Best Tracks of 2015 - Part 3

Our last two instalments lined up some of the very best tunes of the last year, but now we’ve got the absolute crème – White Noise’s twenty favourite tunes of the year.

20. Denis Sulta – It’s Only Real [Numbers]

Glasgow’s Denis Sulta’s two releases on Dixon Avenue Basement Jams marked him out as a serious new talent, and this single-sided outing on Numbers showed that he could pull of an anthem too. It’s Only Real is deceptively simple, essentially an unchanging drum loop and one showstopping melody, but it tears apart dancefloors like little else.

19. Pender Street Steppers – The Glass City [Mood Hut]

Scene favourites Pender Street Steppers offered a perfect distillation of their sound with this year’s The Glass City, an ultra-chilled confection of gentle percussion, fluttering melody and a broad bass swagger.

18. Bicep – Just [Aus]

Honestly, we didn’t expect to see Bicep on this list again. After the trend for balls-to-the-wall 90s diva house faded, we rather thought the Northern Irish duo would disappear along with it. But we’ll be the first to admit where we were wrong. Bicep turned out the winning Just in 2015 and rightly dominated dancefloors. While earlier Bicep tracks were instant-gratification affairs, Just is sinuous and subtle, its earworm synthline calling out like a siren til the soaring scifi keys reach boiling point.

17. Khotin – Sorry Sequence [Normals Welcome]

We expected great things from Dan White on his split EP with Khotin, and we got them, but we never thought he would get so dramatically upstaged. Sorry Sequence is a stunner, raw yet melancholy with its stainproof rhythm, cycling melody and corrosive acid flex.

16. Soichi Terada – Sun Showered [Rush Hour]

It was hard to pick a single tune from Hunee’s superbly curated compilation of Soichi Terada’s forgotten house gems, but Sun Showered hits the sweet spot of rhythmic drama, colourful melody and flat-out optimism that makes all his tracks so winning.

15. Merle – Mimi Likes 2 Dance [Stripped & Chewed]

Chicago outpost Stripped & Chewed did a stellar job reissuing this lost beauty from ’99. Merwyn Sanders even reworked the original lead single, with a new vocal line and cleaner production (and a change of title as a nod to his wife). With its catchy pop vox, funky backbone and urgent synth sweeps, this cut adds a pinch of joy to any set.

14. Whispers Beirut – Away [Unreleased]

Still officially unreleased, this collaboration between Baba Stiltz and Petrodollar caught us off-guard with its simplicity and its melancholy. A yearning synth rules the track’s first half, before a slack hip hop beat picks up the pace. Sometimes less is so much more.

13. Hidden Spheres – Waiting [Distant Hawaii]

If you’re going to open a sub-label just for one release, it better be a good one. Lobster Theremin heeded this rule when they opened Distant Hawaii for a single summer release by Mancunian Hidden Spheres. Opener Waiting was the most sublimely chilled house track we heard all year, a breeze of warm melodies wafting over a textured drum workout.

12. Palms Trax – Sumo Acid Crew [Dekmantel]

Two years after Equation, Palms Trax went one better with this elegant slice of acid. Here the 303 is far from its alienating roots, burbling beside warm Chicago pads and harmonising with a soaring synth climax.

11. Harvey Sutherland – Bermuda [MCDE]

It’s easy to see why Motor City Drum Ensemble snatched up this synth-maestro for his own label – in 2015 Sutherland brought the funk like no other. Bermuda is an absolute masterclass in songwriting, from its virtuosic opening to its astonishing climax which crams in more melodies than we would’ve ever considered coherent. But Sutherland pulls it off with flair. More please.

10. Florist – Final Bounce [All Caps]

After a long gestation period on Soundcloud, one of the Vancouver scene’s best releases showed up unexpectedly on the Glaswegian All Caps imprint. The Phenomena EP was a winner, the feather in its cap Final Bounce, a spare slice of house with aquatic vibes and a soulful choir that rises magnificently from the mist.

