A very special announcement...

To the readers of this blog,

I would like to begin by thanking everyone for reading the blog and checking back regularly for the updates. Don't worry. This blog is continuing. However, the focus will be changing a bit.

Based on the feedback I have received, many have been frustrated with the fact that much of what has been reviewed/discussed previously was unavailable for purchase as much of it was only available on promos, and generally not available to the public. This will be changing very soon.

After this, all reviews published here at The Clubbers Guide To Dance will only be of music that can be purchased, whether online, or through an actual store. It is important that we continue to support the artists and labels that we love so that they are able to keep making music.

The official re-launch of The Clubbers Guide will happen on June 1, 2007, beginning with a guide on where to purchase and download the hottest dance music legally. And continuing with the Remixer of The Week feature, Peter Rauhofer is the next one who will be profiled.

Thanks,
Disco Cowboy

Remixer Of The Week - Junior Vasquez

Starting this week, one remixer/DJ will be chosen and then their best mixes from their entire body of work, to date will be ranked by me. :-)

It would be most appropriate to begin with a DJ who has made his mark on clubland ever since he came onto the scene in the 80's. Whether it be with his editing with the legendary Shep Pettibone, or remixing or producing or writing, Junior Vasquez has always been revolutionary and original. Has remixed many, many songs. Many hundreds if not thousands. While many mixers have come and gone, Junior has remained on top and in much demand.



Here are some of his remix highlights* of his remixing career:

Pre-Sound Factory
Ellis D -My Loleatta
Janet Jackson - State Of The World
Paul Lekakis - My House
Prince - Thieves In The Temple

Sound Factory
Billie Ray Martin - Your Loving Arms
Junior Vasquez Get Your Hands Off Of My Man
Junior Vasquez - Nervaas
Junior Vasquez - X
Ké - Strange World
Kristine W. - Feel What You Want
Lectroluv - Dream Drums
Livin' Joy - Dreamer
Madonna - Bedtime Story
Madonna - Secret
Vernessa Mitchell - Reap (What You Sow)

Tunnel
Cher - One By One
Junior Vasquez - If Madonna Calls
Madonna - You'll See

Arena
Cher - Paradise Is Here
Deborah Cox - Who Do You Love
Deep Forest & Peter Gabriel - While The Earth Sleeps
Dolly Parton - Peace Train
Elton John - Rocketman
Everything But The Girl - Missing
Funky Green Dogs - Fired Up
k.d. lang - Theme From The Valley Of The Dolls
Kevin Aviance - Cunty
Madonna - Crazy For You
Skunk Anansie - Brazen (Weep)
Wes - Awa Awa
Whitney Houston - Step By Step

Twilo/Juniorverse
Catapila - Void (I Need You)
Charlotte - Skin
Hypertrophy - Beautiful Day
Kylie Minogue - Too Far
Lisa Stansfield - Never Gonna Fall
Macy Gray - I Try
Mariah Carey - Heartbreaker/If You Should Ever Be Lonely
Mary J. Blige - Your Child
Ministers De La Funk featuring Jocelyn Brown - Believe
Sade - By Your Side
Vernessa Mitchell - This Joy

Earth
Christina Aguilera - Beautiful
Funky Green Dogs - Rise Up
Justin Timberlake - Cry Me A River
Lamya - Empires
Nelly Furtado - I'm Like A Bird
Rosabel featuring Jennifer Holliday - And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going
Vivian Green - Emotional Rollercoaster

Post-Earth
Amuka - Craving
Beyonce - Crazy In Love
Britney Spears - Breathe On Me
Britney Spears - Toxic
Ceevox - Music Is My Life
Christina Aguilera - Ain't No Other Man
Darren Hayes - So Beautiful
Deborah Cox - Easy As Life
Emmy Rossum & Gerard Butler - The Phantom Of The Opera
Jason Walker - No More
Kelis - Milkshake
Maroon 5 - This Love
Mary J. Blige - Your Weeping Child
Vernessa Mitchell - Love Will Find A Way
Vivian Green - Cursed

* Note: Only a select number of mixes from each of the various eras were chosen as there were so many mixes done that were considered exceptional that this list could go on and on. :-)

Your favorite mixes not listed above? Please feel free to list what your favorite mixes from the various eras were.

