Fridae

One of the biggest new pop releases to look out for in 2012 is MIKA's much-anticipated third album that has been years in the making. After bursting onto the scene with his exuberant brand of pop on "Life In Cartoon Motion," MIKA attempted to continue his momentum with his sophomore effort that was a smash among his loyal fans but unfortunately didn't catch fire in the global pop charts like his debut LP did. It's nothing to fret over though as that experience ultimately helped create a renewed focus for the singer to develop his unique sound in an exciting new direction.

MIKA returned to Paris where he grew up to recharge his creative mojo and collaborate with a wide variety of producers and writers to find inspirations for his third record. According to unconfirmed reports, the singer has been working with people like Martin Solveig, William Orbit and Empire of the Sun's Nick Littlemore to work on tunes for the album.

The first result of his time in the studio was the French-language single "Elle Me Dit" that was exclusively released in France this year and a massive hit for the oh-so talented singer. In fact, I was in Paris last week, and saw huge posters and signs in the music department of the gigantic Galeries Lafayette promoting "Elle Me Dit" as the perfect holiday gift. It is solid proof that MIKA's popularity in France is as high as ever, which makes the country the perfect launching pad for his forthcoming new music. Just like he intended.

Los Angeles DJ/producer/artist Pace (aka Lincoln Jesser) is a massive pop fan and decided to revamp MIKA's classic breakout tune "Relax (Take It Easy)." Obviously, the original version of "Relax" is all kinds of brilliant, but it is great to hear Pace work his soundboard magic and give the song a fresh new twist. 

Introduced by a dark, nocturnal electro-groove and menacing strings, MIKA singing "relax, take it easy" takes on a whole new meaning. Pace neatly injects the frenzied beats with some bright synth pulses to add some light and sparkle to the mix that perfectly fits MIKA's original, joyous sentiment. Excellent work by Pace. Highly recommended. Make sure to follow Pace on Facebook and Twitter.

MIKA - Relax (Pace Remix) by arjanwrites