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Album : Time Capsule 2K14 | Volume 1

Genre : EDM, Electro, Commercial

Year : 2014

Total Time : 01:20:37

1. Ariana Grande feat. Iggy Azalea – Problem (Discotecture Remix)

2. Bebe Rexha – I Can’t Stop Drinking About You (The Chainsmokers Extended Mix)

3. Avicii – You Make Me (Extended Mix)

4. Katy Perry – Dark Horse (Goldhouse Club Mix)

5. Calvin Harris – Summer (Extended Mix)

6. Porter Robinson feat. Urban Cone – Lionhearted (Arty Remix)

7. Disclosure feat. Sam Smith – Latch (Lost Kings Remix)

8. Ed Sheeran – Sing (Syn Cole Extended Mix)

9. Moxie Raia – Buffalo Bill (Tiësto Remix)

10. Azealia Banks – Chasing Time (North 2 South Clean Extended Remix)

11. Iggy Azalea feat. Rita Ora – Black Widow (Dem Slackers Extended Mix)

12. Pitbull feat. Ke$ha – Timber (Jump Smokers Remix)

13. 3LAU feat. Bright Lights – How You Love Me (Original Mix)

14. MAGIC! – Rude (Zedd Extended Remix)

15. Coldplay feat. Avicii – A Sky Full Of Stars (Hi Def Bootleg)

16. Calvin Harris feat. John Newman – Blame (Bassanova Remix)

17. The Chainsmokers feat. sirenXX – Kanye (Club Mix)

18. Pharrell Williams – Happy (Danny Dove Remix)

Lisa Stansfield is a UK-born singer and actress who reached the top of the charts in 1990 with her major-label debut album “Around the World.”  That album and subsequent albums yielded multiple top-10 hits but most were contained in the UK and Europe.

Remixed by some of the biggest house music producers (Frankie Knuckles, Shep Pettibone, Hex Hector, Junior Vasquez, David Morales) Lisa enjoyed multiple #1 club hits in the US and around the globe.  Hits like “People Hold On,” “I’m Leavin,” and  “Never Gonna Fall” solidified her credentials among club-goers and the gay community.

Lisa is still going strong with a new album titled “Seven” released earlier this year and two singles also represented in this set (Can’t Dance, So Be It) and has been touring Europe in support of the new album.

Highly regarded for her amazing soulful voice by critics and fans alike, Lisa deservedly belongs in the Diva Hall of Fame.  It is with great respect that Party Favorz honors Lisa Stansfield with this induction.

Album : Lisa Stansfield | The Diva Series

Genre : House,  Soulful

Year : 2014

Total Time : 1:47:47.00

1. Change (Frankie Knuckles Ultimate Club Mix)

2. Make Love To Ya (Light Me Up Mix)

3. Live Together (Extended Version)

4. This Is The Right Time (Shep's Extended Mix)

5. What Did I Do To You (Morales Mix)

6. Can't Dance (Moto Blanco Club Mix)

7. Never Gonna Fall (Junior Vasquez Mix)

8. All Around The World (Long Version)

9. Little Bit Of Heaven (Junior Vocal Mix)

10. So Be It (Cahill Club Mix)

11. 8-3-1 (David Morales Club Mix Long Intro)

12. The Real Thing (Mark!'s Good Time Disco Vocal)

13. Someday (I'm Coming Back) (Classic 12'' Club Mix)

14. Everything Will Get Better (Extended Mix)

15. I'm Leavin' (Hex Hector Club Mix)

16. People Hold On (12'' Version) [feat. Coldcut]

17. Never, Never Gonna Give You Up (7th Heaven Mix)

Barry Harris and Chris Cox a.k.a. Thunderpuss were quite possibly the biggest dance music production team in the past decade.  From Whitney Houston and Janet Jackson to Madonna and Britney Spears, they have remixed some of the biggest DIVAS on the planet.  In 2003, the pair went their separate ways, much to the disappointment of their fans.  Chris continued with a string of #1 club remixes and is still going strong today.  On the other hand, Barry had all but disappeared only to resurface in 2010, when rumors began to circulate that the two would be joining forces again and possibly touring.  Sadly, the rumor was just that, a rumor.