9. Haydn – Booty Meat [Junk Yard Connections]

Buried on the B2 of a V/A release from Sweden’s underlooked Junk Yard Connections imprint, Haydn’s Booty Meat is the definition of a secret weapon. The unusual combination of gentle keys and a racy vocal line keeps dancers on their toes, and when that mighty rhythm kicks back in after the dubby breakdown everyone on the ‘floor will drop to make it clap.

8. Raw M.T. – Untitled [Mörk]

After he wowed us with the brittle techno of Walkman Is Dead a couple of years back, Italian producer Raw M.T. was back with a vengeance this year. In the middle of a superb EP on Lobster Theremin offshoot Mörk was Untitled, a humid house killer with exotic vocals and a malevolent bassline. Intoxicating stuff.

7. Nebraska – Emotional Rescue [Mister Saturday Night]

White Noise’s favourite party-starter of 2015 came from the reliable MSN stable courtesy of Nebraska. On the diverse Stand Your Ground EP a disco killer nestled on the B2, a shot of euphoria served over filtering brass and earworm vocals.

6. Route 8 – The Sunrise In Her Eyes [Lobster Theremin]

We’ve got a bit of a fetish for melancholy deep house heavy on the ambience, and few producers bring the feels as magically as Hungarian talent Route 8. The opener to This Raw Feeling is as dreamy as its title suggests, warm pads caressing the ear like a gentle tide, a quickened pulse and hopeful chimes leading us deeper down the rabbit hole.

5. Fatima Yamaha – What’s A Girl To Do [Dekmantel]

Okay, so maybe everyone’s sick of hearing about this tune by now. But if we leave aside the bittersweet melody, searing synth lead and solemn bassline, we’re left with a hopeful story.

Keeping up with the lightning-paced electronic music world can lead us to treat tracks as disposable tools, each EP skimmed for parts, forgotten by the month’s end. The fact that a house tune from 2004 caused such a stir in 2015 proves that longevity and beauty can triumph over disposability. We are capable of treasuring our beloved music like the art it is.

4. Dude Energy – Renee Running [Animals Dancing]

Not content just issuing a fine album under his Suzanne Kraft moniker this year, Californian wizard Diego Herrera also dropped one of our favourite club tunes of the year as Dude Energy. Combining impressive bass weight, razor snares and a mesmerising melody that sounds plucked from a gypsy songbook, this tune was a shot in the arm of samey dancefloors throughout the year.

3. Leon Vynehall – Midnight On Rainbow Road [Rush Hour]

From the very start, Leon Vynehall has had a way of evoking complex emotions with his music that few artists can parallel. His only release this year was a solitary tune on Gerd Janson’s lovely Musik For Autobahns 2, and, though beatless, it's one of his greatest compositions to date. A glittering melody flutters through a rain-streaked landscape, accompanied by skipping snares, traffic sounds and a heaving ambient wash. It’s music to get lost in, and you won’t want to be found.

2. Fit Siegel – Carmine [Fit]

Detroit’s Aaron Siegel doesn’t put out much music, but when he does it’s practically buy-on-sight. This year’s Carmine was an immensely emotive slice of house that takes you places that little music can reach. A delicate construction of gossamer synthwork, filtered snares rattling through the scales and a taut electro rhythm, this was the tearjerker to rule every 5am dancefloor in 2015.

1. DJ Sotofett – Nondo [Honest Jon’s]

Sex Tags head DJ Sotofett has risen to underground legend status over the last few years, and it’s not hard to see why. With an excellent label and mix series, an adventurous DJing style and a penchant for explorative, breakbeat-fuelled remixes, Sotofett (and his crew) stand as rather unique figures in an often homogeneous scene.

