Being a college student on a campus where Top40 radio playlists are forcibly pumped into my head all day, I yearn for the chance encounter with someone who has not been listening to Nicki Minaj for three straight hours. I cherish the rare conversation I have with a fellow student about their thoughts on how bad (or good) they thought the new Justice album was. At the end of the day, I am fortunate enough to know that I have never pigeonholed myself into any particular genre of music, despite the constant exposure to the styles that are forever around me in my day-to-day happenings. However, for me, 2011 seemed to be dominated by electronic music. Raves, dance parties, nightclubs, and music festivals – everything revolved around this style.
Earlier this year, one of the largest music festivals on the East Coast, Ultra Music Festival, expanded its lineup from two to three days, and sold out of an estimated 150,000 festival tickets. What struck me as interesting was the way a festival that only booked electronic acts could grow so much from the year before. A few things happened during 2011 which lead me to believe that 2012 is going to be even bigger for electronic music– a) David Guetta continued where he left off with the Black Eyed Peas, recruiting an all-star lineup of popular vocalists to make a seamless entries into the Top 40; b) rock music fans became restless after finding out all of their favorite songs were being ruined by Glee and found a new niche in a US-branded form of Dubstep, led by the recent five-time Grammy-nominated man himself, Skrillex; and c) Deadmau5’s stage production for his live show was so insane and unlike anything Creed ever did, that it caused everyone you know to try, and eventually become addicted to, rave music and rave drugs. It should be noted that the chances of us making it through 2012 are slim, considering the whole Mayan thing and our current 2012 GOP candidates, but if we do, I foresee the Billboard Top 100 being topped by the likes of Deadmau5 with vocal contributions from Beyonce; or Tiesto collaborating on a track with Justin Bieber.
For now, I have compiled, in no particular order, some of my favorite releases from the year that might have flown under your radar. If you haven’t heard of a particular release, do not be scared, as I hired a team of MIT graduates to integrate YouTube links for a sample song from each album. Try them on for size and then thank me later.
SBTRKT – Self Titled
As one of my favorite producers to ever wear a mask, SBTRKT’s debut album showed the world that not only could he produce a highly successful crossover single, "Wildfire," which would eventually inspire rapper Drake to put his own spin on it, but he could fit it in nicely between ten other standout tracks.
GANG GANG DANCE – Eye Contact
I am not sure how much acid was ingested in order for this band to create such an amazing album, but I am guessing it was some pretty good stuff. Let us hope they risk their sanity to record a follow-up to this psychedelic beauty.
araabMUZIK – Electronic Dream
As a hip-hop producer, araabMUZIK began to attract new fans with his unique ability to sample and create instrumentals using an MPC controller. On his debut album, araabMUZIK used an eclectic array of familiar samples which carry the listener on a path from hip-hop to hard-style and back.
Apparat – The Devil’s Walk
With only a few tracks sporting vocals, The Devil’s Walk is a textbook example of the way to create beautiful electronic instrumentals. This record will move you, in every good way you can think of.
JAMES BLAKE – Self Titled
James Blake blew my mind when he was creating funky percussion-laced dance tracks a year or two ago in the UK. But he did not stop there. He decided to spearhead what some would call the “post-dubstep” scene and after hearing his cover of Feist’s "Limit To Your Love," I did not care what he did – I was a fan.
M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
To be honest, this was one of the bigger surprises of the year for me. After listening to this album all of the way through, I immediately put it on repeat and jumped into bed wearing just a smile.
Bon Iver – Self Titled
Listen to this. Stop reading and just do it. You can come back to the rest later.
Chase & Status – No More Idols
The latest effort from this British electronic duo featured an impressive vocal contribution list which helped transport their listener to lands of drum & bass, electro, hip-hop and everything in between.
SIRIUSMO – Mosaik
With the follow up to his highly successful Discoding album from 2008, German producer Siriusmo refused to be ignored, and produced one of the more satisfying electronic albums of the year.
JAMIE WOON – Mirrorwriting
I first heard of Jamie Woon earlier this year, after his debut single, "Night Air," was revealed to have been produced by the mysterious UK producer, Burial. Due to his truly unique vocal style, I have kept my eye on Jamie Woon since day one.
GIL SCOTT-HERON & JAMIE XX – We’re New Here
The man behind the ambient drum tracks in your favorite XX songs decided to take a stab at the 2010 release by poet Gil Scott-Heron, I'm New Here, and the result paid homage to the original, adding a new and darker element to some of the standout tracks from the original release. Listen to this from front to back and remember the legend that we lost in 2011.
THAO & MIRAH – Self Titled
Mirah joined forces with Thao Nguyen (of Thao with the Get Down Stay Down) to create a beautiful pairing of vocal forces. The result is 11 tracks of harmony which sound like they could have been recorded in the warmth of your own bedroom.
DJ SHADOW – The Less You Know, The Better
As a true pioneer of modern sample-based music, DJ Shadow has received mixed feedback from his last couple of releases. However, his latest effort truly shows how talented he is at not only sampling, but his ability to create differing musical landscapes. This album goes through more genres than there are words in this description. This album is a true recommendation for fans of any style of music.
SURKIN – USA
Having laid low since his debut album release in 2007, Surkin followed up with an album that transports you back to 1999, in a good way. The technicality of his productions should be noted and it looks like we will all have to forgive him for taking so long. Put this record on before you hit the town and there will be absolutely nothing that could go wrong, trust me.
NUJABES – Spiritual State
Released posthumously, Spiritual State is a final testament to one of the more talented hip-hop producers that worked out of Japan. His unique take on jazz elements and hip-hop styles, skyrocketed this album into immediate repeat.
For the sake of space here, I excluded my top EP's, Compilations, and Soundtracks from this list. If you're interested in any of those, feel free to email me -alex (at) rvamag.com. Other than that, thank you for reading and I'll see ya'll next year!
Words by Alexander Rose
Header Photo by Tuan Nguyen of THATPARTYLASTNIGHT.US / DUBCOMUSIC.COM