03/16/2025
With support from Jordan Miller and Nala, the producer closed out Billboard’s trio of shows at SXSW 2025.
03/16/2025
Martin Garrix will play a trio of nights at the the L.A. State Historic Park this summer. According to a representative for the shows, this run will make the Dutch producer the first artist to ever play three nights at […]
This week in dance music: Lady Gaga performed her electro romp “Abracadabra” and new Gesaffelestein collab “Killah” on Saturday Night Live, John Summit announced that he recently completed his “first fully sober tour,” Barry Can’t Swim released his first new single of the year with “The Person You’d Like to Be,” we caught up with the gentlemen of Justice to discuss the hyper success of their Hyperdrama album, Chicago’s ARC Music festival announced a hefty 2025 lineup, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and electronic musician Mark Pritchard announced a forthcoming collaborative album, we got the first look of the newly designed Brooklyn Mirage and Everything But the Girl revealed that they’ll perform their first live shows in 25 years next month in London.
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And on top of all that, we offer these, the best new dance tracks of the week.
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Calvin Harris, “Smoke the Pain Away”
Calvin Harris walks down the dirt road into country music with “Smoke the Pain Away,” an acoustic guitar and harmonica-heavy ode to trying to numb heartbreak with a hodgepodge of controlled substances. When the Scottish hitmaker teased the track earlier this month, it was unclear if or how any electronic elements would be incorporated, but while the song is still a departure for Harris, it does contain dance DNA with a flickery, high BPM beat that adds extra verve and bounce and helps the song ride the line between the two genres.
Featuring Harris’ own plaintive vocals, the song is another pretty undeniable earworm from one of dance’s foremost hitmakers. It also comes days after the announcement that Harris will play the first ever double residency at Ushuaïa in Ibiza, where he’ll perform on both Tuesdays and Fridays this summer. In keeping with the country theme. this mega-club is not too far from the sprawling farm Harris has on the island. “
Sub Focus & bbyclose, “On & On”
It’s a big week for Sub Focus fans, the with U.K. heavyweight releasing his first new single of the year with “On & On,” which extends his reputation as an essential master of drum and bass. The hypnotic song features a long mid-track bridge built largely around vocals from bbyclose, with the song altogether adding fuel to a run that’s included Sub Focus’ 2024 John Summit collab “Go Back.” Following his sold out show at London’s Alexandra Palace last week, he announced this week that he’s bringing this same Circular Sound setup — which features him playing from the center of a halo of lights — to New York and Los Angeles this fall.
Cassian, Script & Belladonna, “Where I’m From”
It’s not a surprising that Cassian got not one but two slots opening for Anyma’s Sphere residency, given that Australian producer and mixing engineer’s sound sound falls squarely into the grandly-sized melodic techno style preferred by Anyma and many of the artists surrounding him. “Where I’m From” is a prime specimen of the genre, with Cassian and his co-producers Script and Belladonna weaving together an urgent production, with stuttering vocals and ominous choral singing, into a straight-up banger that’s right out of an action movie.
Myd, “The Wizard”
French producer Myd returns with a pair of new tracks, “Song for You” and “The Wizard,” with the latter being a warm, propulsive and very soulful fusion of disco and tribal house that just feels good on the ears. Out via Ed Banger Records and Because Music, the singles follow Myd’s slot DJ-ing the Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris and also comes after a marathon week-long Twitch stream from the producer’s house in that same city, a segment of which you can see here.
DJ E-Clyps, “Gitit”
The always reliable DJ E-Clyps returns with his fifth single of the year, “Gitit.” The track balances a cool, bouncy, nearly future house production with E-Clyps’ own vocals, a ode to being in the club and appreciating the kind of woman with “pretty super eyes and those super juicy thighs” — lyrics he delivers in a laid-back staccato. “Gitit” is out on Blacklight Factory, the label E-Clyps founded in partnership with Empire Dance and launched last month.
Catz ‘n Dogz & Nala, “Dance”
The Polish duo return with the noisy, kind of giddily abrasive electro-punk track “Dance” a call to arms for dancefloor self expression. “We wanted to create a track that could be played when you’re angry, or just if you need to release that pressure valve. Something with pure energy” says the duo’s Greg Demiañczuk. This one is just that, with its strident vocals courtesy of Miami-based artist Nala, a regular Catz & Dogs collaborator who’s also opening for John Summit tomorrow (March 15) at Billboard Presents THE STAGE at SXSW in Austin, Texas.
Jason Moran plans to blend genres in one of his performances as the Detroit Jazz Festival’s artist-in-residence this year.
“I’m thinking that I have to figure out a way to represent for Detroit’s techno music,” the pianist, bandleader, composer and educator tells Billboard. Moran was named to the prestigious position on Thursday (March 13) following drummer Brian Blade in 2024.
Techno, Moran adds, “has long been a thing I’ve listened to and practiced with sometimes at home. So why not, when you’re in Detroit, really represent it? Maybe myself and another artist can churn away for an hour. It’s the idea of, in an industrial city, drum machine meeting piano — which I think is one of the great machines — and what happens when those two meet in their simplest forms? With volume,” he adds with a laugh.
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Moran says the piece would be an entirely new composition to be premiered at the Labor Day weekend event (Aug. 29-Sept. 1) and then turned into a traveling piece.
Now in its 46th year, the DJF — held mostly outdoors in the city’s downtown — is the world’s largest free-admission jazz festival. Last year’s edition drew more than 300,000 in-person attendees, according to organizers, and a worldwide audience of more than two million via the festival’s free livestream on its website and social media platforms.
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“I think that what makes this (festival) unique is the importance of Detroit as a historic music city for the world,” says Moran, who’s performed at the festival several times, as recently as 2023. “That’s what makes it exciting for me, to be presenting sets of music in a city that’s responsible for a lot of change and possibilities in music.”
In addition to the techno-jazz mashup, Moran — who’s been on the faculty at the New England Conservatory of Music since 2010 — is planning a celebration of Duke Ellington’s 125th birthday, using a big band of younger musicians. “That’s a big one for me,” he says, “just because I get to meet who’s on the ground and get that experience to work with them and push the music the way Ellington did.” He’s also planning a set by the Bandwagon, a trio he co-founded during 2000, along with special guests.
The Houston-born Moran studied at the Manhattan School of Music and began his recording career as part of saxophonist Greg Osby’s band. He released his first solo album, Soundtrack to Human Motion, in 1999 and has released 17 more since. Moran has also scored soundtracks for films such as Selma, Traveling While Black and Aggie, and he’s recorded with Cassandra Wilson, Christian McBride, Ron Miles and others. He was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Scientists in 2022, and in 2023 he received the German Jazz Prize for pianist of the year.
“Jason Moran is a trailblazer in the use of diverse multimedia and theatrical installations to present jazz to audiences in a way that has never been done before,” festival artistic director and CEO Chris Collins said in a statement. “We look forward to his singular craftsmanship and his creative and evolutionary artistry to lead this year’s festival.”
The lineup for the 2025 DJF is expected to be announced April 15 during a special preview event in Detroit, where Moran will perform.
The festival has also put out a call for new works that “bring new perspectives to blending jazz and other musical styles” with an application deadline of April 11. Artist performance submissions are also open, with a deadline of June 1. Applications, as well as festival updates, can be found via detroitjazzfest.org.
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