Sunshine Anderson - Force Of Nature

This is the 2nd single off of her recently released album Sunshine After Midnight. While her songs have not taken off on radio, her label is opting to promote her in the clubs where she has had success.

DJ Escape & Johnny Vicious take the slow and seductive original and rewerk it for the clubs. They keep all vocals this time around. The mix is not as dark as some of their recent offerings, however, this one is very in-between and will fit in with a variety of sets. The twisted synth loop and some of the pianos under the verses bear resemblance to Gabriel & Dresden's remix of "Save My Soul" by Kristine W. Intentional or not, it works very well.

Maroon 5 - Makes Me Wonder

The main version of this song is actually quite dancey. It has the feel of a nice hipster disco song. A simple extended mix of the original would have made this song club-ready. However, Harry "Choo Choo" Romero did remixes. His mixes are more dub-like and have fewer vocals. The instrumental production is really energetic and synthy. It goes away from the light, airy production of the original. These are cool though. There's a club, dubstramental and radio edit.

On the unofficial tip, there's mixes by Ranny. He takes an unexpected departure with the sound he chose for the mixes. It's not his usual tribal/circuit fare. It's more in line with light original. Not that light though. His Sunset mixes are quite noteworthy and are worth checking out.

Casey Stratton - House Of Jupiter

This song was a pretty big hit in clubland a few years ago with Junior Vasquez's fantastic remixes. This one has been updated by rising star Peter Bailey. His mix is very synthy and uplifting. It gets to be a bit repetitive in places, but in the context of a club, this will be a floorfiller once the clubbers realize what they are listening to. While Junior's mixes are still where its at, this one is a very good alternate.

Tracey Thorn - Raise The Roof

"Raise The Roof" is the second single off of her Out Of The Woods album. Cagedbaby's remixes of this give this an 80's pop/underground feel. The bassline and synth elements bear resemblance to a Eurythmics type of song. The bassline actually sounds similar in places to their song "Love Is A Stranger." And the vocal effects really make Tracey's ethereal vocals sound even more like Annie Lennox's. Not a bad thing. It's perfect. This is a nice Summery kind of song.

Ron Perkov - Live Luv Dance

No stranger to the circuit scene is Ron Perkov who has been recording for over a decade now. While he has only had a handful of songs over the years, the few he has had made a lasting impression. And this new one is no different.

This hands-in-the-air, sing along, feelgood club anthem will be packing floors for months to come and could easily be this years Pride-defining song.

Tony Moran's main mix of this packs the most punch. It features soaring synths and fierce tribal beats. Ron's smooth vocals take center stage after the incredible build. The chorus is so simple and catchy that it would not be unusual for clubbers to be singing along and knowing all the words after just a few minutes.

There's additional mixes by Dave Pezza, Ray Roc, Peter Presta, Valentin and RadioKillaz. The mixes can be purchased from here: http://www.trackitdown.net/genre/electro/track/308696.html.

With the proper edit, Tony's mix could also work well on Dance radio.

Lady Sovereign - Those Were The Days

Critically acclaimed UK-based rapper Lady Sovereign has been really doing well in the clubs with the hot remixes she has gotten for her songs.

Digital Dog provides a really fresh, driving electro set of mixes for "Those Were The Days." The vocals are really sped up and almost unintelligible if you are not familiar with the song in its original mix. However, it works really well. A dub version of this would really do the trick.

Kat DeLuna - Whine Up

This is a hot new dance-leaning hip hop track that is slowly beginning to burn up the airwaves. This is already a favorite by radio programmers and fans.

Upon first listen, this one has a similar sound as those club bangers Sean Paul has been releasing for the last couple of years. Kat's hypnotic vocals beckon you to come to the dancefloor and "whine up."

