You probably have never heard of German artist Wilhelmsson before, and that's quite reasonable, as that name has only popped up this year onto my radar. Little did I realize, this guy has been producing music for the last 25 years, mostly under the name of Mark 'Oh, who had such famous chart-shattering dance hits as "Tears Don't Lie" and "Never Stop That Feeling". (Saying they are chart-shattering surely sounds like a promotional blurb, but I'll leave it there anyhow.) Over time, he slowly disappeared from the scene… or so we thought. Now with an added layer of wisdom and maturity under his belt, he has been working under a couple of new aliases: Mazila and Wilhelmsson. One of his more recent singles is "Fireflies".
Under partially vocoded male vocals, the Radio Cut lays everything out from the get-go: a relaxed beat, house piano backing relative to that of the more happy hardcore days of old, and a few other poppy synths. And we can't forget the loose vocals singing about fireflies and how he wants someone to be his firefly tonight… Okay. Compared to his older works, this one has a more chilled beach vibe than his higher-energy dance hits, and it's refreshing. The main melody, while not overly complicated, is smooth and calming to the ear. An Extended Mix also gives extra-strength relief!
Fellow German hands-up producer Van Der Karsten also lends a hand with a far more thumping Van Der Karsten Remix featuring a rolling thump bass and a far more straightforward dance track as he speeds up the vocals to match the dancefloor-laden rhythms. A screechy synth heads the instrumental melody, bringing an old-school flavour back to the track. It's not bad, and it definitely takes the song in a different direction. An Extended Remix also gives extra-strength party vibes!
The Mark 'Oh's Back On The Pitch Remix Cut, also done by Wilhelmsson, delivers exactly what the title suggests: he pitches the vocals upward or downward, depending on his current whim! The track itself focuses less on an instrumental melody beyond a plunky bassline with a greater emphasis on the pitched vocals. It's the least interesting of the mixes from an instrumental standpoint, but the vocals still add a bit of allure. The full Mark 'Oh's Back On The Pitch Remix also gives extra-strength pitchin' madness!
Fireflies serves as a different face for Mark 'Oh to help separate him from his long-standing commercial dance background, and it shows he's capable of more than just hands-up and super-cheesy vocal clips. Looking forward for more of the mature sound from Wilhelmsson.
