How come no one talks about "dance acts" on here?

[ingrownhairdyke]

i mean like tiesto, paul vandyk, carl cox etc or whatever dance act has a song out.. i use the term loosely. Its all about mainstream artists remixed song such as madonna,lady gaga, christina aguilera, ke$ha, kelly clarkson or whatever..

Good example would be kim sozzi "feel your love" or kim leoni "again" "medicine" or Ercola "Every word" or Flanders "Behind" just to name a few examples. Nobody seems to talk about dance acts per se. Why is that is it just because mainstream artists are popular and dance/electronic acts are simply not

[🅳🅸🆂🅲🅾]

In the past there were discussions about some of the tracks and artists that you mentioned. Some of the people who post in the dance section here have different tastes and tend to post more about the artists/songs that fit in with those tastes.

I used to post a little bit of everything but I rarely got any sort of reply for those especially recently that was meaningful. I'm not expecting hundreds of replies, but it gives an idea of whether people are going for that type of music or this is just boring for them.

I would offer you a suggestion though. If you would like to see more discussion of those artists and songs, you could create some of those topics here too. You would be a welcome addition to this section of Pulse.

[DiscoSchtick]

Yeah, I feel like they get posted when their tracks are significant.

Guetta is a great example of a dance-act who's been able to put out dance tracks/remix packages that are worth discussing.

And personally, dance acts is such a broad term. Some of my favorite bands like The Gossip, Dragonette, mainstreams artists like Lady Gaga, Robyn, and many other artists are dabbling in the dance genre and definitely important to discuss.

[moranfan]

i agree, those names and others only come up when RELEVANT

[kingofpain]

Because Top 20 pop remixes are officially all that's played in clubs today... what seemed like a growing trend in the mid 2000's with acts like Kelly Clarkson, Mariah Carey and Dido getting remixed has now become the norm for nearly every pop act in the Top 40. I would say the acts you mentioned (ie. Kim Sozzi, Ercola, etc) are few and far between these days.

Radio is also to blame, they could have backed true dance artists like Reflekt, Carl Cox, Above & Beyond, Paul van dyk, Tube & Berger, Safri Duo, Layo & Bushwacka, Gabriel & Dresden, Danielle Bollinger, Jenna Drey, Taborah, etc in the mid 2000's, but somehow they became sellouts and opted to back horrid pop remixes instead.

For the last three years or so, the Club Play chart has become a joke. Nearly 80% of the "dance acts" listed are basically just pop artists (ie Beyonce, Lady GaGa, Rihanna, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, etc) remixed by the likes of Dave Aude, Chrix Cox, Bimbo Jones, Tony Arzadon, etc, dumbed down for today's club youth. In fact, many clubs now infuse hip-hop/urban tracks with dance.. just check out what happened to Pulse radio in NYC... absolutely pathetic. I mean when artists like Taylor Swift, Leann Rimes, Reba McEntire, Boys Like Girls, Miley Cyrus, Jessie McCartney, etc are being heard remixed in the clubs and on 'dance radio stations' now, you know dance music has hit an all time low.

I feel sorry for real club/dance artists like Barry Harris, Tony Moran, Tiesto, Bob Sinclar, etc who either have to compete with this or change their sound to match what's popular. Just look at what happened to Groove Armada, Fatboy Slim, Basement Jaxx, etc... their whole sound now has become hip hop. So so so so sad...

[moranfan]

i think kristine w is an example of "dance acts" still having success. As someone mentioned, Guetta has had huge success this year. Perhaps these "dance acts" aren't mentioned a lot because they don't have many good projects. I mean i'm sure this can all be traced back to napster and other illegal downloading and how there is no money to be made in dance music anymore. the top remixers have to do commercial mixes to pay the bills. Tony for example does lots of commercial mixes I'm sure you will never hear him play out...but those paychecks allow him the freedom to produce his soon-to-be-released (THIS WEEK) album. ralphi is the king of doing commercial mixes. ralphi walks dangerously close to the sell-out line in my opinion. barry has had good success with "drama queen" (#9 on the first chart of 2010 and who knows how high it will peak.) i am honestly pleasantly surprised it has done so well because it is very campy and gay. i do admit the dance chart seems like the place pop artists go to die.....look at brandy's success this year or kimberly locke. i do think a lot of the divas are coming back-and they are the ultimate "dance acts."