This one will be everywhere very soon.

Rihanna - Umbrella

This is the lead single off of her 3rd studio album Good Girl Gone Bad. The original has the feel of an 80's pop ballad. It's a nice, simple track that almost got ruined with Jay-Z's rapping. It's really unnecessary. Remixes by Josh Harris (as Lindbergh Palace), Jody den Broeder and Seamus Haji with Paul Emanuel take this song to the clubs.

For all the mixes, it is worth mentioning that the vocals were sped up instead of being slowed down. The album version has one of those "dangerous" BPMs which could be very tricky when remixing. Some unofficial mixes have already contained a slowed down vocal because slowing down was easier than speeding it up. Rihanna has a lot of vibrato in her voice so that could cause some problems. But all the mixers handled this one very well.

Harris' mix has a lite 80's synth pop feel to it.

Den Broeder did two main mixes. The Deconstruction mix is very electro with lots of fun blips and beeps. Without the beats, it would sound like a slowed down drum n' bass track. The bassline is absolutely hot. And vocal effects on the "eh ella eh ella" parts are really creative. The Lush mix is a little more circuit, but it is also very electro with a hot bassline too. This also has the 80's kind of sound to it. The style of this one calls to mind some of the sounds of Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso and Eric Prydz.

And finally there are Seamus Haji and Paul Emanuel's mixes. Theirs are super electro. It's a little more underground sounding.

Overall, all the mixes in this package are really impressive. All of them should garner plenty of airplay and spins on the dancefloor.

Cascada - A Never Ending Dream

This one first first made the rounds as part of a 3 track single with an extended mix and 2 very aggressive hard house/progressive trance mixes. After having multiple top 10 singles in the UK and all over Europe, this one has become a single in the UK on AATW.

In addition to harder mixes, some accessible house mixes by Digital Dog and Fugitive have been included. This is a very wise decision as many DJs may not be able to work in harder and faster mixes into their sets. The Digital Dog mix is very electro and aggressive. It has soaring trance synths in the background to preserve some of the feel of the original. Vocalist Natalie Horler sounds great over this new production. DJs that may have hesitated to play Cascada have no excuse not to play them now.

Ciara - Get Up

While the first set of mixes first surfaced a few months by Moto Blanco, no other official dance mixes have been available until now.

A new one courtesy of rising mixer Digital Dog. This is a nice electro-house mix. It is a little harder than Moto Blanco's light and airy mix. This one is worth checking out.

Ne-Yo - Because Of You

R&B/hip hop singer/songwriter du jour Ne-Yo finally gets some official dance mixes for his current single "Because Of You" courtesy of Sunfreakz, Josh Harris, Chop Shop and Kriya vs. Velez.

The Sunfreakz mix is nothing impressive, but it gets the job done. It's a basic, garden variety mild electro house mix. The stellar vocals are highlighted in this mix. This is the most radio-friendly mix of the bunch. This one will work well in both club and radio environments.

Enrique Iglesias - Do You Know (The Ping-Pong Song)

The title may be a little off-putting, but it's not as bad as it sounds. This is a really nice comeback single from the soft-voiced crooner.

Ralphi Rosario with Craig CJ and DJ Dan do the remixes for this one.

Ralphi provides a simple, yet accessible mix. It is easily the mix of choice. He preserves the chords from the original version, keeping it all familar.

DJ Dan goes for a much more electro, 80's new wave sounding mix. It's a lot more dubbish. It bears a striking resemblance to "Don't You Want Me" by the Human League.

Go straight for Ralphi and Craig's mix.

Amerie - Take Control

This song has already become a hot item overseas, especially in the UK. The original is a borderline UK Garage-styled track. Remixes by DJ Leo & Guy Robin, Karmatronics and Tracy Young transform this for the clubs.

