Club World Awards

Club World Awards launches: vote now

• Section: Music News Topics: Club World Awards
• Written by: Terry Church

Every March, the Club World Awards honor the best of North American nightlife. Every February, they turn to the club-going public for help.

A panel of 12 industry-expert judges – including DJs, booking agents, technicians, and club owners – pick the majority of the winners.

But four of the most coveted categories lie in the hands of the people: the Nightstalker Award, for your favorite local venue; Best DJ Set, for the jock(s) who made the most dancefloor magic in ‘07; plus Club Anthem Of The Year (vocal) and Club Banger Of The Year (instrumental), for the tracks that defined ‘07 club music.

In cooperation with Club World, Beatportal is psyched to bring you the tools you need to make educated choices at beatportal.com/clubworldawards

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Best Banger: Fedde Le Grand ‘Put Your Hands Up For Detroit’ (Ultra)

• Section: Music News Topics: Club World Awards
• Written by: Terry Church

Fedde Le Grande’s ‘Put Your Hands Up for Detroit’ has been nominated as Best Banger in this year’s Club World Awards.

The track’s hummable synth melody and Motor City-celebrating sample rocketed the Dutch/producer DJ to international fame, and landed a dance instrumental on the country’s mainstream dancefloors.

It hit No.1 on the U.K. singles chart, and No.11 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Airplay chart in the U.S.

With 54,000 downloads sold, the full-on smash is as successful as bleepy dance can get.

Click through to hear it.

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Best Banger: Sander Van Doorn ‘The Riff’ (Ultra)

• Section: Music News Topics: Club World Awards
• Written by: Terry Church

Trance king heir-apparent Van Doorn goes for the gut with a muscular punch of low-toned synths driven forward by techno’s light cymbal hits.

It’s as relentless as they come, with more machismo than a lot of today’s high-octane trance.

This plus the Dutchman’s remix of Club Scene Investigator’s ‘Direct Disco’ have helped define him as leader of the Netherlands scene’s more metal team.

His track is nominated as Best Banger in this year’s Club World Awards.

It’s track No.11 in the player on the next page.

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Best Banger: Samim ‘Heater’ (Get Physical)

• Section: Music News Topics: Club World Awards
• Written by: Terry Church

Samim’s huge ‘Heater’ made it into the nominees list of Best Bangers for this year’s Club World Awards.

With an elastic synth guiding the way, this track’s street-festival-style accordion riff was the year’s most unlikely call to the dancefloor, sneaking into sets by everyone from Behrouz to Sven Vath.

Berlin-based Swiss/Iranian producer Samim released a full-length of equally unusual dance, ‘Flow’ on can’t-miss Get Physical in September, solidifying his status as the go-to guy for accessible dancefloor oddities.

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Best Banger: Mark Knight & D Ramirez ‘Colombian Soul’ (Toolroom)

• Section: Music News Topics: Club World Awards
• Written by: Terry Church

Another track nominated in this year’s Club World Awards is Mark Knight & D Ramirez’ ‘Colombian Soul’.

One of the bombs of Winter Music Conference ’07, this monster is from two guys who are generally known for funkier fare.

But house champ Knight and Ramirez exorcise their big-room demons in grand fashion, with a walloping smack of bass synth riding under spidery blips that belongs in a “do not open until 4 a.m.” lockbox.

Champions include Carl Cox and Robbie Rivera.

Listen to it after the jump.

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Best Banger: Dubfire ‘Roadkill’

• Section: Music News Topics: Club World Awards
• Written by: Terry Church

Another track in the running for Best Banger at this year’s Club World Awards is Dubfire’s ‘Roadkill’.

Deep Dish’s Dubfire declared his independence this year [the duo is “exploring (their) own creative paths,” so they say] with a slate of adventurous releases.

‘Roadkill’ in particular mixed the Deep Dish of the ‘90s with today’s minimalism into a classic-styled electro-pogo that almost anyone could – and did – play, from Ferry Corsten to Gabriel & Dresden.

The track even got illegally mashed-up with Rihanna’s ‘Umbrella’…and still sounded damn good.

Check it after the jump.

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Best Banger: Deadmau5 ‘Not Exactly’ (mau5trap)

• Section: Music News Topics: Club World Awards
• Written by: Terry Church

Upon its release in August, this slow and steady, style-defying thumper shot straight to No.1 on Beatport’s chart, and stayed there for six straight weeks.

It has sold 16,000 copies as of this writing, been licensed to compilations in all genres from ‘Club Azuli’ to ‘Electro Nation’, and landed in the box of the world’s number one DJ, Armin Van Buuren.

It also certified Deadmau5 (pronounced “dead mouse”) as dance music’s hottest young property and a full-fledged phenomenon.

Click through to hear it.

