Disney ‘Dconstructed’ & other EDM sounds

The Electronic Dance Music (EDM) invasion is now complete. Who would have thought that there would come a time when synthetic sounds would evolve into music and would be appreciated by many? Popcorn was just cute and fun to do, but it is now the acknowledged father of an entire genre. The idea that we would be listening to electronic symphonies and thinking of them as normal is now nearing reality.  

What started as hip music for club outings grew into light and sound shows that have become crowd-drawers, entered the hit charts and bred celebrity DJs. I shudder with a mix of dread and excitement over what new sounds are in store for us from electronic music. More so now when Disney, a long hold-out against the genre has now allowed its precious catalogue to be remixed, cut to pieces, turned upside down and totally deconstructed by star DJs.

The album is Dconstructed.  It is the first-ever electronic dance music release on the Walt Disney Records label. This is a collection of Disney tunes ranging from the current big seller Let It Go by Idina Menzel from the movie Frozen remixed by Armin Van Buuren to those from decades ago like Once Upon A Dream by Bill Shirley and Mary Costa from Sleeping Beauty remixed by Trion. They were all turned into EDM by various DJs.

The reactions are not entirely favorable. There are a lot of, “How dare they do this to Disney songs?” I agree that the original or I should say popular arrangements are always best but if you want to party with Disney club music then Dconstructed is the album for you. Besides, those in showbusiness do have to keep up with the times and if electronic dance music is the rage, there is every reason to hop on to the bandwagon.

There were the easy picks, the tunes that only required a little push into EDM territory. These are Roar by Axwell and  Sebastian Ingrosso from Monsters University remixed by Yogi and two by Daft Punk from the soundtrack of Tron: Legacy, Derezzed remixed by Avicii featuring vocals by Negin and Fall, remixed by the Japanese Popstars. These just goes to show that even before Dconstructed, Disney was already dipping its toes into electronica via movie soundtracks.

Maybe because that sweet scene with the Mommy Elephant in Dumbo is so vividly etched in memory, the cut I like best in the album is the house version of the lullaby Baby Mine done by Kaskade.  He added beats and rhythm but kept these laidback and just purring softly in the background. Cute and quite innovative is Hey Pluto, where Stonebridge put together bits of themes from old Mickey Mouse cartoons and then adorned these with Mickey’s squeaks and Pluto’s barks. 

Most impressive of all is Shinichi Osawa’s work on the Main Street Electrical Parade theme, the big event in Disney theme parks all over the world. It sounds very current but has all the warmth and thrill that that wonderful parade never fails to bring. And for sheer majesty, nothing beats the Mat Zo Remix of Circle Of Life, performed by Carmen Twillie and Lebo M from The Lion King.  New dance music has merged with the primitive sounds of the jungle.

Dconstructed also includes: Partysaurus Overflow by BT and AU5 inspired by The Toy Story Toon Partysaurus Rex; Unkle Reconstruction by Michael Giacchino from The Incredibles remixed by U.N.K.L.E.; the Shy Kidx Remix of The Muppet Show Theme; You’ve Got A Friend In Me by Randy Newman from Toy Story remixed by Alfred Montejano; and Pineapple Princess a big hit from the ’60s by Mouseketeer Annette Funicello remixed by Kinsey Moore.

If you want to listen to more EDM, you might check out Clarity by Zedd. With a monster hit like Clarity featuring Foxes, Zedd who comes from Germany, is certainly one of the most commercial acts in the EDM pool. He has this superb grasp of music in its totality and easily straddles both pop and classical. He then mixes these together to create his own kind of lyrical electronic music. Zedd has worked with Lady Gaga, Born This Way, Justin Bieber, Beauty And The Beat and other big names.

Clarity is star-studded and the Deluxe edition with six extra cuts, is available in the stores. Among those who joined Zedd in this project are Haley Williams of Paramore in Stay The Night; Ellie Goulding in Fall Into The Sky with Lucky Date; Empire of the Sun in Alive; Matthew Koma in Spectrum; Ryan Tedder in Lost At Sea; and Skrillex and The Doors in Breakin’ A Sweat.

And now for a really big one.  This is VIP DJ by Various Artists, which with its three discs and 59 cuts by the biggest names, must be the best EDM sampler ever made.  And really, not just EDM, this compilation should give anybody an excellent idea about the state of dance music today, and that is electronic or otherwise. You can just pop these CDs into the player and be in a trendy party mood all day long.  

There are Diamonds by Rihanna; Radioactive by Imagine Dragons; Summertime Sadness by Lana Del Rey and Cedric Gervais; I Could Be The One by Avicii vs. Nicky Romero; As Your Friend by Afrojack feat. Chris Brown; Don’t You Worry Child by Swedish House Mafia feat. John Martin; Play Hard by David Guetta; Lala Song by Bob Sinclair feat. The Sugarhill Gang; If I Lose Myself by Alessa vs. One Republic; Dancing On My Own by Robyn; Alors On Danse by Strame feat. Kanye West; Wiley & Chew Fu by Take That; Beauty And The Beat by Justin Bieber feat. Nicki Minaj; Celebrate by Mika feat. Pharrell Williams; and many, many more.