Crystal Fighters - In The Summer (Tek-One Remix)
The Spanish band's blend of traditional Basque folk instruments with drum loops, heavy synths, and lifting vocals has made them one fo the most interesting bands to break out of Europe in the past few years. This remix of their hyper-manic pop tech gem by Tek-One begins with throbbing bass before the drum break switches the whole thing into a huge wobbling mess in the best way possible.
Darwin Deez - Radar Detector
Looking at things purely for the indie dancefloor this is probably the track of the year in that sense. The work of a mysterious, enigmatic New Yorker, 'Radar Detector' was as cheerful and bouncy as it gets that sounds like a lost Strokes session from around the time of their first album.
Sleigh Bells - Rill Rill (aka Ring Ring)
The voice is almost child-like, sounding like it was recorded in a cardboard box somewhere in the corner of a studio yet manages to be so sweet, classic girl-group pop. The delivery is almost rapping yet with an air of such self-confidence, singing over a Funkadelic sample in the manner of all those classic 1980s rap artists. This is why Sleigh Bells are such a special band, they are unclassifiable. Indie-rock, girl-pop, hip-hop, funk samples, rave motifs, everything is contained within the fuzz and feedback.
DJ Zinc & Ms Dynamite - Wile Out
Teh title of the years best comeback must surely go to Ms Dynamite. Completely forgotten since her 2002 Brit & MOBO award winning debut she returned to claim the crown as the go-to girl for UK bass culture. Zinc is another artist who had his commercial peak in the garage days of ten years ago but he has always been bubbling away as one of the most innovative producers in the background, constantly evolving his sound to stay at the top the the tree. This is the sound of his patented crack house and was one of the most special moments in music this year.
Carte Blanche - Gare Du Nord
Another of this years trend of producers collaborating, Carte Blanche is DJ Medhi & Riton. Their name means having the freedom to do what you please and this track is the sonic encapsulation of such. As should be expected from Ed Banger artists this is about as French as it gets and when the French make electro they always get it right.
Flux Pavilion - Haunt You
We've already spoke about how Flux Pavilion has been one of our favourite producers of the year and after he turned up at Embargo last Tuesday and asked to play a few records I can only hold him in the highest regard. This screaming, haunting track is my personal favourite.
Gorillaz ft. Daley - Doncomatic (Joker Remix)
Each Gorillaz project always brings out some incredible guest vocalists, sometimes discovering one along the way. The stand out moment of their album this year was the incredible 'Doncomatic' largely due to the stunning vocal performance from Daley. Here Joker gets involved and drops the bass, increasing the tension while never losing the power of that vocal. This my friends, is how to remix.
Marina & The Diamonds - I Am Not A Robot (Doorly Remix)
Doorly produced my number one track of last year with his remix of Temper Trap's 'Sweet Disposition' and he places high again this year with a more, yet just as powerful mix of Marina. Like the Joker remix above, Doorly shows that sometimes you have to keep the power of the vocal intact and build a remix around it, that often its the space inbetween the beats that is as important. Oh and to let the drum beat drop...
Afrojack ft. Eva Simons - Take Over Control (Adam F Remix)
Afrojack's most commercial moment of this year was not really to my liking in its original form, a little too reminicent of big room cheesy house from a few years ago. Fortunately Adam F stepped up and drove it back underground with a screeching dub beat that made it so much more powerful.
Skrillex - Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites
After touring with Deadmau5 all year (and seemingly influencing the sound parts of his new album, '4+4=12'), Skrillex suddenly had a huge breakthrough in the latter part of this year, at one point holding 8 of the top 10 on Beatport. His inimitable style is pure filth from the very first second to last and on a loud system this track just has to be heard to be believed.
No comments:
Post a Comment