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Music

Most Vital: Tchami Attacks, The 90s are Back, and Molly is Wack

With your resolutions surely long forgotten by now, there are better ways to warm your soul this January.

With your resolutions surely long forgotten by now, we're confident you'll find new meaning in all that is whetting the aural appetites of dance music fans this week as some old faves return and new stars are born.

A Promess is a Promise



While Mark Ronson enjoys another week at No. 1 in the UK and Canada and his first in the US with the non-house, Bruno Mars-featuring "Uptown Funk," beats still matter as Tchami's vibey roller "Promesses" featuring Kaleem Taylor powers to No. 7 in the UK Official Charts on its debut week. The track has been kicking around for 18 months, first on Fool's Gold, but with its plumply elastic bassline and a MK-esque cut-up of Taylor's vocal, the tune's UK re-release on Ministry of Sound seems to be fulfilling all its promises. 

Kygo's "Firestone" is now lodged in Spotify's global Top 10 with 6.9 million plays for the week ending January 11. The Norwegian's December single with vocalist Conrad rises to No. 6, thanks largely to support in continental Europe and Asia. The track has yet to crack the mainstream charts in the US. 

The Dream of the 90s is Alive in Dance Music

The Prodigy

made formal the poorly-kept secret of their 2015 album, with the release of lead single "Nasty." Due March 30,

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The Day Is My Enemy

is their first LP in six years, long enough for a generation of fans to renew itself and have never seen the seminal group live. A UK-only tour launches later in the spring, but there is no word of global festival dates as of yet. With worldwide album sales topping 20 million since their 1992 debut, they are indisputably one of the biggest electronic acts of all time. Should they appear on the line up of TomorrowWorld or Stereosonic, it will be justified.

Everyone's favorite Icelander, Björk wrote a note to her fans about the follow-up to Biophilia, her 2011 album/app/multimedia project. Vulnicura will be her eight studio album and is said to feature production from Arca and Haxan Cloak. It also may feature the new Björkword "warmthness."



Validating a business model many thought died with Napster, Kaskade has inked a two album deal with major label/dinosaur Warner Brothers Records. While the monolith of Burbank has dabbled in DJs for some time now through imprints like Atlantic's Big Beat and Parlophone's FFRR, this is the first main stage sign all on its own and old people drooled over the idea of "EDM" accordingly. Warner's foundation label has been quietly acquiring talent like Helena and Death From Above 1979 over the past year, so Kaskade won't be alone. Given his outspoken opposition to the label system following his split with Ultra, it's doubtful that WBR gave him anything but full autonomy with this contract. Kaskade is also nominated for a Grammy for his remix of Galantis' "You"

We Found Molly and She's Not in Your MDMA

Most anti-drug PSAs are an eye-roll away from oblivion but we had an actual drug dealer (anonymously) vet the facts in a new clip out of Toronto called Cookin' With Molly, a drug-fuled send-up of cooking shows with ingredients Gordon Ramsay probably only dreams about. Bottom line: most labs are dirty shitholes and most MDMA doesn't have much actual MDMA in it. This isn't news, exactly, but it's rare that both a government agency and a narcotics pusher agree on things and we're happy to join their hands in victory when they do. Make your choices accordingly.

EDM Freeze Out on the Beach

John Digweed was once the king of dance music's mainstream but the days of Sasha & Digweed WMC headlining are long since gone and now the progressive hairstyle can say with authority that there is no EDM at BPM. The techno fest on the beach beats on this week while people around the Northern Hemisphere look on in chilly envy.

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The Deep Freeze

Stoic Canadians and brave Americans have bought their Hot Hands in bulk and are prepared to shove them into every crevice of their North Face and Canada Goose ensembles this weekend for Igloofest. Sled over to the Old Port in Montreal this weekend when THUMP hosts the Dirtybird gang on Saturday, January 17. Or pop in for a Sunday night turn up with the trap gods Flosstradamus and friends on January 18. Tiga, Keys N Krates and more are confirmed for later weekends. And around here, it's poutine (pou-ten) not poutine (pou-teen).

Fool's Gold Chains and Haute Couture Dinners

A-Trak raises the bar yet again with a darkly decadent clip for his tune with Miike Snow's Andrew Wyatt, "Push." It's NSFW (maybe?) but not because of the tiger with the basketball.

Finally, Mikky Ekko has tapped Blood Diamonds for his new track, "U." Ekko's weightless falsetto joins Grimes' frequent collaborator/bff for a slice of warm and uplifting R&Btronica.

Now we're getting in the swing of things, aren't we?