Miami Music Week 2023 just wrapped up on March 26, which featured iconic house headliners such as Dom Dolla, Tïesto, and Gene Farris. For those of us who couldn’t catch the pool parties, here are some of my current personal favorites that you can listen to anywhere, even on your walk from the dorms to class.
- “Dance With ME” – KUU, ALex metric, Riton
-
This song was released by KUU, a new music group in the electronic dance scene, with only around 3,000 followers on Spotify. The three members, Alex Metric, Riton, and Shungudzo, created the group out of a rogue Ibiza weekend. This song is lyrical, funky, and encapsulates KUU’s mission with their music, which is to reinvent the 80s Balearic Beat scene. I love the song’s strong lyrical component and the intersecting beats in the background that give it a very melodic groove. If Club Space played this song at 8 a.m., I could probably hold out a few more hours.
- “I’m not alone (Radio Edit)” – Calvin Harris
-
Alright, I know I’m going back almost an entire decade. But personally, I don’t think this song ever had its peak moment that it needed. Calvin Harris was undoubtedly one of the greatest proponents of what has been dubbed the “golden age” of EDM, which most categorize as 2011-2014. It was truly a time; when house had such a unique and iconic sound. This sound was mostly electro house, which songs such as “I’m Not Alone,” would be a part of. This song just reminds me of the summer, car windows down, driving past the beach at sunset, and it’s one of those hits that you couldn’t go wrong with throwing on your next party’s playlist.
- “AGUILA” – HUGEL ft. Cumbiafrica
-
HUGEL, the king of Latin house himself, captured my full attention with this song when it came out last year. With a disco-Latin fusion sound, his music screams Miami, where he had a chance to play at Oasis this year. HUGEL is a massive name in house today, in which his songs have topped number one on Beatport, and he has been so successful as to be granted residency in Ibiza’s most famous nightclub Pacha. I love the strong Spanish lyrical element of this song, and the vibrancy of the tempo.
- “Relax my eyes” – ANOTR, Abel Balder
-
This duo from the Netherlands, ANOTR, had massive success with this song and the entire album that it was nestled within when they debuted it this past year. This song was an instant fan favorite, and it quickly reached TikTok and other social media platforms which contributed to its popularity. This song is definitely more melodic and low-key without being too mellow. The little rifts of beats in between the verses meld in perfectly with the vocals, and it almost reminds me of a surf rock-ish house vibe. Maybe time to bring this one to the waves. Or the club, whichever one works.
Lindsay Thompson / Her Campus - “DUMMY (Chris Lake Remix)” – Portugal. the man, Chris Lake
-
I had to save the best for last. This Chris Lake remix of Portugal. The Man’s song “Dummy” was released this year and was incredible. This track perfectly incorporated Chris Lake’s intense party sound and the grooves of Portugal. The Man, in a way that they both were able to be heard, and the song is almost a track lost in time. It carries Portugal. The Man’s more 2010’s sound with the more modern-day house music from today, that Chris Lake always delivers seamlessly. It’s just that type of song that you can dance to for hours. Cut some shapes if you will.
There are a lot of new artists on the scene, and this week we were able to hear from quite a lot of them. With festival season in full swing, here’s to many more new releases, old throwbacks, and forgotten jams. EDM is BACK!
Can’t get enough of HC UMass Amherst? Be sure to follow us on Instagram, listen to us on Spotify, like us on Facebook, and read our latest Tweets!