10. Wolfgang Gartner - Illmerica
After a period of domination by Justice the mantle of the most powerful electro-house moment, the kind that works on absolutely any dancefloor was passed to Deadmau5 with 'Ghosts n Stuff' last year. This year Gartner's opus has taken that mantle. Teased and teased all year long with various clips and snippets appearing in his own sets and being leaked, he finally unleashed the definitive version in October after a reputed 300 hours of work on it.
9. Martin Solveig ft. Dragonette - Hello
Infectious to almost epidemic proportions 'Hello' was a stunning track from French producer Martin Solveig and Canadian synth-poppers Dragonette. Its bouncy, mesmerizing, funky and driving with its chunky bass, hypnotic synths and scattergun percussion. The tennis match between Solveig and Bob Sinclair in the video is completely real as well, actually filmed in front of 12,000 people at Roland Garros in Paris.
8. Don Diablo ft. Dragonette - Animale (Datsik Remix)
It seems like guest vocals from Dragonette is a sure fire way to get into this years top ten and this is another stunning track featuring that infectious voice. Datsik takes the seedy tones of Canadian DJ Don Diablo's original and washes it over with a further coating of smut and filth. The whomping bass drop comes crashing in before the 30 second mark and rarely lets up throughout the whole song, interspersed with the sounds of various lasers and computer game sound effects. The vocal is constantly peaking and a never-ending ball of energy, which pretty much sums up the whole track.
7. Swedish House Mafia - One (Congorock Remix)
The trio of Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso have all had a number of successes by themselves over the past few years but as a collective they have absolutely destroyed all competition. The White Isle has virtually belonged to them the past two summers and in 'One' they have the most recognisable club hit of the year. The original is a classic in its own right, the Pharell featuring vocal version we'll do our best to ignore but the Congorock remix was just something else entirely.
6. Drop The Lime - Sex Sax
New York's Drop The Lime has always been on the peripheral of my tastes, his tracks always just lacking in something to make them stand out from the crowd. It turns out that something is a saxophone. Built around the sexiest of sax riffs, which loops and loops throughout the song, militant drum machines in the background, the bass pounds over head and cheeky wolf whistles and "aye! carumbas" inflict a sense of personality upon it. Originally just a DJ tool for his own sets, the reaction was so great that he had to develop into a full release and thank God he did.
5. Specimen A - Cold As Ice
A cover of Foreigner's 1980s hit and never likely to see a release outside of the artists Soundcloud page due to issues with the rights this is probably the rarest record on the list (even in these internet times). The bitch-slap of a vocal soars even higher on this version, the piano as present and mesmerizing as ever but it is that bass drop that echoes the vocal pattern that puts this so high upon our list. It's tracks like this that make Embargo what it is, tracks that you never hear anywhere else. An absolute monster.
4. Cherry Ghost - Finally (Time and Space Machine Re-Edit)
A remix of a cover of a classic. Cherry Ghost take CeCe Peniston's belting club smash and tone it down, turning into a different beast entirely. It becomes wistful and mourning in their hands, coming across as a brooding mid-80s classic. Every single listen brings more and more and this has without doubt been the track I have played the most to myself in the past couple of months since its release.
3. Mark Ronson and The Business International ft. Boy George & Andrew Wyatt - Somebody To Love Me
The talent involved simply in the writing of this song is testament to its pop perfection. Written by a team of writers in the manner of all those classic Motown duets that it emulates, this was penned by Scissor Sisters' Jake Shears, Cathy Dennis, Anthony Rossomando (of Dirty Pretty Things & Klaxons) and Andrew Wyatt of Miike Snow. Wyatt's duet with Boy George is note perfect, the formers pristine falsetto balancing the latter's unmistakable voice, the 80's star's most powerful performance for years, if not ever. Tinged with emotion and melancholy, a tale of heartbreak and longing, full of regret and and soul-searching. The most beautiful song of the year, this is destined to become a timeless masterpiece, its power growing with each passing year. In fifty years time our children and grandchildren will be think of this as we do Marvin & Tammi or Ike & Tina.
2. DJ Fresh - Gold Dust (Flux Pavillion Remix)
The DnB crossover of the original was one of the big summer hits, reaching the levels of success that Shy FX used to enjoy all those years ago. The remix by Flux Pavilion was even better, managing to hold the upbeat vibe of the original while twisting it to incredibly dark places indeed. If you were lucky enough to be at Embargo the week before Christmas you'd have witnessed Flux himself jump onto the decks to play this for you, undoubtedly the biggest track of the year on the dancefloor.
1. Foals - Spanish Sahara (Deadboy Remix)
And now to my track of the year. It may not have reached the dancefloor all that often purely because of its length and the extended intro, without which the song just does not have the same impact. You simply need to have the full nine minutes to fully appreciate its power and beauty. The original was the centrepiece, the heartbeat of Foals' stunning second album - Yannis' voice sounding more fragile and emotive than ever before. Deadboy takes this vocal and slowly builds and builds upon it, layer upon layer of sound to create an epic masterpiece. After a minute the clacking beat come through, a mechanical clicking enters as we hit the second minute, replaced by the synths for the third minute. Four and a half minutes the sad organs appear, teasingly building until ravey stabs emerge thirty seconds later transcending the melancholy into a euphoric Chicago House feel. Listen to this as loud as you possibly can, its by far the best nine minutes you'll spend all year.
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