Those of you that follow the Party Favorz circuit sets are fully aware that Barry has been working overtime, nailing one remix after another.  Listening to his remixes and those of Chris, really gets my juices going and makes me wonder how their sound would have evolved had they stayed together.  So I decided it was time to reach into the Party Favorz vault and re-post this fantastic two-set tribute to the masters of the dance floor.  Whether working together as Thunderpuss or separately, these two guys are masters of dance production.  Dive back into the early millennium and live it all over again.

1. Janet Jackson - All For You (Thunderpuss Military Mix)

2. Billie Myers - Kiss The Rain (Thunderpuss Club Mix)

3. Abigail - Let The Joy Rise (Thunderpuss 2000 Club Mix)

4. Christina Aguilera - What A Girl Wants (Thunderpuss Dirty Club Remix)

5. Donna Summer - Love Is The Healer (Thunderpuss 2000 Club Mix)

6. GTS feat. Loleatta Holloway - Share My Joy (Thunderpuss Club Mix)

7. Pet Shop Boys - New York City Boy (The Thunderpuss 2000 Club Mix)

8. Amber - Above The Clouds (Thunderpuss 2000 Club Anthem)

9. Eurythmics - 17 Again (Thunderpuss Vocal Club Mix)

10. Lara Fabian - I Will Love Again (Thunderpuss Club Mix)

11. Tamia - Stranger In My House (Thunderpuss Club Mix)

12. Jennifer Holiday - Think It Over (Thunderpuss 2000 Club Mix)

13. Thunderpuss feat. Latanza Waters - Stand Up (Thunderpuss Club Mix)

14. Enrique Iglesias - Be With You (Thunderpuss Club Mix)

15. Whitney Houston - Try It On My Own (Thunderpuss Club Anthem Mixshow)

16. Mary J. Blige - No More Drama (Thunderpuss Remix)

Barry Harris and Chris Cox a.k.a. Thunderpuss were quite possibly the biggest dance music production team in the past decade.  From Whitney Houston and Janet Jackson to Madonna and Britney Spears, they have remixed some of the biggest DIVAS on the planet.  In 2003, the pair went their separate ways, much to the disappointment of their fans.  Chris continued with a string of #1 club remixes and is still going strong today.  On the other hand, Barry had all but disappeared only to resurface in 2010, when rumors began to circulate that the two would be joining forces again and possibly touring.  Sadly, the rumor was just that, a rumor.

Those of you that follow the Party Favorz circuit sets are fully aware that Barry has been working overtime, nailing one remix after another.  Listening to his remixes and those of Chris, really gets my juices going and makes me wonder how their sound would have evolved had they stayed together.  So I decided it was time to reach into the Party Favorz vault and re-post this fantastic two-set tribute to the masters of the dance floor.  Whether working together as Thunderpuss or separately, these two guys are masters of dance production.  Dive back into the early millennium and live it all over again.

 

1. Thunderpuss - Papa's Got A Brand New Pigbag (Thunderpuss Mixshow Edit)

2. Taylor Dayne - Naked Without You (Thunderpuss 2000 Club Anthem)

3. Britney Spears - Sometimes (Thunderpuss 2000 Club Mix)

4. Cher - Song For The Lonely (Thunderpuss Club Mix)

5. Jennifer Lopez - Alive (Thunderpuss Club Mix)

6. Kim English - Higher Things (Thunderpuss Club Anthem)

7. Backstreet Boys - The Call (Thunderpuss Club Mix)

8. Mandy Moore - In My Pocket (Thunderpuss Club Mix)

9. Whitney Houston - It's Not Right But It's Ok (Thunderpuss 2000 Mixshow)

10. Ultra Nate - Desire (Thunderpuss 2000 Club Mix)

11. LeAnn Rimes - Can't Fight The Moonlight (Thunderpuss Club Mix)

12. Kristine W - Clubland (Thunderpuss Club Mix)

13. Christina Aguilera, Lil Kim, Mya & Pink - Lady Marmalade (Thunderpuss Mixshow Mix)

14. Amber - Sexual (Li Da Di) (Thunderpuss 2000 Club Mix)

15. Ann Nesby - Lovin' Is Really My Game (Thunderpuss 2000 Remix)

16. Madonna - Don't Tell Me (Thunderpuss 2001 Hands In The Air Anthem)

Party Favorz is back with the third installment of the Millennial House Classics series.  “Release Your Mind” delves into the seriously straight house hits from the first ten years, which includes Agnes’s global hit “Release Me” from the end of the first decade and signaled a shift in direction for house music, all the while propelling the career of dance production team Cahill.

