Friday 30 December 2011

2011 In Review - Part 7: Top 100 Tracks of 2011

49. Tricky - Time to Dance (Maya Jane Coles Remix) (Domino)
While little can be said about the source material, MJC makes good on this remix. Restrained avant pop fun.

48. Radiohead - Good Evening Mrs. Magpie (Modeselektor Remix) (Ticker Tape)
A surprising techno offering from the Berlin Duo. This is an example of remixing to absolute perfection.

47. Seekae - Mingus (Rice is Nice)
A beautifully dark track that build and builds on a subtle melody. No reference to Charles Mingus, at least I don't think.

46. Africa Hitech - Out in the Streets (Warp)
Certainly one of the biggest tunes of the year. This track found it's way into many DJ sets, as well as James Blake's Essential Mix. Damian Marley sample worked over at a blistering 160 bpm.

45. Shinjin Hawke - Crystal Dust (Pelican Fly)
Is stadium bass a thing now? Did somebody coin that term yet? Producers like Shinjin and Girl Unit will have a huge say in the sound of popular rap music within the next year or two.

44. Eats Everything - The Size (dirtybird)
A lifelong small-time DJ/ Producer finally gets his break and gets signed to the label he idolized. Somehow that jubilation gets reflected in this track.

43. Blanck Mass - Chernobyl (Rock Action)
Beautiful and spiritual at the same time. Mastery of sonic manipulation is very much on display here.

42. Cosmic Revenge - Memories (Beat Connection Remix) (Car Crash Set)
THE song for this summer. Well, for me anyway. Nothing said free and fun times like this track.

41. Egytprixx - Fuji Club (Night Slugs)
A dark and brooding pseudo dubstep track with grizzled male vocals. One of the most interesting tracks of the year.

40. Mint - Free Association (Boltfish)
I finally get to a track that I couldn't find a sample of. I went to the label's website, you can listen to the whole album from there, it is a gooder. This is one of the most beautiful tracks of the year.

39. Buraka Som Sistema - Hangover (Enchufada)
Nobody personifies the term "party" like BSS. This song is an absolute dance floor smasher.

38. Worthy & Eats Everything - Tric Trac (dirtybird)
The BIGGEST track of the year. Quite possibly the heaviest tune I have in my collection. Read the DJ feedback on that soundcloud page for some hilarity as well.

37. Machinedrum - U Don't Survive (Planet Mu)
The juke-that-sounds-more-like-slow-drum n' bass song from one of the most well received records of the year.

36. Clapz II Dogz (Soul Clap & Catz N' Dogz) - Dogz (Glass Table)
Dig the Pink Floyd re-work.

35. Pearson Sound - Stifle (Hessle)
808s are officially back! This track was also everywhere this year. 116 & Rising, SBTRKT's Essential Mix and Pearson Sound's FabricLive.

34. Blawan - Getting Me Down (White)
Again, one of the biggest tracks of the year. It is impossible not to tap your toes when the vocals come in, I don't care how much you hate dance music.

33. Autre Ne Veut - Sweetheart (Hippos In Tanks)
One of the most emotional songs of the year. Autre Ne Veut out does himself on this track.

32. Balam Acab - Expect (Tri Angle)
Lullaby is certainly a fitting term for this wonderful song. The violins at the end take it from good to great and have a certain Sigur Ros vibe to them.

31. Instra:mental - Thomp (Non Plus)
Techno smasher from Instra:mental. Pretty much everything about this track is devoid of soul and humanism. And it's wonderful because of it.

30. Lee Jones - Duvel (Aus)
A slinky little bit of synth give this track an infectiously catchy groove.

29. Scuba - Feel It (Hotflush)
Lost in the shuffle that was 2011 is Feel It. This was the first sign that Scuba was going to be doing different things later on in the year.

28. Gil Scott Heron & Jamie XX - I'll Take Care of U (Young Turks)
The original, I think, is better than the Drake version. Both are good, but this about good as Gil Scott Heron is ever going to sound with a 4/4 beat behind him.

27. Maceo Plex - Your Style (Crosstown Rebels)
More sleaze to induce sex and the dance floor.

26. Rod Lee - Let Me See What U Workin' With (Pearson Sound Refix) (Night Slugs)
David Kennedy will be haunted by this track for the rest of his life. Especially when he plays North America. You can't make a track this bangin' and think you will ever be able to not play it at every show.

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