Like a gluttonous monarch with a taste for domination, electronic dance music continued to saturate the airwaves and feast upon the U.S. charts in 2014, devouring everything in its path. Trends come and go, but for now it appears the crown shall remain upon its head, and no throne shall be relinquished in the near future. It has cleverly adapted to the times since its “birth” in the ’60s, expanding its palette to satiate ever-fluctuating musical tastes. Throughout the years, there are have been immense highs and staggering lows as it expanded and evolved. This year saw huge losses in the dance community through the deaths of “The Godfather of House Music” Frankie Knuckles and Chicago’s iconic DJ Rashad, but the life-affirming pulse of the beat always seems to prevail amidst any tragedy.
2014 was the year that British dance pop annihilated the charts. From Disclosure and Sam Smith’s massive hit “Latch”, to the rise of Gorgon City, MNEK, Duke Dumont, SBTRKT, Rudimental, and Jess Glynne with Route 94, the UK continually dropped one incendiary track after another. This was also the year the NYC club scene resurfaced from the decimating legacy of former Mayor Rudolf Giuliani, and was reignited with massive, decadent hotspots like Verboten and Output, picking up the torch Twilo, Paradise Garage, Limelight, and countless others left behind when they were closed in their heyday. Electronic festivals like Electric Daisy Carnival, Ultra, and Movement in Detroit flourished, even amidst the controversy of 2013’s drug-related deaths at NY’s Electric Zoo. The party invariably finds a way to carry on.
In an interview with MixMag, British DJ and producer Carl Cox said that EDM is “an entry level to dance music” in America, and if so, it is a great thing that dance and electronic artists are now being embraced in the U.S. where once they went unnoticed. The word EDM is now egregiously associated with the David Guettas, Aviciis and Afrojacks of the business, while deep house has come to represent everything beyond the stereotype of EDM’s inauthentic DJs, who simply press a button and stand there. Regardless of labels, there have always been artists who sell-out and others who maintain their artistic integrity and consistently defy categorization. The list below consists of ten artists (there was a tie, so make that 11) who represent some of the more interesting dance offerings of the year. From the ’90s, R&B-inflected, dance-pop throwback of Moko, to the genre/gender-defying sassiness of Shamir, here are a collection of artists who continue to further the evolution of dance music and present their vision of its future. Dance on.
Songs: Gotta Have You Back / Someone I’m Not
Image: http://images.popmatters.com/misc_art/m/masonzoa.jpg
Display as: List
List Number: 10
Display Width: 200
Mason feat. Rouge Mary
“Gotta Have You Back”
Amsterdam-based DJ and producer Iason Chronis, aka Mason, knows how to throw one hell of an eclectic house party. The man who climbed to the top of the UK dance charts with his blistering instrumental track “Exceeder” and its Princess Superstar-helmed facelift “Perfect (Exceeder)”, has returned with a whole new arsenal of talented vocalists at his beck and call. For those who thought he couldn’t surpass the brilliance of 2011’s They Are Among Us know that it was merely a pre-game warm up. His second full-length album ZOA forgoes the use of well-known heavy hitters like Róisín Murphy, DMC, Kurtis Blow, and Sam Sparro found on his previous outing, for newcomers like Pien Feith, Rouge Mary, and Lizzie Massey. Chronis clearly knows immense vocal talent when he hears it and ZOA features two of the best dance tracks of the year, in an album full of highlights. Consider it a tie.
Parisian singer Rouge Mary’s soulful baritone saturates the sleek “Gotta Have You Back”, recalling both Prince and the elastic funkiness of Jamie Lidell. Effortlessly flicking between a muscular growl and a seductive falsetto, its come-hither timbre flaunts a gritty sexuality, perfectly complimenting the track’s metallic percussion, filthy bass-line, and raunchy, churning synths. One only needs to hear this gender-defying singer’s stellar contributions on Hercules & Love Affair’s latest album The Feast of the Broken Heart to know that a solo effort is unquestionably in order.
Mason feat. Lizzie Massey
“Someone I’m Not”
ZOA‘s first teaser single “Someone I’m Not” should have blown up in a massive way, but at least it introduced its vocalist to a wider audience. Brighton based singer-songwriter Lizzie Massey’s voice has a warm, husky sensuality about it and a striking emotional depth rarely found in female dance vocalists. Her latest foray into electronic music followed a stint as the frontwoman for the bands Barriers and Tiny Dragons, but if her collaboration with Mason is any indication, the decision to leave behind the guitar-centric “alternative soul” of her past affiliations was a wise one. Let us hope she is given the opportunity to move beyond a guest spot on someone else’s album and be the star on one of her own.
