New York DJ

Though the funhouse mirror-like psychedelic pants on her Experiments EP cover might make you think this song is influenced by late-seventies disco and/or early nineties rave music, "Begging Me," a 2011 single from up-and-coming English singer/songwriter Florrie Arnold, is much more a catchy dance-pop song in the mold of '80s synth revisionist bands like La Roux, Cut Copy and Class Actress.

While many of the "new" new wave artists these days can feel tiresome since it seems like they often lift synth riffs straight from New Order or The Cure, this tune, right from the start, punches through any suspicion of being overly derivative with the immediate intro of its sexy chorus that hooks you with its catchy melody. From there the song never lets up, with its addictive mix of ethereal vocals and synth washes coupled with the female R&B-like swagger of the lyrics.

The sexy confidence of "Begging Me" has more in common with the R & B / house music fusion anthems as done in the past few years by Rihanna, Lady Gaga, or Flo Rida. But because the sound of "Begging Me" is breezier - there's no overly booming bass, stretched-out drum loop builds-ups, or even any calls to put your hands in the air - it falls somewhere in between housey R &B and the aforementioned sound of the moodier electro artists. And maybe that's more than anything why the song feels fresh - it seems to be going for the spot just under dance floor rager, but over the chilled-out synth vibe. As a result, this is perfect to be played in those many moments at events like fashion shows or cocktail lounge mixers, where you need sexy energy that adds to the atmosphere, but not a full-on thumping that gets in the way.

What's also impressive is that Florrie has come up with a song that feels fresh and confident with relatively little experience making music. She's in her early 20s, with only one EP released prior to this one, though she also is a songwriter, programmer, and drummer. Oh, and also, she's a pretty model, which never hurts - as you can no doubt tell by the sleek video for the song.

When we meet to talk with clients about music for their event, often the first thing we notice is that they've already dejectedly decided the music they really like and want to hear won't be able to be played at their event.

It may be a designer in a fashion show thinking that the music she wants to use for her fashion line will be too ethereal a sound to keep the audience interested. Or a couple who loves moody acoustic indie pop but thinks it would be too much of a downer to play a little at their wedding Or an organizer of a corporate party who worries that the employees won’t dance because they tend to like raw Southern hip-hop and their bosses wouldn’t. Whatever the case, whatever the event, it seems this kind of unfortunate premature musical censorship is everywhere.

It often comes from a good place of common sense or consideration, like an organizer at a art opening knowing that prospective buyers might not want to hear his beloved deep cuts of ‘70s classic rock all night long. But some of our clients’ decisions that their favorite songs or genres won’t work comes not from a good place at all, but instead from having met with conventional, unimaginative DJs that tend to work for bigger, more cookie-cutter DJ companies. We’ve heard from these clients that some of these DJs have told them straight up that the only way to get a party movin’ is to play disco all night.

Whatever the reason for clients' doubts in the music they love, one of the first things we tell them – no matter what their event –  is to open up their mind, revisit their CD collection or iPod, and make their “dream list” of songs they want to hear, with no censoring allowed. Put anything in you would love to hear. Not only does it make the process of selecting music easier, but also more fun. It will get you excited about the possibilities of hearing this music, as opposed to nixing songs right away and feeling frustrated that the soundtrack to the event is already not what you would like.

Now, will all these "dream songs" end up making the cut when the event arrives? Sometimes many of them do, sometimes they don't. But what always happens is that when we see these “dream lists” and talk a bit with the client to see what music is most important to them, we can then use our experience in knowing what of these songs will work given the mood that is wanted at the event, as well as what kind of guests will be there, and what kind of structure the event will have. Then we can suggest which songs to keep, which to think about not using. For example, a pair of melancholy indie songs at the more sedate moments in a wedding can feel absolutely right and even moving. So can a set of obscure hardcore punk during the more boisterous moments of a corporate party. And even a little experimental progressive rock can enhance the feeling of an art opening, if played at the right time.

By far, many more of the songs you really want at your event then you ever think you can play are actually able to be fit in, but not only that, they can be made to add to the atmosphere of the event. But to do it, you have to begin by letting the DJ know what you really want to hear. And if that DJ looks at your list, smirks, and says something about how you can't have a party without having "the Y" on your list, well, you know the time has come to find a different DJ.

At most events where we perform, unless it’s a theme party of some kind, there’s always people with  a wide range of musical tastes. Some people want to hear songs they know well, while some crave new tunes to discover. Others don’t care so much about the songs or artists, but more of an overall vibe – but of course, even then different moods are preferred, as some like only modern electronic lounge music, while some may like a vintage atmosphere of Motown or soul. And these are just a few of the tastes we’ve seen over the years. The kind and combination of music that people want to hear at events are endless.

This is, most often, a great thing – especially when you’re a DJ in New York City, where so many styles of music that thrive, and even an obscure genre can have a surprisingly large following. But sometimes, those planning events want to make sure that the DJ can pull out some songs at times that everyone can agree on, but of course don’t feel stale or played out.

In the last few years, several young female artists like M.I.A. (“Paper Planes”) and Santigold “L.E.S. Artistes”) or female-fronted groups like The Ting Tings (“Shut Up and Let Me Go,” “That’s Not My Name”) have managed to create different shades of pop that all share a genre-blending quality, as well as an attitude of in-your-face, almost snotty confidence. These artists have been embraced to some degree by those with more underground tastes, as well by as those who like a more mainstream sound. In other words, songs from these artists are just as likely to be heard in a Williamsburg hipster’s iPod, or playing overhead in Aisle 8 of Rite Aid.

