Dance

Brazilian phenom Alok drops “Kids On Whizz,” his rework of 2020’s “Charlie” by the UK duo (and brothers) Everyone You Know. Rife with “Can’t Feel My Face”-level euphemisms about a certain white substance historically popular in clubland, the already alluring track goes even deeper on this edit. Alok kicks up the BPM and adds a few slight layers to the already heady tropically-laden deep house production, while leaving the standout hook — which the producer says initially drew him to the song — in tact. “When we released ‘Charlie’ we never in a million years thought someone with as much weight and clout as Alok would reach out to rework the track,” the Everyone You Know bros gush in a statement. “It’s quite s...

“Nurture” will arrive on April 23. Spring is often considered a hopeful time, and Porter Robinson is looking to make the most of the season. On Wednesday (Jan. 27), the producer announced that his much-anticipated sophomore album, Nurture, will drop April 23 via Mom + Pop. The album is Robinson’s first under his own name in seven years. The news comes alongside Nurture‘s fourth single, “Look at the Sky.” The shimmering, propulsive and ultimately joyful track was written during a moment of personal crisis for the North Carolina-based producer, who has dealt with crippling anxiety since he blew up upon the release of his 2014 hit debut album Worlds, and whose personal challenges multiplied when his brother was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer...

“On an album, you want loads of detail for people listening at home,” Bicep’s Andy Ferguson said in a press release for the Belfast duo’s second LP, Isles. While Bicep presciently forecast popular dance music’s return to rave years ago, it’s less likely the guys knew that home would be the only place where people could listen to their new project upon its release. Whether through clairvoyance or luck, Isles meets the moment. It’s intricate, moody, nostalgic, introspective and emotional, with melodies (“Atlas”) that swirl somewhere between euphoria and melancholy and fidgety synths and percussion (“Fir,” “Sundial”) that bypass the feet in favor of cerebral stimulation. The star of the album (out via Ninja Tune) is its vocals, whose sample origins span the globe from Malawi to Bulgaria...

Black Coffee & Diplo feat. Elderbrook, “Never Gonna Forget” Frankly, there aren’t enough dance tracks that evoke the steamy feeling of the 1989 Chris Isaak classic “Wicked Game.” South African star Black Coffee and a pair of heavyweight pals are here to amend that with “Never Gonna Forget You,” a spacious house track built on a moody guitar lick Isaak would likely approve of, which sits beneath pretty, delicate layers of percussion and synth. Featuring Grammy-nominated vocalist/producer Elderbrook and Diplo — showing up here in his underground-oriented Higher Ground persona — “Never Gonna Forget” is the final single to drop because the Feb. 5 release of Black Coffee’s forthcoming LP, Subconsciously. LP Giobbi feat....

In Agzarian’s experience, working alongside likeminded women had fostered creative freedom. She wanted other female artists to have the same experience. Enter singer/songwriter Kota Banks and producer Ninajirachi. Agzarian had been working with both Australian artists since 2017 via NLV Records and saw promise in putting them together in the studio. “It sounds a little maternal,” Agzarian says, “but in this day and age, thanks to the Internet, actual IRL connection to friends that do what you do and like what you like is harder to find, so linking them seemed essential.” This essential pairing also proved prescient, with Banks (born Jessica Mimi Porfiri) and Ninajirachi (born Nina Wilson) together producing their seven-song True North EP. Self-r...

Celebrating Experimentation: Baauer, Kaytranada, Madeon and Arca aren’t necessarily the flashiest artists in the scene, but all four veteran producers (and first-time nominees) are revered in the cooler and somewhat more experimental realms of the dance world. While best dance album nominees in years past have been linked by a sort of overall tone or genre, this year the Grammys are simply rewarding slightly offbeat, critically well received albums that reflect where each artist is at on their own personal trajectory rather than where the dance scene is as a whole. And while Disclosure just gets nominated every time they release something, it’s mostly because they deserve to be. Jayda G: The dance/electronic categories have long had a gender inequality issue, with almost exclus...