It’s a coincidence that the first three songs on this set (“Sing,” “Most Precious Love 2006,” “Hypnotic, Erotic Games”) just happened to be purchased by your humble host at the exact same time.  In 2006, I remember purchasing these over-priced import CDs from Tower Records up on Piedmont Avenue here in Atlanta.  At the time, Tower was my best option for getting my grubby hands on the best house music I could only read about online.  My other two options were the independent mail order dance label out of the LA, Perfect Beat and bootleg copies of promo CDs from eBay.

To put things in perspective as to how much our musical landscape has changed in the last eight years, Tower Records and Hastings were the last two dinosaurs of the mammoth music chains that had a stranglehold in this country.  Anyone remember Musicland or Goodies?  How about Best Buy carrying CDs?  I thought not.

The first half of the millennium saw the wider acceptance of compressed music in the MP3 format and even the growing popularity of the MP3 portable player.  There was a massive growth in hi-speed internet (though nowhere near today’s levels) and even though folks were still plugging away on their AOL 56k connections, file-sharing startups like Napster, WinMX, Bearshare, and Limewire put the entire industry in a tizzy.  These services precipitated the demise of the record store chains and put a massive dent in the recording industry as a whole, while they resisted any change in their business model.

During that same time, Steve Jobs came to the rescue (with what should have been Sony’s job in the Walkman category) and gave us the iPod and it’s corresponding music service iTunes.  You also had legal startup dance music download services like Xpressbeats, DJdownload, Masterbeat, Beatport, Traxsource and JunoDownload during this same period.  It appeared, iTunes would trounce everybody but the last three have not only survived to this day but gone on to thrive as successful business’ catering to a niche market that even the major labels are no longer overlooking.

The UK’s Ministry of Sound and Hed Kandi have a strong presence in this series, but even they are shells of their former selves as the US-based Ultra Records has supplanted them in the independent dance category.  Expect them to broaden their wings more into mainstream rock and pop as time goes on.  The only name-drop I want to remind them of is “Casablanca” … enough said.

In the same eight-year period, we have gone from professionally produced dance and pop music to computer created songs by folks as young as 12 years old on their Mac in the quiet space of their bedroom.  It’s almost unfathomable how much technology and the internet has changed the music industry; especially dance music or as some have now coined it “EDM.”  It truly makes you wonder what the next eight years will bring.

What I do know is that Apple has stopped manufacturing the iPod and MP3 players are nowhere to be found.  Thanks to the iPhone and Android devices, we can now carry our entire music collection in our pockets or we can store and stream that music from some imaginary place called "the cloud," get on the internet, text, talk, take pictures,

What exactly constitutes a “house classic?”  For that matter, what makes any song a classic?  Generally, we think songs that were so huge back in the day and had universal appeal are classics.  Sure, they are but what about a song that was regional or only received minor play but for some reason or another hit all the right notes for you personally?  What if it was a song that your local DJ spun but nationally most didn’t pick it up because it didn’t show up on the Billboard Dance chart or wasn’t playing on the radio?  If we only recognize those songs that were “hits” and ignore those that didn’t amass a large audience, we would be ignoring a very important history of dance music and frankly music in general.

Case in point; take Studio 54 vs. Paradise Garage back in the heydays of disco, say New York circa 1979.  The first was for an elite crowd and generally catered to the more commercial aspect of disco, while the latter was for everyone else and catered to the smaller fringe side of disco as made popular by Larry Levan.  I’m not going to go into the whole history, but both were equally important.  Commercial disco (i.e. charts and radio) will be the general remembrance for most folks; but for people who dig into the history of disco, you can’t overlook a lot of these lesser-known songs, which frankly are sampled and creep into the songs we listen to today.

The Millennial House Classic series, as well as the previous 90's house classic series I put out, are a combination of both the big and the small tracks that played a major role in helping shape the music we listen to today.  Let’s face it, Duke Dumont may be doing something entirely different if it wasn’t for 90's house music, which is clearly an inspiration for his work.

