“How You Love Me”
Released March 25
Who: 3LAU (aka Justin Blau)
DJ 3LAU
Vocalist: Bright Lights (aka Heather Bright)
What it is: Peak-hour EDM with idealistic lyrics and skittering synth melodies.
What it isn’t: Progressive house, the misnomer for recent productions by 3LAU and just about anyone in the Venn diagram overlap of trance and Dutch house.
Soundcloud streams to date: 1,131,780
Where it’ll likely be played: Marquee, where Blau has a residency.
Label: Released on Republic Records’ dance imprint Casablanca, the track is Blau’s debut on a major.
Added significance: The song is already being played by dance music kings Tiësto and Hardwell.
“Sweet Surrender”
Released April 4
Who: Black Boots and Starkillers
Vocalist: Mikey Francis of Black Boots
What it is: A big-room anthem with trance-like buildups and acoustic guitar, the latter likely the influence of Francis, who served time in rock-oriented bands before he formed Black Boots with Pedi “Lightknife” Amiri.
What it isn’t: A Sarah McLachlan cover.
Soundcloud streams to date: 29,354
Where it’ll likely be played: Tommy Wind Theater, where Black Boots DJ.
Label: Ultra
Added significance: Starkillers’ Nick Terranova was a longtime club DJ in Las Vegas.