Song: Dangerous (Oliver Remix)
Image: http://images.popmatters.com/misc_art/b/bigdata.jpg
Display as: List
List Number: 9
Display Width: 200
Big Data
“Dangerous” (Oliver Remix)
Hot on the heels of their stellar EP Light Years Away, DJ/producer duo U-Tern and Oligee, collectively known as Oliver, delivered one of 2014’s best remixes with their funky, retro-nostalgic overhaul of Big Data’s alt-pop hit “Dangerous”. With a buoyant rhythmic structure tenuously ripped from the pages of Men Without Hat’s ’80s classic “The Safety Dance”, the duo wrap new wave synths, disco syndrum pings, and squelchy, bouncing bass-lines around Joywave vocalist Daniel Armbruster’s paranoia-laden lyrics. Privacy is but an illusion in the digital age and “Big Brother is watching you”, even on a sweaty, neon lit dance floor.
Song: Feel of Love
Image: http://images.popmatters.com/misc_art/t/tensnakefeel.jpg
Display as: List
List Number: 8
Display Width: 200
Tensnake + Jacques Lu Cont feat. Jamie Lidell
“Feel of Love”
“Meanwhile in the testicles”…Jamie Lidell, German DJ/Producer Tensnake (Marco Niemerski), and Grammy Award-winning producer Jacques Lu Cont (aka Stuart Price of electro-pop band Zoot Woman) collaborating on a track together? Dreams do come true. The R&B-inflected, electro-soulful disco track sounds like a lost Prince jam from decades ago. While the song is ace, the video is the ne plus ultra. Think dancing sperm and Wonkavison. Think a man in diapers, blow-up dolls and kinky-minded Furries. Think mad-capped, fetish-friendly amusement. Think amazing.
Niemerski has consistently dispatched one marvelous single after another since the early 2000s and his remixes never fail to do less than dazzle with their ingenuity. He dropped his debut album Glow in March of this year, featuring six collaborative tracks with Tasmanian singer Fiora, a contribution from the legendary Nile Rodgers, and another from Toronto singer, producer, and DJ Jeremy Glenn. “Feel of Love” is the clear highlight of the record and this video is definitely the whore red cherry on top.
Song: Your Love
Image: http://images.popmatters.com/misc_art/m/moko.jpg
Display as: List
List Number: 7
Display Width: 200
Moko
“Your Love”
The past couple of years have seen a huge resurgence in ’90s R&B-flavored, deep house tracks. Cue the arrival of Britain’s Diane Nadia Adu-Gyamfi, known professionally as Moko. Not since Mica Paris has a UK soul singer possessed a voice so stunning that she could be singing the ingredients of a recipe or a newspaper article, and mouths would still be watering in anticipation of her next syllable, regardless of the content. That golden, buttery timbre is what keeps you coming back for more.
Following her Black EP, she dropped its genre-defying follow-up Gold at the beginning of September. Lead track “You Love” absolutely slays with its big-voiced, throwback charm, and the accompanying video nails the essence of what makes Moko so interesting. A deserted warehouse saturated in rich, primary colors, long whip-like pigtails to invoke envy on sight, and one hell of an emotionally sincere, divalicious voice. Bring on that full-length debut.
Song: F for You
Image: http://images.popmatters.com/music_cover_art/d/disclosure_settle.jpg
Display as: List
List Number: 6
Display Width: 200
Disclosure feat. Mary J. Blige
“F for You”
It appears perfection can actually be improved upon. English Brothers Guy and Howard Lawrence (aka Disclosure) re-released their massive track “F for You” at the beginning of the year to unanimous acclaim. Featuring Mary J. Blige as a wailing house diva, this stellar little reinvisioning harkens back to the old Clivillés and Cole recordings of the early ’90s and elevated a great track to the status of modern dance classic. So when Blige announced that she was working with the duo on her next album The London Sessions, no one batted an eyelash. Their undeniable chemistry proved to be one of the most incendiary collaborations of recent years. The brothers’ debut album Settle has rightfully garnered accolades by the dozen since its release in June of 2013, and tracks like “F for You” are precisely the reason why.
5 – 1
Song: I Try to Talk to You
Image: http://images.popmatters.com/misc_art/h/hlaitry.jpg
Display as: List
List Number: 5
Display Width: 200
Hercules and Love Affair
“I Try to Talk to You”
Fearless, haunting and intensely poignant, the second single lifted from Hercules and Love Affair’s (DJ Andy Butler) third album The Feasts of Broken Hearts, tackles the subject matter of contracting HIV and moving past self-blame and guilt. “I Try to Talk to You” eschews the typically hedonistic, sexually explicit lyrics of the dance genre to allow singer-songwriter John Grant a vulnerable moment to reflect upon his own positive diagnosis. As if asking for personal forgiveness he sings to himself, “We could have skipped this part / I could have taught you how to love yourself…I’ll take away your pain / Yeah, I’ll take away the sting.” The elegant, throwback house track features gorgeous piano passages ripped from the score of a Romantic-era concerto and a stunning, choreographed, black-and-white video, chronicling a troubled relationship between two men. Confronting fear and accepting life’s harsh realities has rarely been this beautifully chronicled.