Over the course of this series, you will hear songs that don’t necessarily fit into the “classic house” category you may be accustomed to.  The first ten years of the Millennium were an evolution for dance music.  As technology became more accessible and the ability to easily and affordably create your own music, DJ's and producers began to draw not just on 90's house, but 80's new wave and 70's disco (much of it sampled from very obscure songs most folks had never heard before).  In fact, that trend had already started in the 90's but picked up steam over the years and doesn’t look like it’s going to stop.

For me, the house music and BackSpin series are a labor of love.  If I can put a smile on somebody’s face, then I’ve done my job.  By no means are they complete, that would be impossible.  Hopefully, they provide listeners with good memories and even an education for those looking to source samples and sounds for their current projects.  In short, I just love doing this shit!

I’ve got four more of these set to go, which I’ll spread out over the coming month or so.  For now, TURN IT UP and ENJOY!

Album : Turn It Up | Millennial House Classics v2

Genre : House

Year : 2014

Total Time : 01:11:18

1. Deep Dish feat. Stevie Nicks - Dreams (Miami Calling Remix)

2. Freemasons feat. Amanda Wilson - Love On My Mind (Full Intention Club)

3. G Club pres. Banda Sonora - Guitarra G (G Club Original Mix)

4. Modjo - Lady (Hear Me Tonight) (Extended Mix)

5. Jean Jacques Smoothie feat. Tara Busch - 2People (Louis La Roche Remix)

6. Frou Frou - Breathe In (Watkins Vocal Mix)

7. Mark Picchiotti pres. Basstoy feat. Dana Devin - Turn It Up (Kenny Hayes Sunshine Funk Mix)

8. Moby - I Love To Move In Here (Seamus Haji Remix)

9. Joey Negro - Make A Move On Me (Vocal Club Mix)

10. Disco International feat. Miss Lynsey - Ready 4 More (Club Mix)

11.

I started this project earlier this year and had been working on it off and on between other posts.  Frankly, it was finished a few months ago and I had shelved it until now.  Millennial House Classics is basically an extension of the original 90s House Classics but focuses on the first ten years of the Millennium.

From 2000 to 2009, house music was in a transitional stage with multiple offshoots from it’s classic and disco roots.  While the typical suspects (Eric Kupper, David Morales, Full Intention) are included in is this multi-series set, new-comers like Freemasons, Seamus Haji, Moto Blanco, and Bob Sinclar were all making a name for themselves by re-interpreting house for a new generation of dance music lovers.

The next six sets provide fantastic insight into the history and evolution of house during this period of time.  So download this and pass it around, you’re bound to have some serious flashbacks.

House music IS my passion and I’m sharing this love with all of you.  ENJOY!

Album : Let’s Get Busy | Millennial House Classics v1

Genre : House

Year : 2014

Total Time : 01:50:37

1. Praise Cats feat. Andrea Love - Shined On Me (Bini & Martini Re-Vocal Mix)

2. Clubland - Let's Get Busy (Sami Dee's Classic House Remix)

3. Barbara Tucker feat. Darryl D'Bonneau - Stop Playing With My Mind (Full Intention Club Mix)

4. Armand Van Helden - I Want Your Soul (Original Mix)

5. Eric Prydz - Call On Me (Eric Prydz vs. Retarded Funk Remix)

6. Wamdue Project - King of My Castle (Roy Malone Kings Mix Original)

7. Roisin Murphy - Overpowered (Seamus Haji Remix)

8. Bob Sinclar - I Feel For You (Original Club Mix)

9. Moloko - Sing It Back (Boris Musical Mix)

10. Haji & Emanuel - Weekend (ATFC Wet Weekend Mix)

11. Reza - Pumpin It Up (Solitaire vs. Sharp Boys Remix)

12. No Halo - Put Your Hands On (Warren Clarke Remix)

13. De'Lacy & Marco Gee - Bodyswerve (Soulshaker Remix)

14. Samantha James - Rise (Eric Kupper Remix)

15. Sunfreakz feat. Andrea Britton - Counting Down The Days (Original Extended Vocal Mix)

16. Speakerbox - Time (Wideboys Club Mix)

17. Booty Luv - Boogie 2nite (Seamus Haji Big Love Remix)

18. David Guetta feat. Estelle - One Love (Extended Version)

19. Ann Lee - 2 Times (Original Extended Mix)

Thanks to John, one of Party Favorz' followers, I was reminded of the fabulousness of one of country music’s greatest voices, Miss Leann Rimes.