Amerie's sassy vocals are highlighted on all the mixes. DJ Leo & Guy Robin go for a nice soulful house type of mix. This is a very classy, sophisticated type of mix. This is nice for the lounges and early in the evening. Although, this one is totally perfect for tea dances and lounging by the pool or the beach. Karmatronics provide a meatier, peakhour house mix. And Tracy Young provides a very accessible circuit house mix. It sounds very much like something out of Junior's 2003 World and Sound Factory's remix sessions (it's a good thing!). This one is very energetic and driving.

Overall, this remix package is very impressive. All the mixes bring something special.

Kim English - My Destiny

Although this one first garnered some attention and buzz last year through Exacta and Junior's own mixes, this one has been made over for premium peak-hour consumption with the help of Kobbe & Austin Leeds and Ron Carroll.

Kobbe & Austin Leeds may seem like an unusual fit for a vocal track like this, however, it workes really well. This one has a nice synthy bassline that sounds best when turned up loud. The twisted background sounds and those gothic bells really give this mix some personality. All of the vocals are not used in the main mix. The dub has even less, but it's very suitable. The dark, twisted production shines here. The Radio Edit has full vocals though.

Ron Carroll goes for a mildly subdued house production. However, the beats and bass pattern resemble the sound Offer Nissim has become famous for. This is a premium mix for circuit. However, there's very few vocals in the mix. It is almost like a dub. The Dub has no vocals at all, however, it is totally different from the main version. The Radio Edit, surprisingly, has full vocals though. This one could be saved through a new mix that stitches beginning and ending of the vocal mix with the edit in the middle.

Overall, both sets of mixes could be floorfillers. Get all of them.

Nelly Furtado - Say It Right (Junior Vasquez Mix)

The official mixes and several unofficial ones were reviewed a while back. Junior Vasquez announced that he was doing a mix of this just a short time before Red Party, where he unveiled it.

He gave the mix a wide preview during this past week.

His mix keeps all of the vocals. They are the focal point of the mix. He keeps the instrumental production very simple. He also took the melody from the original version and "clubbed" it a little. Many of the other mixes had did away with that aspect. Throughout the epic 10 minute mix, there are plenty of fun vocal effects. A dub with just those would be so perfect.

This mix was definitely worth waiting for. This is easily the best mix of "Say It Right."

Angelique Kidjo featuring Peter Gabriel - Salala

She is back with a new album called Djin Djin. This Beninese artist has been on the World music scene since the early 90's and has carved out a niche for herself.

In addition to the stunning, traditional-sounding tracks, Ms. Kidjo has had several of her songs remixed for club consumption. Junior Vasquez most notably remixed "Shango" and "Wombo Lombo" during his fruitful Arena era. It was only appropriate that he take on "Salala" as well.

Peter Gabriel is a guest vocalist on this track which is a nice, simple guitar-driven track with that infectious chorus. It's a feel-good track.

And Junior takes this one makes it over in the style he has done other similar tracks including "Awa Awa" by Wes and "While The Earth Sleeps" by Deep Forest & Peter Gabriel. He actually samples some elements and riffs from the latter for this mix. It is just an amazing mix. He really has a knack for preserving the original integrity of these kinds of songs and still bringing something totally knew. His Tribalelectro Mix should be at the top of your must-have list.

Inaya Day - Breakaway

This is basically the followup to the club smash "Spin Me Round." This is a remake of a song that was released originally by Big Pig. In the main mix by Bill Bennett, this is a nice peakhour, tribal stomper. This one has way more energy than "Spin Me Round." It has similar tribal beats, but this one goes much further. The instrumental elements, bass and synths call to mind the Queer As Folk breakout hit "Dive In The Pool." Additional remixes will be coming soon.

While Inaya has done a handful of remakes and covers during the last couple of years, this one has enough originality and creativity that Inaya can keep on doing those because she brings a fresh element to whatever she does.

This one is perfect for Pride which is coming up in a few weeks.

Jacinta - Can't Keep It A Secret

This is the followup to the new club diva on the block's followup to "Destination." A great lineup of A-list mixers tailor this song for multiple environments.

Jacinta's vocals are pure perfection here. She does not disappoint at all. The lyrics on this song are top-notch as well.

