Beyoncé & Shakira - Beautiful Liar (Remixes)

This is the much-awaited collaboration between two of today's hottest pop stars. Beyoncé originally recorded this song alone last year during the B'Day sessions, however, it did not make the final cut. After some reconsidering, they decided on doing a duet with Shakira. The main version is a hybrid of R&B and the sultry pop-friendly Middle Eastern sounds Shakira has brought on her tracks. The original Beyoncé-only version had such a feel that Shakira would sound perfect on it, and now it's here. Beyoncé and Shakira take turns singing about their up-to-no-good man on this song. They sound so sexy together. The music video reflects this also.

Dance remixes by Freemasons and Maurice Joshua transform this R&B clubbanger for the other clubs.

Promo tracklisting:

01. Original Version (3:20)
02. Freemasons Radio Vox (3:29)
03. Freemasons Club Vox (10:06)
04. Freemasons Club Edit (7:33)
05. Freemasons Dub Vox (9:39)
06. Freemasons Dub Instrumental (9:39)
07. Maurice Joshua New Main (6:05)
08. Maurice Joshua New Instrumental (6:03)

Freemasons bring forth their usual sophisticated retro-chic house style. They move away from the Middle Eastern sound that was in the original. They do bring in some hot Latin elements including a Spanish guitar, castanets, and conga drums. A cheeky little vocal sample from that "Coolie Song" which had its instrumental sampled in countless songs in 2004 has a short vocal sample brought in during some of the vocal portions along with some Indian sitar samples. It's a nice mixture of sounds. The Club Vox mix is an epic mix clocking in at over 10 minutes. It's done in that classic "journey" style of the disco era. It just builds and builds, layer upon layer throughout the track. It's very beautiful. The Club Edit cuts the track down to size making it more manageable for mixshow and not-so-patient club DJs that may not be able to accommodate a mix of that length. The Dub Vox and Dub Instrumental mixes are quite enjoyable as well. These may work better later in the evening. The Radio Vox is a nice tight version of the song that preserves the feel of the longer version in under 4 minutes. Although, the full one is amazing enough that one may want to listen to that instead because it doesn't feel like it goes on forever.

Maurice Joshua delivers a set of soulful/lite Latin house mixes. The pianos, bassline and Latin instruments that come in during the second half of the track really make this mix memorable. The instrumental version is amazing on its own as well. This one differs greatly from what Maurice generally delivers.

Overall, all of these mixes are worth your time. Don't miss out on this massive new one.

The album version will be included on the upcoming re-release of Beyoncé's B'Day. Some of the Freemasons and Maurice Joshua mixes may become available on forthcoming CD singles in the UK and elsewhere.

Sunblock feat. Sandy - Baby Baby

This is the third single from the Swedish duo who topped the charts last year with "First Time" and "I'll Be Ready." Remaking Corona's mid 90's hit, Sunblock hopes to repeat history and top the charts again. The vocals are done by Sandy Chambers who originally recorded them for the Corona track.

For the release of the digital and commercial singles, there's already some mixes. Aside from the funky electro house radio edit and extended mixes, there's a little something for everyone. Ian Carey's mix has a lot of filtering effects and is much more electro than the original. This will be right at home with all those Fedde Le Grand and Soul Seekerz tracks out now. DJ DLG's mix is in a similar vein. It's a bit darker and more dubbish. The Audiophiles Remix is much housier than the original and looses some of the electro edge. Friday Night Posse's mix is very uplifting while it is aggressive. The vocals used are a bit different than the ones on the other mixes. It works better though. Frisco's mix is a breath of fresh air. It's not too hard and not too aggressive. This has soaring synths and keeps the feel-good vibe of the other mixes.

Overall, this one is a totally solid. This will be released in April as both a digital download and CD maxi.

Tracklisting:

01. Radio Edit (3:23)
02. Extended) (4:49)
03. Ian Carey Mix (6:18)
04. DJ DLG Remix (8:01)
05. Audiophiles Remix (8:03)
06. Friday Night Posse Remix (7:24)
07. Frisco Remix (5:47)

There are three music videos for this one. There's the main one, the X-rated on and the one with the guys in it.

Beyoncé - Listen (Remixes)

This song from both the Dreamgirls soundtack and Beyoncé's own album B'Day has gotten remix treatments.

Maurice Joshua, DJ Escape & Dom Capello, and Mike Cruz are the remixing talent.

Maurice's mix is a simple, garden variety house mix. It completely lacks the energy a song of this nature requires to make the listener truly feel the song. The other two mixers deliver the anthems.

There has been a lot of buzz surrounding DJ Escape & Dom Capello's mix since October of 2006 when it first became known that they had worked on it. It was definitely worth the wait. Their mix is a powerful club anthem that works particularly well. It's dark, but uplifting. It's exactly what was needed. There's both a radio and club mix. The radio version has been edited so well that one would get the same effect that the longer mix initiates. Rarely do radio mixes generate that particular feeling.

Mike Cruz's mix is a lot more housey. It bridges the gap between circuit house and more peak hour stuff. This one may take some getting used to as it's not the usual cookie cutter mix. It has some interesting twists and turns. They're a bit experimental, but they work quite well.

Overall, the last two are the ones to go with.

Pink - Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely)

This overseas single from her 4th album I'm Not Dead finally gets some remixes. This one has been screaming to be released as a single and be remixed, and both wishes have been granted.