Often criticized for being too fat or too skinny, too country or too pop, or even [gasp] a husband-stealing homewrecker, Miss Rimes is the perfect candidate for DIVA status. When the tabloids write about your every sneeze and the paparazzi take pictures of your every move, you know you have arrived.

Add to all these things a voice that most artists would sell their soul for — the gates of the Diva Hall of Fame just open right up to welcome you into a diverse and elite field of your peers.

Her willingness to embrace the translation of her music for the dancefloor is mere icing on the cake and likely one of the things we gays love about her.

From the early mega-hit How Do I live to the soaring Suddenly and today’s saucy Spitfire, Leann has always had her ear to the streets and has been remixed by some of the greatest producers in the dance industry.

At the tender age of 31, she isn’t about to quit and has a long career ahead of her. It’s for this reason and everything above that Party Favorz bestows our greatest honor on Miss Rimes and welcomes her to the Diva Hall of Fame.

Album : The Diva Series – Leann Rimes

Genre : Dance

Year : 2013

Total Time : 1:27:34

1. How Do I Live (Cahill Club Mix)

2. I Need You (Lenny B Club Mix)

3. You Are (Bertoldo Extended Club Mix)

4. Good Friend & A Glass Of Wine (SoulSeekerz Club)

5. But I Do Love You (Almighty Extended Club Mix)

6. Crazy Women (7th Heaven Club Mix)

7. Can't Fight The Moonlight (Thunderpuss Club Mix)

8. Soon (Hex Hector & Dezrok Club Mix)

9. Spitfire (7th Heaven Extended Mix)

10. Suddenly (Riva Extended Mix)

11. Nothin' Better To Do (Soul Seekerz Club Mix)

12. Tic Toc (Thunderpuss Mixshow Edit)

13. We Can (Widelife Mixshow Edit)

14. Headphones (Almighty Extended Mix)

15. Give (Cahill Club Mix)

16. Life Goes On (29 Palms Transgressive Club Mix)

17. What I Cannot Change (Kaskade Mix)

So I get up early this morning as normal and head on over to pay a visit to Ian, the Starbucks hottie that works the drive-thru.  Considering we are deep into summer, the morning was unusually crisp and cool as if it were early fall.  Mind you I’m not complaining, but I did think it was a bit odd.  I digress.

Capping off the Epic Circuit Anthems series, the aptly titled Strict Machine serves up more big room drama that heated up dance floors from years past.  If there were one song that was eponymous to epic, that would be Paula Cole’s “I Believe in Love.”  Clocking in at 14 minutes, this one song pretty much had it all; soaring diva vocals, massive heart-pounding beats that slowly build into the ultimate orgasm, and DRAMA DRAMA DRAMA.  To this day, I’ve never been able to find the perfect copy of this song, and am convinced the over-compression used by Jonathan Peters was intentional.  I went back and tried to temper the song the best I could, but you will notice a little rumbling when it hits a couple of peaks within the song.  Regardless, the overall quality is very good.

The other massive title included here is Kim English’s “Unspeakable Joy.”  We owe a great deal of gratitude for Razor ‘n’ Guido’s big room production of this uplifting anthem.  This song had more drops than a twenty-dollar trick on a good night.  In retrospect, it may have been slightly over the top, so I went back and tightened up the mix.  By cutting out some of the unnecessary drops, it makes those that remain more eagerly anticipated as opposed to just something you expect every minute or so throughout the song.

In a few months, I’ll go back and gauge the response to these sets and pour through the numbers.  If they’re good, I’ll be sending more of these up at a later date.  If not, then enjoy the last of them.  I’m off all day so I’ll be digging right back into the summer EDM set(s) I’m hoping to put next week.

Happy 4th of July to all the US folks and everybody else has a fabulous weekend.  Until the next time …ENJOY!