A relatively new addition to this vein of young, edgy and intense female-dominated pop acts is La Roux (loosely translated from French, it means “the red one”), a British duo made up of, you guessed it, red-haired singer Elly Jackson and keyboardist Ben Langmaid. La Roux doesn’t mix as many genres as much as M.I.A. or Santigold, but their freshness does come from fusing something old to something newer. In this case, it’s meshing the feel of the ‘80s synthpop era – from the Depeche Mode-like electronic riffs to Jackson’s dramatic, Patrick Nagel-like wave of a hairstyle – with a take-no-shit, confrontational stance on relationships that takes a cue from modern hip-hop, ultra-empowered mid ’90s female pop artists (and, even though it untidys the description here, Blondie).

La Roux’s “Bulletproof,” currently climbing toward the middle of the Top 40 pop charts, is a lean, buoyant pop song that shows how seamless this combination of retro electronics and a current “talk to the hand” brash attitude can work. While the song’s intro might make you think the group has revived every type of keyboard sound heard in the ’80s, the defiant energy and lightning-fast delivery of Jackson’s crisp vocals keep the tune from feeling like a cover of some obscure Yaz single.

“Bulletproof,” though, truly becomes special when it reaches its chorus, where Jackson vows she won’t be sucker for bad relationships anymore: “This time baby/ I’ll be/ bulletproof.” Sure, it’s simple, and without the right vocal performance or melody, it could be forgettable, but in the way the melody opens wide after the constricted, staccato verses, and how Jackson’s voice hits the song title with an enchanting delicate balance of airiness and emphasis, it becomes a surprisingly uplifting moment, one that feels at once gorgeously free and sharply focused.

And also, to invoke the ’80s, this is a totally awesome dance song.

Have a listen to the original mix (there’s plenty of remixes out there, too):

La Roux – Bulletproof

These days, if you’re not that familiar with indie pop and rock, and only see and hear the bands or singers at the more popular end of the indie spectrum, it’s easy to think all this kind of music falls into one of two types: either, 1) quiet, mopey acoustic folk sung by skinny white guys with thick beards, or, 2) spastic, nervy pop songs sung by skinny white guys (or girls) wearing tight jeans. 

That may be a little simplistic, but judging from the covers of Spin or Rolling Stone for the past couple years, that conclusion doesn’t seem complete hyperbole because these are the two type of indie music that tend to be most hyped. Many who don’t know indie music much might think then that indie is either only for private listening, since the quiet folksy stuff is too sad to play at the mellower parts of an event like dinner or cocktail time, and the dancier pop stuff is just too obscure for all but a few to know.

But as a dj in nyc who is exposed to so much new music of all genres each year both new and old, both obscure and mainstream, trust me – the world of indie pop and rock is much more wide-ranging than simply the sounds of what grabs the most media attention. (If you're looking for a general and expansive list of all kinds of indie songs from the '60s until now, check out our indie playlists on iTunes by typing in "iMix", then searching "djnyc", as well as looking at the indie categories on this blog and at the dj nyc news & music blog located here.) In our list below, and playable on iTunes here there’s a huge diversity of sound and level of media visibility in terms of the artists: There’s fun, upbeat indie music great for cocktail time that looks back to the sounds of early Prince (Empire of the Sun’s “Walking On a Dream”, MGMT’s very recognizable “Electric Feel”) or the pop soul of 1960s era girl groups (The School’s “I Want You Back”, Camera Obscura’s “Honey in the Sun”); there’s melodic dance grooves that look to the future by creating fresh, lush electronic soundscapes (Annie’s “Bad Times”); there’s lovely, sentimental songs of a folksy-country mood (Laura Cantrell’s cover of New Order’s “Love Vigilantes”, The Avett Brothers’ "I & Love & You”) that will probably be the talk of your dinner party for a bit. 

In fact, the “indie” label that has become so popular and rather thoughtlessly thrown around in the past decade or so has become such a catch-all that it’s almost without meaning in terms of defining a specific sound; to many people it means a lot of different sounds. About the only thing the term is useful for is alerting you to the likely presence of a certain sensibility – being somehow new and fresh and adventurous, and going against the grain of the mainstream in a variety of ways, even if at times that newness is a retro sound that’s been off the map for awhile.

And don't think indie music can only be used here and there as an occasional filler; it often can be showcased. There’s some indie songs on our list we played this year for important signature moments, like wedding first dances: The Yeah Yeah Yeah’s “Hysteric (acoustic version)”, a strikingly simple and tender song about love enduring after difficult experiences that features a beautifully crisp female vocal, and the quite close-to-mainstream Ray LaMontagne, with “You Are the Best Thing”, a bouncy, smoky tune that echoes ‘70s Rod Stewart, from that time long ago when his music had a gritty, rough-edged sexiness to it.

And remember, the indie music you choose to play today at your event could give you some "cool points" tomorrow for being seen to be the first to break out a song that later becomes popular and loved. Not so long ago bands like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and singers like Ray LaMontagne were considered obscure, and now they’re on Saturday Night Live.

1. Electric Feel – MGMT
2. Bruises – Chairlift
3. First Train Home – Imogen Heap
4. Walking On a Dream – Empire of the Sun
5. The’59 Sound – The Gaslight Anthem
6. Honey in the Sun – Camera Obscura
7. Lisztomania – Phoenix
8. Vanished – Crystal Castles
9. Love Vigilantes – Laura Cantrell
10. Sleepyhead – Passion Pit
11. I & Love & You – The Avett Brothers
12. Hysteric (acoustic version) – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
13. My Girls – Animal Collective
14. Dominos – The Big Pink
15. This Tornado Loves You – Neko Case
16. You Are the Best Thing – Ray LaMontagne
17. I Want You Back – The School
18. Bad Times – Annie