Burns & Fred Falke - YSLM (You Stopped Loving Me)
Another dance collaboration between two artist at the pinnacle of house, Scottish producer Burns cut-up disco meets Fred Falke's French filter-house stylings. Package with a super-cute video featuring a load of rescue home dogs and cuddly toys and you've got a track that can't help but make you smile.
Riva Starr ft. Noze - I Was Drunk
Ploughing a similar furrow to the massive hit that was 'We Speak No Americano' this cut from Italian-born Londoner Riva Starr managed to avoid the same levels of overplayed irritation. Combining Euro-house tempos with Eastern European vocals that at times almost sound like they could be Gogol Bordello samples.
Steve Angello - KNAS
One-third of the ubiquitous Swedish House Mafia this solo cut from Steve Angello offered something else from the Ibiza phenomenons. Looping, stabbing synths and wobbling bassline and minimal beats created a roller that just keeps giving.
The Knocks - Dancing With The DJ
At first listen it sounds almost unbearably cheesy, but with each airing the vibe shines through and you realise that had this been released in the gorgeous summer instead of snow-flecked October that it would have become an absolutely essential festival cut.
The Wombats - Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves) ('96 Bulls Remix)
I said it earlier in the year, I'll say it again, I never thought I'd enjoy a Wombats song as much as this. The vocals sound far better isolated from elementary guitars and the result is a track that is everything Kele was trying to do with his album but never quite getting there.
Warpaint - Undertow
All girl LA art-house band Warpaint were one of the underground breakthroughs of the year and Undertow was their strongest moment. At times sounding like the unplugged recording of Nirvana's 'Polly'. Sweet, lethally seductive and the kind of sound that drags you along, rippling guitars and drowning atmospherics leaving you submerged in their world.
Aloe Blacc - I Need A Dollar
Never really the breakthrough hit in the UK that it should have been, this track was massive in America thanks to its appearance as the theme song for the TV show 'How To Make It In America'. Retro-soul that recalls Mayer Hawthorne's outstanding debut work last year, the fact that it wasn't hammered on daytime radio in the way that, for example, Cee-Lo Green's 'Fuck You' was is to its advantage.
Ali Love - Smoke & Mirrors (Funtcase Remix)
Another artist criminally underrated, Ali Love's falsetto is absolutely destroyed by Funtcase's monstrous remix with its ghostly wobbles, industrial percussion and perfect juxtaposition of the soulful vocal and filthy instrumentation.
Aeroplane - We Can't Fly
The Belgian duo built up a massive reputation in 2009 with their twist on Balearic sound, their monthly chart podcasts becoming a must-listen event. This year saw Stephen Fasano leave to pursue other things but Vito De Lucas continued on unabashed and dropped this title track from his album that is another gorgeous piece of work.
Chali 2na - Go Gadget Go
The Jurassic 5 MC saw one of the more surprising collaborations of the year with this track produced by none other than dubstep master Rusko. Chali's flow is everything is always has been, the man could rap over the sound of broken machinery and still keep you hooked in but given a Rusko beat he is supreme.
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