Album : Strict Machine | Epic Circuit Anthems

Genre : Circuit, House

Year : 2014

Total Time : 01:18:35

1. Darren Hayes - Popular (Wayne G Heaven Anthem Mix)

2. Danielle Bollinger - When The Broken Hearted Love Again (Chris Cox Club Mix)

3. Paula Cole - I Believe In Love (Jonathan Peters Anthem Mix)

4. Jennifer Lopez - Alive (Thunderpuss Club Mix)

5. The Pussycat Dolls - Don't Cha (Ralphi's Hot Freak 12'' Vox Mix)

6. Lamya - Empires (Illicit Siren Mix)

7. Funky Green Dogs - Body (Club 69 Future Mix)

8. Murk vs. Kristine W - Some Lovin' (Peter Rauhofer Reconstruction Mix)

9. Goldfrapp - Strict Machine (Calderone + Suryanto Mix)

10. Pusaka feat.Thea Austin - You're The Worst Thing For Me (DJ Irene & Chris Cox Club Mix)

11. Kim English - Unspeakable Joy (Razor 'n' Guido Vocal Mix)

12. Whitney Houston - My Love Is Your Love (Jonathan Peters' Vocal Mixshow)

So I get up early this morning as normal and head on over to pay a visit to Ian, the Starbucks hottie that works the drive-thru.  Considering we are deep into summer, the morning was unusually crisp and cool as if it were early fall.  Mind you I’m not complaining, but I did think it was a bit odd.  I digress.

Capping off the Epic Circuit Anthems series, the aptly titled Strict Machine serves up more big room drama that heated up dance floors from years past.  If there were one song that was eponymous to epic, that would definitely be Paula Cole’s “I Believe in Love.”  Clocking in at 14 minutes, this one song pretty much had it all; soaring diva vocals, massive heart-pounding beats that slowly build into the ultimate orgasm, and DRAMA DRAMA DRAMA.  To this day, I’ve never been able to find the perfect copy of this song and am convinced the over-compression used by Jonathan Peters was intentional.  I went back and tried to temper the song the best I could, but you will notice a little rumbling when it hits a couple of peaks within the song.  Regardless, the overall quality is very good.

The other massive title included here is Kim English’s “Unspeakable Joy.”  We owe a great deal of gratitude for Razor ‘n’ Guido’s big room production of this uplifting anthem.  This song had more drops than a twenty-dollar trick on a good night.  In retrospect, it may have been slightly over the top, so I went back and tightened up the mix.  By cutting out some of the unnecessary drops, it makes those that remain more eagerly anticipated as opposed to just something you expect every minute or so over the course of the song.

In a few months, I’ll go back and gauge the response to these sets and pour through the numbers.  If they’re good, I’ll be sending more of these up at a later date.  If not, then enjoy the last of them.  I’m off all day so I’ll be digging right back into the summer EDM set(s) I’m hoping to put next week.

Happy 4th of July to all the US folks and everybody else has a fabulous weekend.  Until the next time …ENJOY!

Album : Strict Machine | Epic Circuit Anthems

Genre : Circuit, House

Year : 2014

Total Time : 01:18:35

1. Darren Hayes - Popular (Wayne G Heaven Anthem Mix)

2. Danielle Bollinger - When The Broken Hearted Love Again (Chris Cox Club Mix)

3. Paula Cole - I Believe In Love (Jonathan Peters Anthem Mix)

4. Jennifer Lopez - Alive (Thunderpuss Club Mix)

5. The Pussycat Dolls - Don't Cha (Ralphi's Hot Freak 12'' Vox Mix)

6. Lamya - Empires (Illicit Siren Mix)

7. Funky Green Dogs - Body (Club 69 Future Mix)

8. Murk vs. Kristine W - Some Lovin' (Peter Rauhofer Reconstruction Mix)

9. Goldfrapp - Strict Machine (Calderone + Suryanto Mix)

10. Pusaka feat.Thea Austin - You're The Worst Thing For Me (DJ Irene & Chris Cox Club Mix)

11. Kim English - Unspeakable Joy (Razor 'n' Guido Vocal Mix)

12. Whitney Houston - My Love Is Your Love (Jonathan Peters' Vocal Mixshow)