost his luster with me in the same way 50 Cent and Lil Wayne have, after utilizing the release-as-many-songs-as-possible strategy. That being said, I am all in favor of the electro-hop movement, and any DJ that isn't agressively shouting his name at the beginning of a song, gaining csome redibility in the hip-hop community is fine by me.

David's fourth album One Love is available on iTunes now, and releasing to CD in America on Tuesday. I'm excited to check out the other tracks, but my guess is the album will peak at his collabo with Kid Cudi. The song is called "Memories" and is a beautiful blend of hip-hop and Guetta's French house style. This upbeat, feel-good, party song is sure to be playing at your local club in no time.

David Guetta feat. Kid Cudi - Memories (MP3) - Click to Stream

-CMac

Four OH 7

Grandtheft

I admittedly didn't get on the Grandtheft train until recently, but, for me, it has since gained a full head of steam. The problem, I think, was that the first of his remixes that I sampled was his spin on Santogold's "Shove It". This remix is actually pretty hot, but I had grown weary of Santogold by the time I discovered GT's version.

I saw the light today though. I like Drake, but GT added his signature electro bounce to "Best I Ever Had" and made it acceptable to be played in hipster clubs around the world.

Drake - Best I Ever Had (Grandtheft Remix) (MP3) - Click to Stream

After a light workout spurred on by the aforementioned track, I thought it wise to peruse his Myspace. There, I found out that GT has some sick credentials and is a seasoned vet in the DJ/producer world if I have ever seen one - he's booked solid through the New Year and has extensive ties with the likes of DJ AM and Steve Aoki. Not to mention he heads up his own group of Canadian DJs, Team Canada.

And it's no wonder - he always adds a killer bounce to his remixes that makes dancing or, for the more reserved, a not-so-subtle head bob, a near impossibility. Case in point:

Chris Cornell - Part of Me (Grandtheft Remix) (MP3) - Click to Stream

That bitch is a part of me.

Passion Pit - Sleepyhead (Starsmith Remix feat. Ellie Goulding)

Out of all the remixes of Passion Pit's "Sleepyhead" (and there are alot) this one by Starsmith is by far the most enjoyable. (See Wallpaper.Dio's remix for most badass.) Thanks in no small part to Ellie Goulding. I could seriously listen to this lass croon all day long. I wouldn't kick her out of bed for eating crackers either.

Passion Pit - Sleepyhead (Starsmith Remix feat. Ellie Goulding) (MP3) - Click to Stream

- Four OH! 7

Mika - We Are Golden (Calvin Harris Vocal Edit)

With the release of Calvin Harris' "Ready for the Weekend" upon us, it is no surprise that unreleased CH remixes are springing up left and right. Our favorite of the latest remixes, and also the biggest surprise to us, came from none other than London-Based pop star Mika. The Radio Edit version of this song has been blowing up on Hypem lately, but we find the Vocal Edit to be a much more complete, and enjoyable version.

Mika - We Are Golden (Calvin Harris Vocal Edit)- (mp3) - Click to Stream

-Four OH! 7

Four OH! 7

Located in Orlando and Gainesville, Florida, we plan on bringing you the best, new electro and party songs that we're listening to all around the Sunshine State. With a focus on electro, DJ sets and party, we will monitor the best clubs throughout Florida and the best DJs that come through. We will also be dropping the occassional exclusive, so check back soon!

-Four OH! 7 Blog Team