A Pop Music Feature
Dance floor diva Ultra Naté redefines the “supersize” with the re-release of her 2022 effort ULTRA Deluxe delivering on expectations and setting a new benchmark for the dance music fandom that she set free!
It’s been a banner year for dance music. The genre has enjoyed a mainstream exposure that hasn’t been heard of since before the pandemic, which makes ideal sense considering how the appeal of dance music, house, electronica, and everything in between is deliberately determined by nightlife and club culture. During the two years (and some) of lockdown and social distances, the dance floors and music festivals usually dominating the summer circuit calendar were largely canceled, even though a handful of artists including Dua Lipa, Lady Gaga, and Kylie Minogue released full-length projects dedicated to the most die-hard dance devotee.
Another mainstay in the genre that has delivered consistently on the scene, Ultra Naté may have been chosen to shelter in place, but the über-talented singer/songwriter, producer, and DJ didn’t exactly hibernate. Tracing a career back into the 90s when Ultra Naté made an indelible impression on the club movement with her anthemic hit “Free (Live Your Life)”. The song became an instant call to action among the LGBTQ+ community who immediately adopted and indoctrinated the artist as one of its own dance floor divas.
The single has been reinvented and remixed several times over the course of the last decade (as recently as 2021) proving its enduring fandom. It was most recently reinterpreted by the electronic/dance duo Icona Pop featuring Ultra Naté.
Another hit to recently reemerge is the prophetically disco-inspired “If You Could Read My Mind” which brought together Ultra Naté, Amber, and Jocelyn Enriquez. Under the banner of “Stars of 54” the trio scored a huge club hit, especially when the track was prominently featured in the big-budget Hollywood film 54. The filmmakers were so enamored with the remake that they re-edited the film’s ending incorporating a live performance with the three singers in full Studio 54 regalia. With her combustible persona and purely muscular vocal prowess, Ultra Naté poised herself for her latest full-length endeavor.
The newly minted ULTRA Deluxe was just released and features of setlist of perhaps the artist's most relevant new works. The original version of the album (the one with the white cover) sported 14 tracks including an Anniversary Mix of “Free (Live Your Life)”, but was preempted by the seismic release of Queen B, Beyonce’s own ode to house music, and the underground balls with Renaissance Act 1. The timing for ULTRA Deluxe it seems couldn’t have been more perfect this second time around, proving its own immaculate radiance by expanding the track list from its predecessor and giving the setlist a slight re-polishing.
With the runway cleared, Ultra Naté is in the pole position to set the fall music scene on its ear. The album opens up with the joyously jubilant “HAPPY FEELING” (a collaboration with Russell Small & DNO P) which sets the stage for the dance party of the season. Perfectly complementing the all-new robust House sound that Ultra Naté is dealing with ULTRA Deluxe is “YOU’RE FREE” the artist’s aforementioned team-up with Icona Pop that reinterprets her classic hit. At her disposal throughout this series of club-thumpers is a musical sensibility that profoundly sets Ultra Naté apart from her contemporaries: her innate connection to the genre at its heart and soul.
“SUPERNATURAL” with Funk Cartel features a gorgeous vocal arrangement that moves eloquently through a series of natural instruments, supplemented with dance bass hits and synths that give the track a pinnace, that becomes perfectly complemented by the immediate follow-up track “DANGEROUS (So Dare Me)” paying homage to the classic Pointer Sisters R&B/Funk hit. It’s a perfect marriage of the old and new, an intuitive reflection of dance genres through the decades to today that comes to a complete summation in “SURVIVOR” with Tracy Young.
With club life and the circuit scene finally enjoying a revitalization, it’s appropriate that one of the original divas responsible for the delight and decadence of the club era, Ultra Naté has reminded us of the importance of pushing the boundaries of the art. 2022’s ULTRA may have unlocked the doors and aired out the space but with ULTRA Deluxe the inspection has been approved, the power has been restored, and it's time to relentlessly return to the dance floor and live your life!
Here is your #FanzEyeView of the official video of Ultra Naté’s hit “MIRACLE” featured on ULTRA Deluxe.:
ULTRA DELUXE | by ULTRA NAT´E | is available now on most Digital Download outlets including iTunes here. The original release ULTRA is also available.
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