So I’m starting to hear about all this vaporware music cropping up, but to try to describe it would never help you understand. I’d even go so far to say that without Vince Mckelvie’s 3d-rendered tropical ride, you’d never get the full effect of Years’ vaporware contribution. Gradient Forest is like a Disney ride for acid enthusiasts.
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I found out about ‘My Friends Never Die’ right when I was first introduced to ODESZA to their ‘Above the Middle‘ track, but damn do I wish I would have attached myself to this one sooner. ‘My Friends Never Die’ would have been a perfect addition to our Top EDM of 2013, but it will probably fit in better with our 2014 anyways. This duo has the future of electro dance down.
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Looking back over this last list for 2013, I’ve realized one major flaw to it. There are no women on here. We’ve had our love for women this year, but this list contains our most obsessed about music with musicians consistently present throughout the year.
Doja Cat was our closest girl, but we only fell for one of hers. She did have a lot of other potentials that fell short because the production wasn’t to the level of that voice. Producers, this girls got talents!
London Grammar probably has the most right to be up here, but I credited their best to their collab with Disclosure and I didn’t fall for ‘Strong’ in time (wish it was still 2013). They’re also two-thirds dude, so that didn’t help them either […]
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This soul satisfaction sounds like a hit from the 40’s, albeit grossly updated. I could see kids now doin the spongebob dance to Bit Funk’s jitterbug beat. I actually just found out about this ‘new’ style of dance, but I know it’s a play off something from the 40’s. Forget the name though, anyone in the know let me know.
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Try not to think of EDM or electronic dance music as purely just the dubstep, deadbeat music that the mass majority like to think of it as. Dance music has been filled with electronic sounds for decades and its reach is almost all encompassing. From disco to house this music has come a long way and we’re just at the tipping point of things to come (aren’t we always).
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Electronic is overtaking the industry and has done the same on this blog more & more each year. Our list of electronic music is so massive this year we split it in two.
First up is our best electro soul of 2013 that ranges from funk & jazz to R&B & dubstep (melodic dubstep). We weren’t sure if we wanted to include the remixes from our last list, 2013’s Top Remixes, but there is just as much soul in the remixes as any of the originals. Make sure to play through all 25, it’s got a good ebb and flow to it.
Also, stay tuned for our next list in electro: electronic dance music – and not that bullshit shit.
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I may only love about a minute of this song, but I’ve been playing it not stop for the last two days. The build on ‘My Love’ lasts about 30 seconds and is an anthem in its own right, but the breakdown like Panda’s “In Your Eyes” lacks in such inspiration. The deep house interludes are just too sedating for such an upbeat vibe brought on by Jess Glynne. I need a radio edit or something.
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Electronic music more than ever shows us that it isn’t just about what sounds good to the ear. If you analyze every single sound in Phantogram’s ‘Fall in Love,’ you’ll miss out in the beauty of when it all comes together. Listen to her voice and let the beat fade into the background.
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For the last two years I’ve tried to theme our best remixes, mashups & covers of the year off other noteworthy remakes of that year. 2011 was “uninspired by Glee” (specifically it’s mashups). 2012 was a tribute to Anna Kendrick and her remixing ways in Pitch Perfect. And finally for 2013 we go with a more genuine pick. Our hat goes off to Willy Wonka and Chipotle’s remake of its most memorable tune with an accompanying video that’s just as wonderful if not more. It really puts the art in advertising this year.
For the last two years we’ve also usually had a mix of remixes, mashups and covers. However, this year the mashups have fallen to nearly nothing, but the covers have flourished. Remixes are still on top for 2013.
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The only thing more difficult than writing is categorizing these damn top 2013 lists. I messed up our last 2013 favorites, the lady vocals, so I thought I would clarify this list for all of us.
A few years back this would have been called, “Indie to R&B,” in fact it was, but the latter has flipped producer-side and is more accurately classified under electronic for us this year.
While this is obviously intended to be centered around indie & pop music, including alternative & folk, genres are hard to pin down, especially to one or even two nowadays. So to give this list a more accurate, less appealing title, the music here is centered around a vocal-bases.
Like rock before it, indie & pop have become rock’s sliding scale contemporaries, putting the singer smack out in front. Which compared to electronic goes back to a composer or producer-bases, like jazz and classical before it.
And yes, there are elements of electronic, jazz & disco on this list, which is why I had to go on this rant in the first place.
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