All for us

Well, it seems I have a little problem this year keeping those posts coming. I'll try and get them going again.

Earlier this year I promised that I would post when Ace Of Base had released their new single "All For You".



Such a great track! And since I've been away for so long they have now also released the new album "The Golden Ratio", a great album if you like "All For You" like I do!

Once again

Christmas has passed and the new year is just hours away. Time for a last entry this year. Tonight is once again time for celebrating new years eve.

I could give you a Christmas or a new years song, but I will give you this fantastic song by Ace Of Base:



"My Déjà Vu" taken from the album "The Bridge". Probably the best album by Ace Of Base if you ask me.

In my mind

When Lasgo released their first single "Out Of My Mind" with their new singer Jelle van Daele in the end of 2008 I thought it was ok but wasn't convinced I would rank it very high among their productions.

Nevertheless during the year it has slowly grown on me and the last month and a half I have played it quite a lot and with great joy at home.



It's still not among my top favourite Lasgo songs but definitely in the better half and with the high standards from Lasgo that means it's great!

And with two great follow up singles "Gone" and "Lost" I can't wait for the new album "Smile" to be released here in the beginning of september.

Would have bought it anyways :-)

Last Goodbye?

One of the saddest news in music this summer was that Da Buzz announced on their homepage that they are taking a break.

For two years we haven't really heard anything from them and when we do it's this sad announcement. If they do come back sometime in the future it will probably not be for a long time, even though I truly hope they will have second thoughts and return soon.

I can't really understand why they never made it big big... And after September had her success with "Cry For You" one should think that Da Buzz would have quite a chance as they can be said to be somewhat similar in style and have at least a handful of tracks with the same potential.

Well from here comes a big "Thank You!" for five great albums and a "Greatest Hits" album. Hope to see you back sometime in the future!



What better way to accompany this post with their great "Last Goodbye".

Then this takes over

Here's another new one and once again it somehow hints towards the fact that I do have my favorites.



David Guetta Featuring Kelly Rowland "When Love Takes Over" is one of David Guetta's best, only beaten by "Love Is Gone" and maybe one or two other from his album "Pop Life". And once again he shows how well he now masters the perfect blend of house and pop, just like fellow frenchman Bob Sinclar.

You saved my soul in the dark of the night

One of the many eurodance acts which where quite big back in the days (the (mid) 90's) but have now more or less been forgotten by the general public is E-rotic. Yet again an act I'm sure I will be returning to as they did release some great tracks.

E-rotic being somewhat a forgotten gem themself I could give you one of the great songs that made me fall in love with them, like "Fred Come To Bed" or "Sex On The Phone". But besides the music still being great, the lyrics and corny moans really haven't aged that well, so instead I will give you one of my favorites of theirs:

"In The Dark Of The Night" was one of the new tracks taken from their best of album "Greatest Tits" from 1998. One of the few albums I've bought without really knowing most of the songs. But I knew enough and wasn't disappointed. "In The Dark Of The Night" was worth the entire album in it self, but there is a lot of other great stuff on it as well.

I'm thinking of them

There's no underestimating the impact 2 Brothers On The 4th Floor had on the eurodance-scene in the 90's and their influence on my taste in music as well.

I've already covered their fantastic "Dreams (Will Come Alive)"
- one of my alltime favorites - and could mention a lot of their other songs which are also on my list of classics!

But for now it's about the more hidden gems and one of their tracks which have been somewhat forgotten and in my opinion is a bit underrated is "I'm Thinkin' Of U":



2 Brothers On The 4th Floor had the most succes with their singles from the first album "Dreams" and what came afterwards has mostly been hits in their homeland and a few other markets. In Denmark they have been mostly invisible since the first album which is probably why it's only within the last five years I've come to know "I'm Thinkin' Of U". But I love it that's for sure!

Better off if you came back in my life

Talking about Alice Deejay her (their) "Better Off Alone" is probably one of the few tracks that I just loved from the very first time I heard it and - even though I rarely listen to it anymore - still does when I hear it now.



Making it a track which is probably on my all time top 20.

At the time when it was released it just sounded so fresh, like nothing else around. It was a well deserved smash hit followed by more hit singles and a great album "Who Needs Guitars Anyway?" which also have hidden gems on it like "No More Lies":



Would love to see Alice Deejay back continuing the success!

Touch of an element

I've previously written about Basic Element and how much I was looking forward to a new album. Well now it's here, at least in Poland where it have been released. I'm hoping it soon will hit other countries so it will be a bit easier to get the hold of.

It includes the current hit-single "Touch You Right Now":



One of my absolutely favorite tracks at the moment and a big radio hit in Basic Element's homeland Sweden.

The new album "The Truth" seems to follow the excellent style found on the comeback album "The Empire Strikes Back" and also includes the single "Feelings".

Musical gold

Last but not least in my little Belgium series is the duo Sylver who had a major breakthrough in 2000 with the fabulous "Turn The Tide":



It was followed by another big hit single for them "Forgiven", one of my favorites of theirs. And also the recommendable album "Chances".



