When one of the biggest club tracks of 2023 fuses with a chart-topping late-‘90s classic, fans are going to be begging for its imminent release. That’s the story of ‘Ethnica (Pasilda)’, the bootleg-turned-official-release combining Nico de Andrea and Vanetty’s collaboration and Afro Medusa’s timeless hit. Played extensively over the past twelve months by Nico de Andrea as well as dance music’s foremost tastemakers, ‘Ethnica (Pasilda)’ has now been officially released on Armada Music.
‘Ethnica (Pasilda)’ started taking shape when Nico de Andrea wanted to soften his and Vanetty’s earlier club hit — ‘Ethnica’ reached #1 in Beatport’s Afro house charts and got championed by the likes of Adana Twins, Claptone, Diplo, Hugel and John Summit — to fit the more intimate venues he plays at. “I love playing ‘Ethnica’ in my sets, but I felt the track was a bit too intense for the audience when performing in smaller setups such as beach clubs,” Nico de Andrea explains. “I was in Miami at a friend’s place, looking for a way to soften the track by playing around with acapellas in the same key, when we put ‘Pasilda’ over ‘Ethnica’. We immediately realized we’d stumbled onto something magical.”
The original ‘Pasilda’, released by Afro Medusa in 1999 and remixed countless times since, quickly made its mark on dance music’s spearhead territories, peaking at #31 in the UK Singles Chart and #1 in the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart in the U.S. Its overarching and timeless appeal — everyone was playing it, from DJs in the underground clubs to mainstream radio stations — helped it become one the most seminal classic house tracks and a shining example of the transformative power of dance music.
“‘Pasilda’ is a legendary track,” Nico de Andrea continues. “Having the opportunity to rework the music that moved me in the early stages of my career, and especially such a house music classic, is a true honor. It’s a dream come true and I can’t wait for everyone to dance to the track this summer.”
Nico de Andrea x Vanetty x Afro Medusa - Ethnica (Pasilda)
[review top="1"]
[item value="10"]Nico de Andrea x Vanetty x Afro Medusa - Ethnica (Pasilda) [/item]
[content title="Summary" label="Overall Score"]Nico de Andrea x Vanetty x Afro Medusa mash up finally gets the official release as Ethnica (Pasilda). The result is super impressive with the fantastic afro house Ethnica that has catapulted the international dancefloors and considered as classic in its genre finally finds voice thanks to the classic latin vocals of Afro Medusa - Pasilda. It sounds like the two are inseparable and will remain like that in the years to me. Groovy melodic afrohouse with touches of melodic techno and the singalong sexy vocals create the perfect explosive mix for an eargasmic sonic adventure. #PureGold Love iT [/content]
[item value="10"]Beat and Rhythm[/item][item value="10"]Basslines and Groove[/item]
[item value="10"] Melody [/item]
[item value="10"] Synths [/item]
[item value="10"]Breakdown[/item]
[item value="10"]Climax / Drop / Crescendo / Pay off moment[/item]
[item value="10"]Intensity, Drive and Energy[/item]
[item value="10"]Sound-design and Arrangement[/item]
[item value="10"]Overall Atmosphere[/item]
[item value="10"]Goosebumps / Shivers moments[/item]
[item value="10"]Emotional affinity and heartfelt moments[/item]
[item value="10"]Originality and Inventiveness[/item]
[item value="10"]Radio Friendly[/item]
[item value="10"]Vocals & lyrics[/item]
[item value="10"]You can’t get this memorable track out of your head[/item]
[item value="10"]It has potential to become an anthem or a classic[/item]
[/review]
About Nico De Andrea:
Nico de Andrea is a French producer, musician and Dj with a signature sound defined as a mix of emotional, melancholic pop music combined with afro house and techno rhythms. After 20 years in electronic music, his most known tracks including Disappear, Hold Tight, Monster or , Wish We Could, have been supported over years by the like of Black Coffee, Pete Tong, Keinemusik, Solomun, Diplo, Blondish or MK, cumulating more than 70 millions of streams on Spotif y plus heavy rotations on radios like Sirius XM, BBC1 and Radio FG. On top of that, he recently celebrated 1,000,000 of listeners on Spotify and has been added into ‘2024 Artists to watch’ by DJ Mag USA.