[kingofpain]

Yeah I remember all the true dance divas, Rosabel, Kristine W, Barbara Tucker, Jeanie Tracy, Pepper Mashay, Simone Denny, Kim English, Adeva, etc... but the past four or five years have changed that... now the "dance divas" being heard at the club (and topping the club charts) are Pink, Britney Spears, Natasha Bedingfield, Lily Allen, etc... I mean, WTF has happened to dance music?? In a way, remixers like Dave Aude, Bimbo Jones, Chris Cox, etc have destroyed club music.

The mid 2000s was about the cut-off point for exceptional club music, right before pop remixes took over. I remember the very late 90's/early 2000's when a Whitney Houston track or Toni Braxton's "Spanish Guitar" got "remixed' it was considered unique. Now when Kings Of Leon's "Use Somebody" gets remixed it's considered a "club smash". How pathetic.

[moranfan]

i think you're exaggerating. Donna Summer still has lots of dance hits. Deborah Cox had a number one this year. As I said before, Kristine W is still huge. Erin Hamilton went #1 with the "Flame" in 08. Jeanie Tracy is still getting top ten hits with those Altar songs(even though i think most of them suck.) Simone Denny is the vocalist on The new Barry Harris track that's #9 right now. They say Vernessa Mitchell is coming out with her dance album produced by Junior's Jerome Farley. Bill Bennett tried to revive all the divas with his album, but he is not really talented enough to do that lol. Inaya Day still does lots of productions with Mike Cruz, but most are pretty blah. oceana had a #1 this year with "body rock!" perry twins feat nicki harris had a huge hit this year with "bad bad boy!" Kim English had a #1 with Tony Moran not too long ago. ultra nate's dance album was really great! Debby Holliday has a new song out but it's horrible. Jason Walker had great success with his first dance album-not so much with the second one though. I think a lot of the problem is the dance acts are not working with the right people and so they are not having huge success anymore. hex stopped being popular, thunderpuss broke up, victor calderone stopped doing mixes, peter cut way back. ralphi got way too commercial(although check out his "the dj made me do it" which is perfection and his recent his "let me see u shake it")I def agree there needs to be more of the divas but I know Barry Harris has told me that he will be doing another song with Simone soon and has lots of other gay, campy projects on the way. As I have mentioned a million times, Tony Moran's new album is set to come out SOON and has lots of diva-driven anthems by Deborah Cooper, Jennifer Holliday, Zhana Saunders, Frenchie Davis(which is already out) just to name a few!!!!!

check these out:

the new kristine w single(sold 1/3 of the total copies on perfectbeat in it's first day!)

perfectbeat.com/product_info.php?products_id=844185024136

the new frenchie davis(lead single off tony's album)(been #1 seller on perfectbeat for 3 weeks)

perfectbeat.com/product_info.php?products_id=855007002003

www.masterbeat.com/#release/855007002003

ralphi rosario "everybody shake it"(went #1bb this year)

perfectbeat.com/product_info.php?products_id=8014090520609

oceana "body rock"(went #1bb this year)

perfectbeat.com/product_info.php?products_id=661868261561


perry twins "bad bad boy"(went #1 bbthis year)

perfectbeat.com/product_info.php?products_id=17623

tony moran w/ debby holiday "surrender me"

perfectbeat.com/product_info.php?products_id=16835

barry harris feat simone denny "drama queen"(currently #9 bband climbing)

www.amazon.com/Drama-Queen-Texting-U-EP/dp/B002T5BX7I/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1261851398&sr=8-6

suzanne palmer "i believe"

perfectbeat.com/product_info.php?products_id=17666

nicki richards "bring the love"(peaked at #2 this year)

perfectbeat.com/product_info.php?products_id=884501077545

[kingofpain]