Sylver have been and still is active, releasing lots of great tracks. Another one of my favorites is "Why Worry":

Best albums of 2008

Well, as said 2008 wasn't really anything to talk about as far as album goes. On the brigth side the release plans for 2009 looks VERY promising though!

But I still think I should give a little feedback on the 2008 albums. None of them really makes it into my regular playlist in the future I think, but still worth mentioning is a couple from Belgium.

Kate Ryan had huge succes with her cover "Ella Elle L'a" taken from the album "Free" which makes it onto my 2008 list. As usual with Kate Ryan, "Free" includes great songs in both english and french like the single "L.I.L.Y." and the other great french cover song "Voyage Voyage":



Teaming up with Kate Ryan both as far as geographic origin and musical genre goes are Milk Inc with their latest album "Forever" which is one of their better albums and one of the best of 2008. It includes the excellent title track:



Finally though absolutely the best album release of the year I do hesitate to mention September's "Dancing In Orbit" as it is not really a new album release but a compilation collecting the best from her previous albums "In Orbit" and "Dancing Shoes" and only released in some countries following her huge succes with the new 2008 UK version of her 2005 song "Cry For You":



Actually a track that could be mentioned as one of the best tracks of 2008 as well.

A magic omen

Returning to some words about the classic 90's eurodance.

One of the best compilations I own is by coincidence also one of my first cd's, "Absolute Let's Dance Opus 5". Being a bit late on the cd-market I actually bought this one of my younger brother who was more and more turning his taste towards hip-hop. I got at a bargain price and didn't gave it much notice on what was on it, just wanting to expand my very small cd library at the time.

As it turned out this was a compilation which - unlike most compilations of today - almost has no fillers but lots and lots of killer tracks and it very much defined my eurodance standards and demands. It is still one of the compilations I turn to most often so it really have passed the test of time.

It also includes one of my all time favorites, a track that really is the epitome of eurodance and a pure classic, Magic Affair's "Omen III"!



Probably because they never really got another hit in Denmark I didn't really explored if Magic Affair had done more greatness. Funny thing is that I at some time must have decided they where from Sweden, so it wasn't until some years ago I bought their album "Omen (The Story Continues...)" and decided to research a little that I learned they where from Germany and have done many great tracks but none as good as "Omen III". But ok, not many has!

Your my ticket to ride

When I started this blog it was the intention to make it a blog of my own personal journey into the world of dancemusic. Now it has more become a list of my recommendations of new and old songs (which was actually kind of the intention as well). So returning down the original path for a while...

In the mid 90's I had really started going out every weekend. I was still kind of a novice when it came to music, but had become sure that eurodance was my call. Especially two clubs had my attention at the time and I have many good memories from both including a lot of music memories!

At one of the clubs one of the big hits was Solid Base's "Mirror Mirror":



I quickly found out that Solid Base was behind the song and when they followed with "You Never Know" I couldn't wait for an album. It took some time and it wasn't till sometime later they started hitting at my local bar's jukebox with "Fly To Be Free" I started looking for the debut album again and finally found it. Ironically but not unsurprising it was named "Finally" :-)

Soon after in the late 90's they started hitting it big time with "Ticket To Fly" and many more. And the following albums got big time tv advertising. Solid Base actually got so popular that they did a song for Pringles chips commercials "Once You Pop (You Can't Stop)".

Like the rest of the eurodance scene Solid Base sadly disappeared quite sudden and is now widely forgotten. In eruodance circles however they are among many (including myself) considered to be one of the favorite acts.

I can't choose among one my many favorites of theirs, so here's one of the more popular Solid Base tracks, "Stay With Me":

	Solid Base - Stay Wi..>
	Found at skreemr.com

Actually Solid Base is also one of the reasons behind this blogs name...

Active follower

I've recently started listening quite a lot to the brilliant Activ "Visez":



Somewhat similar and just as good as "Doar Cu Tine" and also taken from the 2004 album "Motive".

As they are from Romania and most info-pages are in Romanian it is a bit hard to find info on the "Undressed" version of "Doar Cu Tine". Anyone know anything about it?

Well "Visez" is a great track that has proven it is worth following Activ and their releases.

Baby I miss your walk on the water

Second instalment in my little "where did they go?"-series goes to Denmark and Catch. Their fantastic debut-single "Walk On Water (Baby U Can)" went all the way to the #1 spot on the danish dancechart.



A song co-written by DJ Encore who later did his own version "You Can Walk On Water" previously posted.

Catch continued with another great poppy dance track "Keep On (Singing Lala)":

boomp3.com

Then they dissapeared. Again as with Dee Dee an album was planned and actually got a title "Sweetest Mystery" but for some reason never got released? A little sneakpeak was actually given on the "Keep On" remixes maxi-single which included two bonus tracks "On And On" and "B.A.B.Y (I Miss You)".

Hit me with a Buzz

I've already written too long on this blog without mentioning Da Buzz, the most poptastic band in the world.