Nico has recently collaborated with BLOND:ISH, Eli & Fur, Themba, LP Giobbi and remixed Grammy Nominated artists like RAYE, Ten City or David Guetta. All along his career, he has been remixed by some of the leaders of the afro/tech scene like Pablo Fierro, Black Circle, Kasango, Francis Mercier, Notre Dame, Sparrow & Barbossa, Dombresky, Andrea Oliva, Franky Wah or Hugel to name a few. In January 2024, Nico released his debut album Love Therapy, including club banger “Ethnica” and many more with several collaboration (Eli & Fur, Tensnake, Dorian Craft and more). “Ethnica” is for sure one of the Summer 2023 Anthem that charted on the Beatport Afro House top #1 and received a global entry on the TOP 50 overall. The Deluxe Version of the album has been released on April 5th including the club banger 'Kingston Groove' with DJ and producer Baron (FR), that has already been supported in clubs and festivals by Dombresky, Blond:ish, Amémé and more. But it includes also his first collaboration with former NBA player Rony Seikaly, called “Lose Your Love” and amazing remixes from Birds of Mind, Harry Romero, KeeQ, Tayllor and more.
Nico is a globe-trotter with shows in more than 40 countries including legendary venues like Pacha Ibiza, Ministry of Sound London, Palais de Tokyo in Paris, Cafe Del Mar Phuket, Bâoli Cannes or Cassio Hong Kong. Headlining or supporting act for icons like Black Coffee, Rüfüs du Sol, Bedouin or Camelphat, he started to conquer the American continent with shows in Zamna Miami (Basel Edition), SXM Festival , Saint Martin, Piknic Electronik, Montreal, Gospel , New York, Flash , Washington DC, Sound , Los Angeles, Halcyon San Francisco, Bonbonnière Tulum or Dinsmoor Mexico... But he doesn't forget his french roots as he played in Delta Festival Marseille, Les Plages Électroniques in Cannes and had a residency in Saint Tropez. This year again, Nico de Andrea is for sure the one to have in your radar after opening for Black Coffee during Miami Music Week under the eye of French TV channel TF1 and 50’ INSIDE. He also sold out his first headline North American tour and performed in Abracadabra Mykonos alongside Blond:ish. His Summer Tour is coming up, with amazing acts such as Montreal F1 Grand Prix, Gospel New York, Beachclub Montreal but also shows in Ibiza, Cyprus, Beirut, and more!
About Armada Music
Armada Music is the biggest independent dance music label in the world. Founded by Armin van Buuren, Maykel Piron (CEO) and David Lewis, the label manages an ever-growing catalog of over 40,000 tracks, built up across twenty-plus years of specialized dance music exploitation.
Representing artists such as Armin van Buuren, ARTY, D.O.D, Eelke Kleijn, Jan Blomqvist, Loud Luxury, Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, Tensnake, THEMBA and Yulia Niko, Armada Music amasses more than one billion streams per month, airplay on leading radio outlets such as BBC Radio 1 and Sirius XM, and top positions in the world’s most notable charts. The label also takes great pride in major achievements such as Armin van Buuren’s GRAMMY nomination for ‘This Is What It Feels Like’, Loud Luxury and Brando’s ‘Body’ surpassing one billion streams on Spotify and breaking artists such as Lost Frequencies into global stardom.
Across offices in Amsterdam (HQ), New York, London and Laren (NL), Armada Music offers a truly global appeal to its growing roster. The label has its own club, radio studio and multiple production studios, and hosts various live formats. Producer platform Armada University, which offers educational products and opportunities, shows the label’s sustained effort to nurture the next wave of talent.
In 2023, Armada Music launched BEAT Music Fund, the world’s first dance music investment company, that acquires catalogs with the mission of honoring, representing and reinvigorating them. BEAT’s portfolio will continue to grow; in the first six months following its launch, BEAT acquired the catalogs of, among others, electronic music star ARTY, house and techno pioneer Kevin Saunderson’s KMS Records, legendary NYC-based house label King Street Sounds and chart-topping producers Chocolate Puma.
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