This week in dance music: A new trailer for 100 Nights Of Hero, starring club queen Charli xcx, was released ahead of the film’s debut at Venice International Film Festival on Sept. 6.
Beatport launched a Global Remix Competition of Madonna’s 1998 classic “Ray of Light” in collaboration with Rhino Entertainment, Warner Records LabelRadar and Madonna herself. Happening in conjunction with the recent release of the Ray of Light remix album Veronica Electronica, the competition allows producers to download the “Ray of Light” stems and reimagine the track for a chance to win gear, software and a vinyl signed by Madonna. Submissions are open until Sept. 25.
Meanwhile, Major Lazer returned with a new single and a whole new member, with British-Jamaican artist America Foster now making the group a foursome. The fresh Major Lazer track “Gangsta” features Kybba and frequent collaborator Busy Signal, who Major Lazer fans will recognize from the group’s essential “Watch Out For This (Bumaye)” from 2013’s Free The Universe.
And in terms of other power pairings, Laidback Luke linked with James Brown’s grandson Jason Brown for a fresh take on the elder Brown’s classic “Super Bad.” Out via Dim Mak Records, the collab puts a delicious blog house spin on the 1971 essential, with Luke telling Billboard that when he first got the stems to the song “I was scared. It’s sacred material; I didn’t want to touch it.” But the Dutch legend adds that Jason Brown gave him “complete freedom” to do what he wanted with the song “that made me feel like I could just run with this.”
“It kind of puts [my grandfather] into the future,” Jason Brown, who is himself a DJ and producer, adds of the final product. “And that’s the goal. This supersedes the goal.”
And finally, ahead of the long holiday weekend, these are the best new dance tracks of the week.
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Myd, Mydight
Longtime Ed Banger associate Myd further carves out his own identity in that lauded ecosystem with his excellent third album, Mydnight. The 13-song project is at once playful and sophisticated, revealing a propensity for synths that shine bright as the sun and reach place of euphoria that feel nearly psychedelic (as on tracks like “Make Me Feel Alive”), along with penchant for genuine emotional weight, as heard on the slowly building encouragement anthem “Be Someone New,” a soaring collab with singer Kacy Hill, performing here under the name Bethanie Home.
That vulnerability is matched with the boldness of Myd putting his own voice on nearly every track — a rarity in the dance world and a stamp that helps make each song more human and fully his own. Other guests on the album include Carlita, Channel Tres and Calcutta, giving this one an altogether an appropriately festive feel.
The album comes amid an extremely stacked tour schedule that includes club dates across Europe, Asia and North America clear into 2026.
Mydnight is out on Ed Banger Records/Because Music. Listen to it here.
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salute, “double luxury”
As demonstrated on shimmering 2024 debut album True Magic, Manchester-based producer salute simply has a gift for making music that absolutely sparkles, but still carries the required heft to get bodies moving. That dexterity is once again flexed on “double luxury,” salute’s first solo single of 2025. (Don’t sleep on their punchy official edit of Basement’s Jaxx’s all-timer “Fly Life,” released in March.) The new track comes laces together bright bells, soulful vocal samples and a bouncy house beat that propels the whole thing forward. The track comes ahead of salute’s appearance at Portola in San Francisco next month.
“double luxury” is out on fabric Records. Listen to it here.
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Paul Kalkbrenner & Stromae, “Que Ce Soit Clair”
It’s a formidable meetings of the minds and the talents with Paul Kalkbrenner recruiting Belgian star Stromae for “Que Ce Soit Clair,” which translates to the declarative “let this be clear.” The track is indeed crystal in its execution, with Kalkbrenner creating a driving and tightly layered production upon which Stromae delivers a sing-song rap in French with his unmistakable baritone. The track comes with a surrealy futuristic video from Kelzang Ravach of creative agency Temple Caché and is the second single from Kalkbrenner’s new album The Essence, coming October 10.
“Que Ce Soit Clair” is out on B1 Recordings/Sony Music. Listen to it here.
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e-Dancer & DJ Minx, “Detroit”
You could get a complete education on the electronic music history and influence of Detroit simply by researching everyone and everything name checked on “Detroit,” the new single from techno creator Kevin Saunderson and his longtime producing partner and son Dantiez performing under their e-Dancer alias alongside Motor City musical titan DJ Minx.
“Born here that’s a fact,” Minx states, before going on to reference legends including Juan Atkins, Moodymann, Stacey Pullan, Kenny Larkin, MK, Jeff Mills, Octave One and many of the other people, places and labels that made and make Detroit a cradle of the genre. “People, know your history” implores the slinky chorus, at once pointing to this history and extending it over a thick and darkly groovy wind up production.
“Listen to the words and feel what they mean. This track is like an assignment,” Minx says in a statement. “Everything I say on it, you can look up and find the history. Detroit is family. We’re close-knit, we protect our city. Black people started this music. We started jazz, we started Motown, we started techno — and the love for this city, for this music, never stops. I love my city.”
“Detroit” is out on KMS Records. Listen to it here.
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Nghtmre, Mindfull
Nghtmre has a long-established sound known and adored for beats and productions that electrify the nervous system with barely controlled low end. His sophomore album Mindfull is a motherlode of the style, containing previously released bass bombs like the A$AP Ferg featuring “Torch” and the Crankdat and Duke Duece womper “Type Sh*t” along with newly dropped weapons like the dually pummeling and hypnotic “Cyanide” and the simply and deliciously hectic “Mind Full.” Altogether, it demonstrates why the producer Tyler Marenyi has maintained such staying power in the quickly moving dance world while also encompassing a fresh perspective and a lot of deep thoughts.
“After two years of building this concept I’m very proud to present my second album Mindfull,” Marenyi says. “This project is my most personal yet and is inspired from my personal experiences as an artist and a human. It’s about the internal battle of finding peace in a world that’s constantly fighting to grab your attention and bombard you with content from every direction. The album concept focuses on the juxtaposition of this battle: being online vs. offline. Information overload vs mental clarity. Mind Full vs mindful.”
Mindfull is out on Gud Vibrations. Listen to it here.
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TroyBoi, “Beggin”
TroyBoi has long been a master of bass music that hits just right while moving as slowly as molasses. To that signature style he has, of late, been adding loads of influences from his ancestral South Asia, a winning combination that’s extended today with “Beggin.” A collaboration with Indo-Swiss singer BombayMami, the track is built around a bamboo flute melody upon which Troy loads of layers of booming bass and hand percussion, all of it leading to a slinky interpolation of Destiny’s Child’s “Say My Name.” The track is from TroyBoi’s forthcoming Rootz EP, coming Sept. 19.
“Beggin” is out Ultra Records. Listen to it here.
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