I vaguely remember they had a minor hit in Denmark with one of their first singles "Do You Want Me" or "Let Me Love You" (or both) which I liked but didn't took much notice of. As you can see, I can't even remember which song it was.

But somehow the name Da Buzz did stuck in the back of my mind and when I some years later was flipping through cd's at the local library I came upon their second album "Wanna Be With Me?". The back of my mind told the front of my mind that they had done something I had liked, so I took the cd back home to give it a test spin.



The title track hit me instantly! It was and still is amazing! The rest of the album wasn't bad either, but it was "Wanna Be With Me?" that made me keep the album home and renew it at the library some times so I could keep it home even longer.

Slowly the album grew on me and I ended up buying it and having many favorites from it. At the end of that year it was by far the most played album of mine in years and I just had to buy their third album "More Than Alive" and the at that time new fourth album "Dangerous - The Album". They didn't disappoint!

And with songs like "Dangerous", "Alive" and many more how could they?





Soon after I bought their first album "Da Sound" and actually imported their fifth and latest album "Last Goodbye" from Sweden as soon as it was released. And now I can't wait for a sixth. Everything they do are great!

Wrapping this up are one of their all time best from the "Last Goodbye" album, "Without Breaking":

Be sure you will hear more about Da Buzz from me as they rank at the very top of my favorite artists!

Back to basics with a snap

Did you know that many of the classic eurodance artists of the 90's have returned in recent years with new material?

I'm not talking Scooter or E-type who haven't really been away. Nor all the covers or 2005-, 2006-, 2007-versions etc. of old hits. But real new material. And most of it quite good!

I've mentioned Basic Elements some times. Besides them one of the more succesful comebacks have been done by Corona. In 2006 she released "Back In Time" which was not a major hit but did spawn some attention on most dancecharts around Europe.



Snap! who have had many succesful releases of updated tracks and cover-versions released the new song "Beauty Queen" in 2005.



An amazing song if you ask me. Why it didn't went on to become a new hit of theirs is beyond me.

Rather unnoticed Dr. Alban also released a new album "Back To Basics" in 2007. Of course it doesn't help there wasn't any promotion done other than on his own website and it is practically impossible to find a place where you can buy it! Most of the songs have just started to appear on download-stores during the last couple of months. A bit sad as you can find some quite good songs on the album including "Don't Joke With Fire" and "I Wanna Know".



The list of returning 90's-dance artist is too long to go on. Now all we need is for them to have the same succes as they had back then! The music for most parts is there.

Happy Nations?

I kind of promised to be back with a review of the Ace Of Base concert in Copenhagen. Today it's excactly 1 month since the day of the concert, so what could be more obvious than to write it now...

All things concidered it was a good show! But I'll start with the negative critic. The concert was way to short, only 1 hour including the encore. With a ticket price around 70 EUR (for the cheapest ones) that sure gave some disappointing comments among the audience. And they didn't give one single song from the "Da Capo" album!?!! I know the show was part of a tour and the album wasn't released in that many countries, but still.

But what they did give was great. A set full of all their hit-singles as it should be in a comeback concert. And almost all of them spiced up with new arrangements. Most notably a ballad version of "Don't Turn Around", an electro version of "Wheel Of Fortune" that I'm sure would be a hit on the dancefloors if they released it now, and a version of "Lucky Love" very close to the original but slightly more energetic which gave a huge response in the audience.

Here is the original European video version of "Lucky Love" (the US version of the video was different):

A band that is fantastic

Continuing with a classic 90's eurodance act which has been somewhat forgotten by the general public even though they had some quite big hits back in the days.

Basic Element best known for tracks like "This Must Be A Dream" and the #1 hit in most of Scandinavia "The Promise Man" but also "Move Me" and one of my personal favorites of theirs "Touch".



After releasing 4 albums from 1994-98 they disappeared. But returned last year and got some well deserved attention especially in home country Sweden, but also elsewhere. The 2007 album "The Empire Strikes Back" gave them a couple of hits with great singles like "I'll Never Let You Know" and the amazing "To You"!



Why they didn't got a pan-european hit is beyond me. But hopefully they'll want to strike again soon.

Anything more I can do for you?

Back to the 90's eurodance. One of the bands who helped create the genre is Culture Beat. I'm sure I'm going to write about them several times as their albums just kept getting better and I keep going back to them.

They are the name behind one of the best known songs of the 90's eurodance scene: "Mr. Vain".



"Mr. Vain" is from their breakthrough second album (the first only made minor impact at the clubs). The album "Serenity" spawned many hit-singles and made Culture Beat a well known name both on tv, the radio and at the clubs.

One of the singles "Anything" probably have the musicvideo I've seen the most times.



It was on heavy rotation on all the major music-channels MTV, MCM, VIVA etc. and on national danish tv. No matter which channel I turned to, it was playing. I actually watched it so much I started to dislike the song.

Different nowadays, I love it like I love everything from Culture Beat. And how I would love to see it played on the tv now instead of all the RnB cr*p that's on.