Digital Dog provide a club and radio edit that are just pure perfection. The Radio Edit contains full vocals while the Club mix has less vocals making it more of a dub. Pink's vocals sound really good over this house/disco-lite production. It's a shame no full vocal club mix was done.

Now if only Pink would do more songs that are this dancey in their main mixes.

Ciara - Like A Boy (Remixes)

This 3rd single from Ciara's sophomore effort Evolution gets the remixing treatment via her label in the UK. Soul Seekerz and Kardinal Beats provide the mixes.

Soul Seekerz provide a Radio, Club and Dub. Their mixes give the song the much-needed energy that was missing from the original version. These just work so well. This new production helps make Ciara sound much better.

Kardinal Beats provide a nice UK garage/borderline R&B/hip-hop mix that does what it's supposed to do.

It's all about the Soul Seekerz mixes this time

Magnus Carlsson - Live Forever

This former member of Swedish dance act Alcazar has been entering in Melodifestavalen pretty regularly for the last several years.

"Live Forever" is a simple Dance/Pop track in its main mix. With its infectious chorus, it would be quite difficult to this and not sing along. The familiar vocals are great as usual.

SoundFactory provides the remixes that take this one up a notch. They really complement the song and make it ready for the clubs, however, only an extended mix of the original was really needed. But these mixes are great.

Magnus also recorded this song in French and Spanish in an effort to get this song to appeal to non-English-speaking audiences, and appeal, it definitely will. There is also a Swedish version which will not be on this single.

The CD single for this will be released on March 9, 2007 in Sweden with the following tracklisting.

01. Live Forever (Original Version)
02. Siempre A Tú Lado {Spanish Version)
03. J'ai Vivrai (French Version)
04. Live Forever (SoundFactory Radio Mix)
05. Live Forever (SoundFactory Eternal Club Mix)
06. Live Forever (SoundFactory Damnation Dub Mix)

Lucas Prata & Kim Sozzi - Don't You Want Me

This Human League dance classic has been remade yet again. This time round, two of the biggest names in Dance radio do the honors.

Lucas and Kim deliver on this remake. Kim had previously covered this song for a special 80's remakes collection several years back. Her and Lucas go together perfectly. Lucas' previous pairing with Reina on "Love Of My Life" last year felt a bit clumsy, however this one was just right.

Lucas and Kim had performed this song together at several of those concerts that were held towards that later part of the year in 2006. There had been much buzz surrounding a possible release of this. There is presently no word on whether a release will actually occur.

This is currently up for streaming on Giueseppe D's MySpace.

Kimberley Locke - Change

American Idol alum Kimberley Locke has made a career for herself despite not winning the singing competition. She has had several hits and has quite a fan following.

"Change" is the first single off of her upcoming album. It's an amazing power ballad that truly shows of Kimberley's impressive vocal range.

This song has been transformed for dance radio and the clubs by Jason Nevins, Scotty K, Almighty and Bronleewe & Bose.

Jason Nevins provides a dance/rock hybrid mix that is totally radio friendly. This mix bears resemblance to his mix of "Since U Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson from a few years ago. It's a good thing though.

Scotty K's is much more circuit-driven.

Almighty and Bronleewe & Bose's mixes are lot trancier and much more Euro-sounding than the other two. These could work on radio as well. The Almighty one is the pick of the bunch as the trancey production really complements Kimberley Locke's voice. Almighty's original remixes of new songs instead of remakes/covers are often quite noteworthy.

These mixes are supposed to be released as edits and club mixes on iTunes in the coming weeks.

Hilary Duff - With Love (Richard Vission Mixes)

Just as Richard Vission had done for actress-turned-singer Hilary Duff's "Play With Fire", he has remixing duties again. He has reportedly done several tracks for Ms. Duff's forthcoming Dignity album. She is going in a more uptempo dance direction a la Kylie Minogue for her latest effort.

So far, Richard Vission has done two vocal mixes. There's a Big Room Edit and Big Room Love version. Both are similar except for the lengths and overall structure. As he did with "Play With Fire", he reduces the vocals to just one phrase that repeats throughout the whole mix. The mixes are basically dubs. What remains to be seen is if an actual dub mix is put out just as there had been for "Play With Fire." The song is a funky bass-driven electro track. It's perfect for peak hour play.

More mixes are on the way. This one is a good first set of mixes.

Cajjmere Wray - Exstacy Queen (2007 mixes)

Originally released in 2004 under the name Haus Of Lies, Toronto-based Cajjmere Wray's cheeky underground track has gotten a makeover.

Wicked new mixes from Hector Fonseca, Ronen Mizrahi, Ander Standing and Solar Sun round out this re-release in addition to Cajjmere's original. It's simple, but totally hilarious lyrics, "Here comes the exstacy queen, she's looking for the drugs" will help make this an instant floorfiller. All of the new mixes are hard, dark, and driving. This one is perfect for late night and circuit sets and will be at home with all those Starkillers and Euro electro-filth records.

This is out now on Beatport. The original 2004 mixes are available as well.

01. Original 2004 Club Mix (8:45)
02. Hector Fonseca Elektric Mix (8:09)
03. Ronen Mizrahi Feel It Remix (9:30)
04. Ander Standing Hard Mix (7:15)
05. Solar Sun Addicted Mix (7:59)