I dare you to tune into any existing "dance radio" station, try BPM on XMSirius or what used to be The Pulse in NYC... 80% of their playlist is clogged with "pop remixes". The above songs you have listed are only played in clubs... radio djs are not supporting these songs. I remember actually hearing Debby Holiday on the radio with "Dive", "Half A Mile Away" and "Bring It On" in the mid 2000's. Remember Suzanne Palmer (Sound Of The Drum, Fascinated), Tina Anne (Rise Again) , Lauren Hildebrandt (Burnin Out), Happy Clappers (I Believe), Sarah Atereth (You Wouldn't Know How), Reina (Forgive), Amuka (Appreciate Me), Dolce (Sorrow), Cassius (I'm A Woman), etc... these were the songs played in clubs, not trash like the latest remix of a Pink song, which basically makes up 80% of all the "dance artist" threads created in this forum.

The OP is right to bring this up... these dance artists aren't as talked about anymore because pop remixes have become today's club music scene. No wonder Rihanna, Lady GaGa, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Britney Spears, Black Eyed Peas, Beyonce, etc are the only discussed artists. You have to rake through a lot just to find out what Barry Harris has been up to lately.

[moranfan]

i guess a good comparison is super models. they really dont exist anymore. the covers of magazines are all actresses now

[PinkyD]

I also think that a lot of people still see the dance scene as being very gay, and that is not true at all! I mean sure, gay men love divas but I can assure you, we like a lot of other types of dance music as well...

Besides, dance music is meant to fun and uplifting, so if Ralphi, Barry, Dave and all the rest can make some magic out of pop fluff, more power to them! I wouldn't call them sellouts. And the other dance acts like Kristine, Kim, Barbara and Simone are still up and kicking, but their output has slowed down. Pop acts are putting out new songs every few months, so there is more to work with. All of the ladies mentioned above only put out new tracks every couple of years...that's a long time to wait in this day and age of instant gratification. I'm not saying it's bad, but it does leave an open window of opportunity for all the pop people. And if all the mixers waited for the "true" dance acts to put out new material, they'd all be broke!

If it sounds good and it makes you move, just appreciate it and enjoy...let's not worry too much about semantics...if I can dance to it, it's dance music, whether that be a Britney song or a Goldfrapp track...

[moranfan]

well for what it's worth, two of the three whitney singles so far off this album have flopped on the dance chart! i think "I Didnt know my own strength" deserved to flip but the mixes for "i look to you" were good(well giuseppe's was...they should have released tony's too imo.) i guess my point is being a star does not ensure dance chart success

[hazer]

I don't think anyone comes here to seriously discuss "dance acts" and if they do they shouldn't. I was under the impression that it was primarily a board for the big name commerical remixes...there is a wealth of fantastic dance music out there but you would never find it if you just read what was on here.

Yeah, I feel like they get posted when their tracks are significant.

Guetta is a great example of a dance-act who's been able to put out dance tracks/remix packages that are worth discussing.

There have been plenty of dance tracks this year that have snowballed from being underground hits to finding their way into the commercial club's playlist. I would argue that they are more significant, considering they don't rely on an established name for recognition and bring with them a fresher sound that often influences their peers (not just reworking old tunes into a 4/4 frame...Guetta I'm looking at you).

I mean, WTF has happened to dance music?? In a way, remixers like Dave Aude, Bimbo Jones, Chris Cox, etc have destroyed club music.

