First Spin: The Week’s Best New Dance Tracks From Kx5 The Chainsmokers, LP Giobbi & More

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Each week we canvas the wide, wild world of dance music to deliver the best new tracks.

 

Kx5

 

This week in dance music: Movement dropped the full lineup for their May festival in Detroit, Beatport announced a livestream benefit for the Ukraine happening this weekend, Alison Wonderland released a Western-inspired new single and announced her album name and release date, Kygo took us into his realm of relaxation in his new Billboard cover story, Grimes (accidentally) revealed she’s had a second child with Elon Musk, and Kygo (again!) saw his new single “Dancing Feet” (with Joe Jonas’ DNCE project) hit the top 10 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs.

Grimes Reveals Birth of Second Child With Elon Musk: Exa Dark Sideræl Musk
03/11/2022
 

And new music? We’ve got it. Let’s dig in.

Kx5, “Escape”

 

 

Whethan Feat. Slump6s & glaive, “Mental” 

 

One of dance-pop’s brightest stars is back with a glitched out hit. “Mental” ups the ante on Whethan’s sophisticated sweetness, injecting an upbeat hook with complex counter-melodies and crunching synth sounds. It’s a clean-edged hyperpop jam with pop-punk roots and mumble rap verses from Rochester rapper Slump6s and brooding vocals from teenaged Florida singer Glaive. It follows “Think You Right” (with Glaive and Ericdoa) as the second single from a forthcoming Whethan project that hasn’t yet been named in the public sphere, but which is turned in and due out later this year. – KAT BEIN

 

LP Giobbi & Bklava, “Sinner”

 

No matter if you’re up or down, music has the power to lift your spirits and free your soul, and so it goes with LP Giobbi’s latest house mantra. “Sinner” is a bright and bouncy reminder that, despite our past mistakes or faults in the eyes of others, we are all beautifully human, and tomorrow is always a new day. The song’s lyrical message comes courtesy of a strong performance from UK producer/singer Bklava, while the underlying melody and movement sees the piano house queen trade her classic stabs for synthier sounds.

“Sometimes you can try to make a drop with all of the stuff and do all the technical tricks, and for some reason, it just doesn’t have that magical dust that makes you wanna throw your hands in the air,” Giobbi says. “Luckily, the studio gods were on our side for this one because that drop just came together in a euphoric way! Really, it’s all Bklava. She wrote an incredible song with a perfect uplifting melody, and I just tried to match that in the production.” – K. Bein

Nia Archives, “Part of Me”

 

 

Floating Points, “Vocoder”

 

 

The Chainsmokers, “iPad”

 

Les ‘Smokers return with the second single from their forthcoming LP, and the first one that really, truly sounds like dance music. While the debut “High” was closer to straightforward pop-punk, “iPad” is forged from effervescent electronic production that swells into a gliding, shimmery chorus. Over all this is layered vocals from the duo’s own Drew Taggart, who laments about what sounds like a sad break up via lyrics like “All your friends are verified/Acting like they’re first in line/I’m looking at your life through cellophane/Hoping things would stay the same.” Pop-oriented without veering into EDM bubblegum, this one is our favorite thus far from the impending LP. — K. Bain