Jamie xx Laura Coulson
This week in dance music: The dance world roared back to life after the relative calm of the holidays, with CRSSD dropping its spring 2024 lineup and Bonnaroo and Hangout Fest both including a load of dance artists on their bills — including headlining sets from Pretty Lights and Fred again.. at Bonnaroo.
Meanwhile, Kraftwerk announced a nine-show residency at Disney Hall in Los Angeles this May, Alesso was announced as a performer for a big Super Bowl party in Las Vegas next month and New York City’s Teksupport announced an 18-show boat party series settling sail in May.
As part of Billboard‘s “future of genre” series, we spoke with extremely of-the-moment producers Odetari and 6arelyhuman; “Strangers” phenom Kenya Grace signed a global publishing admin deal with Warner Chappell, and Beatport made two key promotions and claimed over $100 million in revenue for 2023.
In sadder news, Black Coffee was injured in a flight accident in Argentina, but is reported to be “optimistic and doing well.” And the world lost a legend, the BBC Radio 1 presenter Annie Nightingale — the stations first-ever female presenter — dying this week at age 83.
And along with all this, we have 2024’s first week of heavy dance music releases. These are the best new dance tracks of the week.
Jamie xx, “It’s So Good”
The Label: Young
The Spiel: The sole lyrics on the latest from Jamie xx function as self-fulfilling prophesy, with a childlike voice reiterating “It’s so good!” over a complex, percussion-forward production that incorporates Brazilian funk and loads of fun (but also cerebral) bells and whistles, as well as the breathing room that makes them all pop. The song soundtracks a new Chanel ad campaign and is also xx’s first new music since the absolute bangers “KILL DEM” and “Let’s Do It Again” from 2022. More music from this year from the perpetual fav would, indeed, be so good.
Camelphat, “Running Man”
The Label: Mahool Records
The Spiel: In the Camelphat arsenal since 2023 and (finally) getting an official release this week, “Running Man” is a punchy, wind-up toy of a melodic house track, with the urgently blinking synth at the fore building to a nearly hectic place before releasing, then rising again. The track is out on Mahool Records, the label from Saudi Arabian dance company MDLBEAST, marking the imprint’s third-ever release. Camelphat’s spring tour dates include L.A.’s Skyline, EDC Mexico, Ultra Music Festival in Miami and Awakenings in The Netherlands.
Gorgon City feat. Bbyafricka, “Biggest Regret”
The Label: Astralwerks
The Spiel: You think you’ve got Gorgon City’s latest figured out, until the 30-second mark, when a thunder of bass enters the production like a gamma ray, leaving as quickly as it came as the song returns to a spare beat that gradually grows lusher with a swirl of piano stabs and the hypnotic voice of Los Angeles-based singer BbyAfricka, before booming in once more. The track is the first new music from the duo since their excellent 2023 album Salvation. Their 2024 tour schedule thus far includes festival dates at M3F, We Are FSTVL, Forbidden Forest and Hideout.
Logic1000 feat. DJ Plead and MJ Nebreda, “Every Lil”
The Label: Therapy
The Spiel: The third single from Logic1000’s forthcoming debut album Mother, coming March 22, slinks into your ears like a curl of fire smoke through a crowded dance floor. A collaboration between the Berlin-based producer, Australia’s DJ Plead and Miami-based MJ Nebreda, “Every Lil” is seductive and transportive, lifting us from the late afternoon mid-winter darkness to an all-night beachside party in some tropical locale, a vibe created especially by this one’s emphasis on hand percussion. The song comes ahead of Logic1000’s new podcast Logic1000 & Helena Star Present: Therapy, which will feature conversations about motherhood, mental health and the music industry.
Four Tet, “Loved”
The Label: Text Records
The Spiel: The first track on Four Tet’s forthcoming album — the producer’s twelfth studio LP, the title and release date for which have not been announced — is quintessential, with Kieren Hebden finding the same sort of shuffling, gently swaggering beat that’s been a defining element of much of his studio output. Over it, he layers a gently glowing synth and, midway through, some light cacophony in the form of what sounds like a pair of baking trays being banged together. The four-minute track then returns to its soothing low simmer, playing like a salve for the nervous system — which is, appropriately, also the effect that feeling loved has.