Not fair to blame the djs. Better to blame the labels who have no idea about remixers and hire them based on their consistancy of style regardless of how stale. If a label wanted a house mix of one of their artists, of course they will turn to Moto Blanco (who would crank it out with efficiency to please all parties). The label wins as they think they're catering to a crowd of house music lovers by exploiting a pre-established relationship and Moto Blanco wins as they get paid for something that they put in zero effort for (and it's a shame because I used to like them when they tried too).

Dance music is thriving in Europe/Australasia but it sounds like it has a fair way to go before it becomes mainstream in America. Perhaps it is the competition with Urban/R'n'B/Hip Hop that has made the struggle to grow harder (and I might add the former constantly stealing from the latter) or, as judging by this board, the 'gay' scene's unwillingness to embrace new sounds in dance music (not to upset people but Tony Moran/Offer Nissam etc. are virtually unknown outside US). I guess moving countries might be a little drastic though.

[moranfan]

i come here to discuss all dance music seriously. i prefer genuine stuff as opposed to remixes of pop songs. i would take a tony mix of deborah cox over a tony mix of madonna ANY DAY

[Deleted]

This is a REALLY interesting thread - kudos to everyone who's posted so far for their opinions. It's always been a fine line between catering (pandering?) to a commercial crowd, then once an artist is too "mainstream" they're not considered TRUE dance anymore and they no longer have "street cred" with people like ingrownhairdyke. It's all very subjective, and of course there is no right answer. Lady Gaga for example - I'd consider her a dance artist, even though she seems to be like the most popular thing since sliced bread these days. Here's a question for ingrownhairdyke and KingofPain - is it possible to be both an actual DANCE dance artist as well as a Top 40/pop/commercial artist? If so, give an example. If not, why not? I agree that people's short attention spans are partially to blame - a decade ago I could get away with playing a 12-minute long Jonathan Peters mix at a club, or an epic Thunderpuss mix or Hex Hector mix with a long 3 minute intro/buildup. These days however, it's gotta be short, punchy mixshow otherwise my fickle crowd will get bored and leave the dancefloor. I find that sad and frustrating, but that's just the way things are I guess. Same thing with radio - stations are pandering to the lowest common denominator and focusing on remixed pop songs to try and attract as large an audience as possible (that whole "people like what they know" mentality) otherwise their ratings will fade and they'll go out of business. Again, really REALLY interesting topic! Bring on some more opinions =D

[moranfan]

Someone else touched on this but I wanted to say more...

Few dance artists actually release dance albums. They just have random singles every year or so. Kristine w would be probably the only artist to consistantly release albums that spawn multiple hit singles. Suzanne Palmer had a great album and so did Jason walker but these types of things are few and far between. Even the djs don't do this. They are all about releasing mixed compilations but hardly ever do u see an album like guetta's other than say moby. I think what offer nissim did with his first time album was perfect. What I really wish djs would do is a two cd set-one mixed and one unmixed. Sure mixed CDs like tony's lead to the release of multiple singles but usually those sort of comps only have one single. Idk why this is the trend but that would help explain why pop artists have so many mote releases(and therefor threads)

[Just Give Me a Porsche]

I think that the labels behind pop artists are quick to realize that mostly listeners from 12-36 get bored real easily with songs. Ever since the 90's labels have put out just about every mix imaginable to man on certain singles. So if you get tired with one mix,you can move on to the next.

Also and i think this is major...labels are now quick to jump on the latest underground trend and get mixes in for their artists with the latest fad in dance music. So its hard for any underground dance artist to break in with a new sound. It's already being remixed to the latest pop hit!

[George]

I miss Jocelyn Enriquez. She was one of the first dance acts that I was introduced to, but it seems like she's been gone ever since her third album.

[Libra]

Speaking from the Pop end of things, this year has been especially bad, what with all the overload of UP, UP, UP!-sounding songs. I'm predicting a major burnout on this sound at Pop within the next year or two. Hell, right now I wouldn't mind a return to Winter 08 (but not necessarily for those exact songs! ), when it did seem like there was a lot of slower music out there. Pop's going to implode, and the result will be a major hot mess, unless it can transition in another trend...and I'm really hoping it's not "hip pop" like it seems to be leaning towards right now...