Song: Grande Finale (SK Remix)
Image: http://images.popmatters.com/misc_art/s/skillers.jpg
Display as: List
List Number: 4
Display Width: 200
Studio Killers
“Grande Finale” (SK Remix)
The enigmatic, Technicolor-drenched, electro-pop trio returned this summer with another stellar offering. “Grande Finale”, the follow-up single to last year’s self-titled debut album, arrived with an explosive bang. From the joyous pounding synth chords in the intro, to a lavish chorus that rivals any of their past efforts, this ode to leaving the licentious single life behind in favor of finding true love kicks some serious dance floor ass. While the EDM-flavored original impresses with its stadium-sized ambition, Studio Killers’ own steroid-injected remix, with its racing, arpeggiated synth flourishes, jacks up the energy to a frenzied heart flutter.
No longer just killing it in the studio, the dance collective of Cherry, Goldie Fox, and Dyna-Mink recently played to massive crowds at Finland’s Ruisrock and Ilosaarirock Festivals. Following a rousingly successful Kickstarter Fund, they were finally able to flex their performance muscles in front of an audience and unveil the Studio Killers Live Experience, which included spectacular, state of the art, immersive holographic visuals. World domination is nigh.
Song: On the Regular
Image: http://images.popmatters.com/misc_art/s/shamir.jpg
Display as: List
List Number: 3
Display Width: 200
Shamir
“On the Regular”
Christopher Walken once said it best, “I got a fever and the only prescription is more cowbell.” Hailing from “cookie cutter suburbia” on the outskirts of north Las Vegas, singer-songwriter-rapper Shamir Bailey’s name has been dancing upon the lips of the hipster cognoscenti ever since his EP Northtown dropped in early June. The massive praise is entirely justified and his XL Recordings debut single “On the Regular” is f’ing phenomenal. Bailey brews a bright, bold concoction with a dash of disco, a pinch of retro-nineties pop, and a smidgen of cowbell-inflected hip-hop.
Like stepping into Pee-Wee’s Playhouse after ingesting a handful of magic mushrooms, the official video is as colorful as the outfits and rapid-fire rhymes that spew forth from the dreadlocked 20-year-old’s mouth. Bullwhips and bull rings, rubberband guns and spinning disco balls, animated Fischer Price phones and foul-mouthed, “foul-ball free throws” abound, as the lyrics effortlessly flit between naïve cockiness and sophisticated maturity. Shamir defies the word “androgynous” with his delicate countertenor voice (think of a less helium-ingested New Edition), joining hands with the spirits of other modern queer artistes, like Le1f and Mykki Blanco, in redefining gender, racial, and musical stereotypes. “This is my movie, stay tuned for the sequel” — we are waiting with bated breath, Shamir.
Song: Do It Again
Image: http://images.popmatters.com/news_art/r/ryksopp_and_robyn_do_it_again.png
Display as: List
List Number: 2
Display Width: 200
Röyksopp & Robyn
“Do It Again”
Norwegian electronic duo Röyksopp and Swedish pop star Robyn united once again this past summer to deliver their extended EP Do It Again. The irresistibly delectable title track possessed such immense crossover appeal that it somehow satiated the appetites of both indie dance devotees and mainstream pop proponents. Spinning a tale about an emotionally volatile relationship where the sex is so blisteringly hot that it eclipses all sense and reason, the track’s fickle raconteur should be running for the hills, but instead sees them tossing off their better judgment and stripping down to their birthday suits for another wild romp. Röyksopp may have delivered their last full-length LP with The Inevitable End, but the resurgence of creativity displayed throughout “Do It Again” hints at immense, innovative possibilities popping up in the near future.
Song: No Fun
Image: http://images.popmatters.com/misc_art/p/presetsnofun.jpg
Display as: List
List Number: 1
Display Width: 200
The Presets
“No Fun”
Prepare for an eargasm. Rarely has a title been so utterly misleading: Australian electro-pop duo the Presets (Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes) returned in July with their latest single “No Fun”, a dazzling, disorienting, nihilistic celebration of dance floor debauchery. On par with some of the best material they two have ever released, the menacing track, with its distorted, metallic background vocals, throbbing bass-line and shimmering wall of skittering synths, is the best dance track of the year.
As Julian sings, “Good God, it’s coming on hard / This is a feeling I haven’t felt in awhile / Shaking in my bones, dipped in gold / Think I’ll settle down, stay for awhile,” you might find yourself in a similar predicament. Accompanied by the world’s first six-sided interactive music video, each side contains distinctly different narratives directed by Barnaby Roper, and can be manipulated for your viewing pleasure through Google Chrome or below in a more traditional format.
![Call for Papers: All Things Reconsidered [MUSIC] May-August 2024](https://www.popmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/all-things-reconsidered-call-music-may-2024-720x380.jpg)
