Just some of the new music we’re listening to getting us over Hump Day.
First up, Bright Light Bright Light (aka Welsh pop star Rod Thomas) is taking fans out for a virtual night on the town in New York City with the release of his disco/house dance-tastic single, “This Was My House.”
Of the song, Paper Magazine wrote, “It’s not every day that we get a perfect disco song” while Rolling Stone praised its “buoyant beat to dance through pain and trouble.”
The song features Madonna backup duo Niki Harris and Donna De Lory and is an inspired slice of prideful pop that serves as an ode to LGBTQ safe spaces.
The video is an irreverently brilliant, campy look into the NYC LGBTQ+ nightlife scene, and features Bright Light Bright Light leading a merry march of party monsters into the subway system, through a dance club (Bedlam to be specific, which is also the location that the majority of the new album’s vocals were recorded in), and to the East Village rooftop of the apartment building he calls home.
Out singer/songwriter Niko reached out this week and shared two new remixes we’ve left on repeat.
Like many of us, plans were shifted and rearranged due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but Niko is of a mind that maybe we could all use some music to bounce to.
“So, I decided to release two remixes that I’ve been sitting on, with the idea that these tracks can make someone dance… I think we all need a little escape during quarantine!”
The double single, RMXD, features a remixed “Maybe” by Detroit-based DJ Voyage, and “Sexual Tension” from Norwegian producer Middelthon.
https://soundcloud.com/thisisniko/sets/rmxd
Out singer and TV personality, Trent Crews, drops his new single, “Papi,” which also features transgender rapper, ballroom scene personality and actress Precious (“Viceland’).
The new track – a bouncy, urban pop bop – is an undeniably groovy listen.
The oh-so-easy-on-the-eyes Crews is perhaps best known for his previous role in season 8 of VH1’s Love & Hip Hop: New York.
And sometimes, you just want to rock.
Philadelphia-based alt-rock band PHNTMS recently dropped their new single “Back Burner,” featuring gritty guitars, powerhouse vocals, and a rhythm section that brings the beat like a boss.
With half of the band identifying as queer, PHNTMS hope to reach out to and support the LGBTQ community.
Drummer Gene Murphy confides, “We openly talk about lesbian relationships in our music and we want to bring hope to anyone who is in the closet and doesn’t feel safe coming out. Whether you are out as queer or not, your identity is valid and if our music helps you escape heteronormativity for a brief moment.”