I do kinda feel like this would need to be the time for somebody in the not-so-mainstream sector of the dance world to come up with something that ultimately results in a revolution of sorts in the dance world.

Dec 30, 2009 8:43:52 GMT -5 djmichaelangelo said:

Here's a question for ingrownhairdyke and KingofPain - is it possible to be both an actual DANCE dance artist as well as a Top 40/pop/commercial artist? If so, give an example. If not, why not?

That's the problem with classifications. It seems like at least half of the musical genres out there are considered "not mainstream" or otherwise are far enough removed that it's like you're leaving the genre totally behind when you find mainstream success. It's like those genres are considered "niche" genres, and since you can't really consider mainstream as a "niche" due to its very nature, you're usually left with trying to please either one or the other. Add to that pop media pushing farther and farther into the mainstream with every bit of publicity, and, well...you've got quite a divide at work.

[kingofpain]

Yes it is possible to be both a "dance" artist and Top 40 artist. Before Cascada went the Lady GaGa route with "Evacuate The Dancefloor", their sound was strictly dance/techno and even managed to break into mainstream top 40 with "Everytime We Touch", "What Hurts The Most" and to a lesser extent, "Miracle". Other acts have had medium success, like September "Cry For You", David Guetta "When Love Takes Over"... even electro acts like LMFAO "I'm In Miami Bitch" and to a lesser extent, some urban-laced acts like Enur with "Calabria 2008" and Pitbull's "Calle Oche" (which both sampled Dirty Laundry and Nicola Fasano). Most of these acts petered out around the 60's on the Hot 100 (yet another example of mainstream radio not giving dance acts the time of day).

However, acts like Lady GaGa, and artists with pop songs that have faster BPMs like Miley Cyrus "See You Again", Katy Perry "Hot N Cold" and Rihanna "Don't Stop The Music/Disturbia" are considered 'dance', although I would say artists who don't get ANY love from mainstream radio like Kim Sozzi "Feel Your Love", Annagrace "Let The Feelings Go", Chris Lake "Only One", Deadmau5 "Ghosts N Stuff", Kaskade "Angel On My Shoulder", etc are real dance artists. When we have to settle for something like Lady GaGa's "Just Dance" as being classified as dance music, something is wrong.

Where does that leave artists like Kim Sozzi and Sylvia Tosun? You can't possibly classify all these artists and Lady GaGa in the same category, they are clearly two different genres. I don't even know what to call Lady GaGa outside of pop, one could even argue that she has an urban sound to her if you listen to songs like "Paparazzi" and "Lovegame". But dance? No way.

[DiscoSchtick]

Listening to the instrumentals on Lady Gaga's CD it would be very easy to classify her as a dance act. Pokerface, Paper Gangsta, I Like It Rough, Paparazzi all have electro elements. The new CD even more so with Monster, Bad Romance, Telephone (which I'm starting to wonder if it samples Calvertron - Buggin', thanks to DJme for pointing this out) and Dance In The Dark.

Yes, she's a pop artist. But she's an electro-dance artist as well.

[moranfan]

GAGA is a WANNABE dance artist. she uses just enough dance elements to get nominated for awards in that category.

[kingofpain]

GAGA is a WANNABE dance artist. she uses just enough dance elements to get nominated for awards in that category.

This is true... it always bugs me when I see "pop" artists getting nominated for "dance" categories, shutting out the real dance artists. I mean, didn't Justin Timberlake win the "Dance Song Grammy" for "Sexyback"a few years ago? He even beat out Madonna's "Hung Up" if I'm correct... that's just pathetic. And yes, I realize Madonna is classified as a pop artist, but she went "dance/electro" with that particular album...