Tony Moran & Warren Rigg's mix is basically the main version of the song. It is the usual excellent circuit mix that they are known for delivering. This one will work well both in the clubs and on radio.

The mix by Escape & Johnny Vicious goes much darker and anthemic and really makes this a hands in the air song.

Georgie Porgie opts for a more subdued house take on the song.

A CD maxi is available at PerfectBeat with the following tracklisting:

01. Tony Moran & Warren Rigg Original Mix (4:03)
02. Josh Harris' Elektrik Radio Edit (3:51)
03. Georgie's Secret Radio Mix (4:12)
04. Johnny Vicious & DJ Excape Radio Edit (4:00)
05. Francis Preve Electroluxe Radio (3:07)
06. Tony Moran & Warren Rigg Original Mix - Club (9:02)
07. Josh Harris' Elektrik Club Mix (8:02)
08. Georgie's Secret Vocal Mix (8:13)
09. Johnny Vicious & DJ Excape Main Mix (9:08)
10. Francis Preve Electroluxe Club (6:37)

Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Me & My Imagination

Stonebridge and Tony Lamezma were commisioned to remix this second single off of her much-delayed Trip The Light Fantastic album. Stonebridge's mix is a nice chugging, electro-lite remix. This is a big improvement since his last lukewarm mixes. This is totally hot. And Tony Lamezma's mix is a little more Eurodance sounding. It packs the most punch though. It's one of his best mixes. He has frequently remixed for Girls Aloud in the past. This is a great remix package overall.

Diddy featuring Keyshia Cole - Last Night (Remixes)

Maurice Joshua previously remixed this a few months back. His was a nice late night, soulful mix. Glenn Friscia provides a decent peakhour club mix. It has some slight electro elements, but it's totally tribal. He kept Diddy's vocals. In the case of this mix, it works just fine. There are many instances where such vocals don't work. Both mixes are really great.

Mutya Buena - Real Girl

This is the real first single from the former Sugababes' vocalist. Moto Blanco provide a very simple, soulful house mix that suits Mutya's delicate, but sassy vocal. This mix bears resemblance to some of the light disco confections of the 70s. It could be easily mistaken for something from the Salsoul catalog. Yes, it's that good! This is a must-listen.

JoJo - Anything

This is her second single off of her second album. After the smash hit "Too Little, Too Late" comes "Anything." This one gets the remixing treatment by Wawa. This Toto-sampling track seemed like it would be a challenge to remix tastefully. Wawa totally excels in this remix. The result is a piano-lade, funky house mix. The piano is absolutely addictive. The main vocal mix works well as does the dub. The piano is the highlight of course. This one will be everywhere in the coming weeks.

Nelly Furtado - All Good Things (Come To An End)

This 4th single from her hit album Loose has also been remixed for the clubs and Dance radio. This one was hard to imagine with a clubbier production, but Dave Aude and Kaskade have both proved that it can be done in a way that does justice to the song.

Dave Aude's mixes could be best described as a mixture of electro, dance and a touch of 80's synth pop. This one will work in a variety of sets and environments.

Kaskade's mixes are in a similar vein but are a lot more 80's sounding. It's really gorgeous.

Both have handled their mixes extremely well. This is one of the best remix packages to come out in the last few weeks.

Limp Wristed featuring Dawn Robinson - What's The T?

This one is a nice throwback to those runway/bitch anthems that flooded clubland many years ago. We are way overdue for songs like this. Aside from the comedic value many of these have to offer, these are just so much fun to dance to.

Damon Butler formerly of boyband EYC and Dawn Robinson formerly of En Vogue team up for this track. Hard to believe, eh? This is a great track with some great mixes. Josh Peace delivers the goods on his mixes with a nice Junior-esque runway mix. It has a killer bassline and keyboard. Totally awesome. Manny Lehman's is a decent circuit mix. It's more early evening/peak hour. Josh's are perfect for all occasions.

This simple but hilarious track will definitely "werk" the crowds.