Joris Voorn – Nobody Knows
Caleb: ‘Nobody Knows’ was this years Amygdala. It was a flawless collection of tracks exploring soundscapes from ambient to tech house, and it never got boring. It was also a surprising and refreshing release from Voorn. I expected it to be good but definitely not as good or diverse as it ultimately was.
Honorable Mentions: Joakim ‘Tropics of Love’ ; Leon Vynehall ‘Music For The Uninvited’
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Dusky – Love Taking Over EP
Philco: Dusky’s “Love Taking Over†shines as one of the best EPs of the year. While the title track stands out as the favorite of the three, every song on the English duo’s EP is just as dance floor ready as the next. As with most of Dusky’s work, it’s a no fluff, quality, in your face Deep House collection of tracks that you can’t help but get down to when they come through sound system.
Honorable mentions: Cassian: Find Out/Could I Do, Pyrocight: Elementary
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Zhu The Nightday
Shawn: Zhu came out of nowhere. Their mysterious early 2014 release of “Moves Like Ms. Jacksonâ€, which was absolutely amazing, culminated in their April release of “The Nightday†EP. A truly awesome selection of tracks, I’d say all six of the songs on the EP are unique and equally mind-binding. It’s single, “Faded†was one of the most remixed tracks of 2014 and for good reason. Zhu brings a deep, highly seductive production that is highly indicative of the future of dance music. This EP is a case study.
Honorable Mentions: “Unbeatable/ Primal†Amtrac, “EP1†Duke Dumont
Tensnake – Glow
Shawn: There were a lot of great albums in 2014, but if I had to pinpoint the best dance LP of the year it would definitely go to Germany’s very own Tensnake. He’s come a long way from his 2010 banger, “Coma Cat,†and “Glow†is a tremendous example of the growth in production ability Tensnake has shown. “No Relief,†“Selfish,” “Kill the Time,†and “Good Enough to Keep†were legitimately the best group of songs I heard all year and can all be found on “Glow.†His new age sound, comprising of deep baselines and pop/nu disco vocals and harmonies, has made him an early contender for Artist of the Year if he can keep it up in 2015. Really impressive, and I look forward to where Tensnake goes next.
Honorable Mentions: “White Women†Chromeo; “In Return†Odesza
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Colour Vision – Sur Chic
Zach: With an incredible title track and a superb array of remixes to complement it, the “Sur Chic EP” by Colour Vision was an impressive release to say the least. The original had a sultry, tropic feel to it with thumping percussion that demands the biggest, baddest subwoofer money could buy. Not to mention each remix that followed had sea legs of their own: standing up against the original while maintaining an essence that made each one complexly unique and spectacular in their own right.
Honorable Mentions: “Hideaway” Kiesza, “EP1” Duke Dumont, “Duck Droppings” Duck Sauce
The 2 Bears – The Night Is Young
Zach: This was a hard call for me. I absolutely adored The Juan Maclean’s “In A Dream” – as one can tell from the blushing article I wrote about it for Blisspop earlier this year – and it should have been a shoe-in, but The 2 Bears put together such an outstanding collection of tracks for their full length album this year that I couldn’t not recognize them. Starting with the first track, “Get Out,” Joe Goddard and Raf Rundell set the course for a traveling, winding, adrenaline pumping road through the dance music catalog: practically touching every genre from dancehall to deep house to disco while every track has little, surprising morsels of tasty music goodness that get more delicious as the record comes to a space age climax in the over 13-minute long bookend, and title track, “The Night is Young.”
Honorable Mentions: “In A Dream” The Juan Maclean, “Quack” Duck Sauce, “New Eyes” Clean Bandit
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