This week in dance music: It’s been a busy few weeks, over which we’ve covered the return of Justice, the cancellation of Texas Eclipse Festival, the re-release of “The Green Album” by U.K. legends Orbital, the drama over Grimes’ Coachella set and the slate of dance music films debuting at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival.
And of course, there’s new music. These are the best new dance tracks of the week.
Jamie xx feat. Honey Dijon, “Baddy on the Floor”
After both christening Coachella’s new Quasar Stage last weekend, Jamie xx and Honey Dijon keep the rave momentum going with their first collaborative track, “Baddy on the Floor.” A punchy amalgamation of funky bass, hand percussion, a stuttering beat and a horn section that actually made us say “whoooo!” out loud to ourselves the first time we heard it, the track has origins in the pandemic, with xx and Dijon working on it over video calls while everyone was off the road. Out via Young Recordings, the songs come ahead of the British producer’s extremely anticipated new album coming later this year.
DJ Snake & Peso Pluma, “Teka”
DJ Snake had two of the biggest flexes of Coachella weekend one, starting his set by bringing out the legend Robin S. to sing her dance music blueprint “Show Me Love,” then, later in the Sahara tent show, bringing out Peso Pluma to perform their new collaborative track “Teka.” Snake has always been adept at combining his production with styles of music from the around the world, with this take on Regional Mexican — outfitted with Pluma’s unmistakable vocals — expanding the French producer’s terrain. The crowd at Coachella loved it, and you might too.
LF System, “Lift You Up”
If serotonin had a sound, it’d be a lot like the latest from U.K. outfit LF System. Pure soulful house music, the track is a dancing-with-your-eyes-closed-chest-beater with vocals from one of modern dance music’s greatest voices, Clementine Douglas. “This is a song we are really proud of, as it’s one of the first we wrote in session and is fully original,” the duo, Conor Larkman and Sean Finnigan, says. “We worked with a great team of people to make it happen and we hope that you’re lifted up while listening to it.” And in fact, we are.
Alok, “Pedju Kunumigwe”
Brazilian producer Alok today releases a new album, The Future Is Ancestral, which features more than 50 instrumentalists and vocalists from eight different Indigenous Brazilian communities. Released in honor of Earth Day next week and the celebration of Indigenous People’s Day today in Brazil, the album is a unique and often joyful collection of vibrant Brazilian sounds paired with the producer’s nuanced, light touch, production. “Pedju Kunumigwe” features the sounds of bird calls, with the project echoing yesterday’s relates news that some songs featuring such sounds of nature now live on a new Nature-focused Spotify playlist to raise money for conservation. Royalties from The Future Is Ancestral, meanwhile, will go to the Indigenous communities who contributed to it.
Debby Friday, “To the Dancefloor”
“I need the girls all to the dancefloor,” Toronto-based artist Debby Friday insists with increasing intensity on her latest, “To The Dancefloor.” Out via the venerable Sub Pop Records, the track gives a feeling of size, with the echo-y vocals and bashed drums at the forefront of the mix sounding like they’re resonating into a cavernous club where the ladies are in fact starting to congregate. And don’t sleep on the song’s video, which features Friday declaring “hey, I need a look” as the song begins and the artist rotates through a series of clubwear fits.