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Best Anthem: David Guetta ‘Love Is Gone’ (Perfecto/Ultra)

• Section: Music News Topics: Club World Awards
• Written by: Terry Church

Have you ever watched a club full of people pump their fists to a guitar stab in a dance record?

Something about the forcefulness of Willis’ vocal, or the track’s giddy joy despite its angst-y lyrics, brought it to arena-rock levels.

Delivering on the promises of previous Guetta lovelorn hits ‘Love Don’t Let Me Go’ and ‘Just A Little More Love’, ‘Gone’ won over the last of the resisters, certifying the DJ/producer as a reliable hitmaker.

David Guetta’s ‘Love Is Gone’ is nominated for Best Anthem in this year’s Club World Awards.

Listen to it after the jump.

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Best Anthem: Axwell ‘I Found U’ (Remode Mix)

• Section: Music News Topics: Club World Awards
• Written by: Terry Church

Axwell ‘I Found U’ has been nominated as Best Anthem in the Club World Awards 2008.

The Swedish producer has always circled straight-up nostalgia, preferring instead to surround his soulful vocals with more modern sounds.

He does the same here, but the classic elements are so strong – a Byron Stingily-esque vocal; early ‘90s power piano chords; Def Mix-style strings; lyrics about love, baby – that the end result is better than deferent: It’s transforming.

The record rocked the Ibiza season, with jocks from Francois K to David Guetta to Roger Sanchez catching the vibe. 

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Best DJ set: BT @ Sullivan Room

• Section: Music News Topics: Club World Awards
• Written by: Terry Church

Enhanced Club Environment: BT rolled in with a BIG ass case.

But then ONLY played cds from a small booklet.

I was sitting in the booth literally on top of the case wondering what was in it. BT turns looks at me as says, “You want to move or better yet can you put that together,” I of course move, cause I have no idea how to put anything together, to watch him bust out a very very complicated mic and mixer of some tech beyond me.

In less then a minute he’s signing Love Comes Again.

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Best Anthem: Ralph Falcon ‘I Need Someone’ (Nervous)

• Section: Music News Topics: Club World Awards
• Written by: Terry Church

The No. 1 club track of the year, according to Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Play chart, is a dark slab of New York after-hours featuring a deadpan alto vocal by Superchumbo muse James.

Ralph Falcon ‘I Need Someone’ percolates with a nasty bass belch before boiling over into Nine Inch Nails-like noise, but never loses its deliberate groove.

From hitmaker Pete Tong to party-starter Erick Morillo, everyone was on this record.

Read on to check it out.

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Best Anthem: Justice ‘D.A.N.C.E.’ (MSTRKRFT mix) (Ed Banger)

• Section: Music News Topics: Club World Awards
• Written by: Terry Church

Justice ‘D.A.N.C.E.’ has been nominated for Best Banger in the CWAs 2008.

With over 100,000 copies sold of the original, Justice’s mega-hit brought together clubbers, indie rock kids and your average MTV viewers with its irresistible Sesame Street chorus and very French disco strings.

Its clever clip got nominated for ‘Video Of The Year’ at the MTV Video Music Awards, but meanwhile, the shaggy duo was rocking clubs large and small across the country with positively house-y DJ sets.

Now they’re preparing to play Madison Square Garden in March.

Check the track after the jump.

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Best Anthem: Samantha James ‘Rise’ (Eric Kupper mix) (OM)

• Section: Music News Topics: Club World Awards
• Written by: Terry Church

James’ Sade-meets-Tracey Thorn pipes got sun-baked for Balearic beaches by Kupper, with an elegant house mix that powered the track to No.1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in April.

The inspiring song was the centerpiece and namesake of James’ debut artist album, and went on to sell over 25,000 copies.

Across-the-board jocks like Josh Wink, Laurent Garnier and Miguel Migs all got caught up in its spell.

Samantha James ‘Rise’ (Eric Kupper mix) has been nominated for Best Banger in the Club World Awards 2008.

Listen to it after the jump.

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Best Anthem: Enur feat. Natasja ‘Calabria 2007’ (Ultra)

• Section: Music News Topics: Club World Awards
• Written by: Terry Church

Enur’s ‘Calabria 2007’, which features the vocal talents of Natasja, has been nominated for Best Anthem in this year’s Club World Awards.

The flirty dancehall of this crossover hit is tempered with tragedy: Singer Natasja Saad was killed in a car accident in Jamaica last summer, right when the buzz began.

Copenhagen-based producer Rune Reilly Kolsch (Enur is Rune backwards) made the brassy beats back in 2002, and Natasja recorded her vocal in 2006.

When it finally hit the U.S., radio stations, club DJs – both dance and hip-hop – and clubbers took notice.

At press time, the single is climbing the Billboard Latin, Rhythmic, Top 40 and Hot 100 charts; and is No. 1 on the Hot Dance Airplay chart.

Check it after the jump.

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