The music video for Disclosure’s second single "You & Me" carries YouTube’s boldly stamped "Parental Advisory" disclaimer along with it. It’s unwarranted for the most…
DJ Koze is part techno shaman, part dancefloor therapist. In his earlier years the Germany-based musician was a hip-hop DJ (more recently, a DMC competition…
There was no getting away from EDM in 2012. While the three-letter hashtag has certainly caused buzz among radio stations and indie blogosphere alike, it's…
Last week's CMJ Music Marathon brought five non-stop days of label showcases, journalism panels, and industry-fueled mixers to Brooklyn and Manhattan. Hidden among an overwhelming…
Last year, New York City's Randall's Island hosted 85,000 EDM-loving festival-goers at Electric Zoo. This Labor Day weekend, when the massive party celebrates its third-annual…
On Sunday night Diplo's Mad Decent imprint came to Brooklyn's Williamsburg Park for the third stop of their annual label showcase and summer sweatfest that…
Tom! In "Tether," I think she's saying "I'm feeling capable of seeing the end / I'm feeling capable of saying it's over" on the hook!
Knowing that changes the song dramatically for me / makes Mayberry's delivery that much stronger. Related: I've read an interview with her where she mentions that she's studied feminism in journalism + how to be feminine within a band without becoming the front-woman of the band. Her kind of dry lyrical prowess paired with THAT VOICE hits the nail on the head for me w/r/t that.
TOM! To answer the question you pose to kick this thing off, I'd politely like to offer an answer; "YA THERE IS." Even in recent history! Remember Burial? He was actually even much closer to a true garage act than Disclosure is by far.
Though you mention it here as well, I take issue with dubbing this album a garage album in any way that then leads it to be "the first great UK garage album." Way too much pop/house influence. They often mention Julio Bashmore as the spirit guide to their aesthetic.
Love yr resident dance stan.
I really enjoyed Calvin Harris' new album. "Feel So Close" and "We Found Love" were both released as singles in 2011 so they couldn't make this list! I was torn between "Let's Go" and Usher/Guetta's "Without You" for that spot!
I also really liked the Kelis track on his album but not quite as much. If you're a fan, Cousin Cole's disco mix of "Bounce" is great!
I'm finding that the line that separates the purists from the "confused" is more blurry than it's ever been. More than a handful of producers beloved by whatever "underground" is left have (ahem, gladly) taken on production work for radio-friendly artists. (Let's see where Jamie xx's name ends up in 2013. In an interview I did with Girl Unit he mentioned wanting to work with Billboard-charting rnb singers.) To disregard dance in pop music out of pedantic loyalty to genre-names is your path but not mine! Dance music has traditionally benefited from a bending-the-rules-because-there-aren't-any mentality, right?
Rihanna and Calvin Harris have proved themselves to be a power-duo as far as Billboard dance goes imo - if we're going by release date, "We Found Love" was one of my favorite pop-dance tracks of 2011 as well.
It is true that there are only a handful of "EDM" songs on this list. We tried to survey the year in electronic dance music across regional club trends and other genres as well!