Yet one of the reasons why Sotofett’s releases are so successful is how adeptly he adapts and works with a stream of varied collaborators. This is the story of White Noise’s favourite tune of 2015. On a superb album chock full of ace collaborative efforts, the standout tune had Sotofett jamming with Karolin Tampere on drum machines and synths while Maimouna Haugen offered hushed, sinuous vocals. With a seductive synth motif and spare afrobeat percussion it’s a simple piece, but all the deadlier for it. It’s easy to feel jaded by the 4/4 scene if you don’t keep searching for something different. Sotofett always provides.

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That’s all for 2015, we’ll be back soon with fresh coverage for the new year. Hope you enjoyed the roundups, check out all our Best Of articles below:

Best Albums 2015

Best Tracks Part 1

Best Tracks Part 2

Best Tracks of 2015 - Part 2

Following on from part one, here are some fantastic tunes that just missed out on the top spots. Running down from #40-21.

40. Jack J – Thirstin’ [Future Times]

While it may not be edged with the same melancholy as last year’s anthem, Jack J’s Future Times outing had all the ingredients for summer killer: effortlessly lazy vibes, an irresistible groove, milky keys and a catchy vocal line.

39. Unknown Artist – A Jazz Thing [Uniile]

While it may not be worth the extortionate prices currently on discogs, new label Uniile delivered the finest anonymous release of the year from a young French artist. All four tracks are fire, but the undisputed highlight is this low-slung jazzy number which strolls by with a seedy sax and a heaving reggae bassline.

38. Florian Kupfer – Discotag [WT Records]

The best thing Kupfer’s put out since Feelin, this slice of techno is both spare and raucous. A funky vocal struts out over a tunnelling acid workout to destructive effect.

37. The Galleria feat. Jessy Lanza – Mezzanine [Environ]

Alongside her solo work, Jessy Lanza put out a stunning series of guest vocalist spots in 2015, most notably with legend Morgan Geist on freestyle project The Galleria. Lanza’s voice flexes with pure-pop allure atop Geist’s titanium electro skeleton. This is how pop music should sound.

36. Porn Sword Tobacco – Kristallisering [Aniara]

PST made his name on a series of experimental/ IDM albums in the late 2000’s, but the past couple of years his sound has been refined and reborn on Kontra-Musik and with the trendy SVN crew. Kristallisering is one of his most appealing cuts to date, a breezy piano riff fluttering over a taut electro snap, a composition of air and joy.

35. Rita Furstenhof – Hadron Collider [Optimo Music]

This one seems to have flown under everyone’s radars. Out in September on JD Twitch’s reliable Glaswegian outpost, this is electro at its soaring zenith, with a cheeky malfunctioning breakdown and an unashamedly epic synth motif.

34. Matthew Herbert – Earthenware [Concrete Music]

Herbert may have put out an album this year, but our favourite cut of his in 2015 was this melodic house tune buried on a V/A release from Parisian clubnight Concrete. A sawtooth bassline and bright keys give way to a genuinely moving breakdown, fusing jazz and house as only Herbert can.

33. Hodge – I Don’t Recognise You Lately [Hemlock]

Any number of Hodge’s excellent techno/grime hybrids could have made our 2015 list, but it was this oddly subdued cut that ultimately impressed us most. By dialling down the energy Hodge makes the listener focus on the little things: that haunting glockenspiel melody, garbled voices and washes of static, a spare rhythm and near-constant bass pressure.

32. Paranoid London - Lovin U (Ahh Shit) With DJ Genesis [Paranoid London]

The debut album from this all-analog crew was as uncompromising as acid gets, yet firmly floor-focused. One tough-as-nails throwback acid workout. One ethereal synth melody. One fiery diva vocal. Built up, broken down. What more could you ask for?

31. Hunee – Rare Happiness [Rush Hour]

Deep at the heart of Hunee’s lush debut on Rush Hour was this aptly-titled gem, which wriggles infectiously around a clipped vocal, textured percussion and a re/de-tuning synthline. Pure bliss.

30. Asusu – Serra [Impasse]

Once the Livity Sound newcomer, Asusu has marked out a real unique spot of late. Nowhere was this more clear than on his first step outside the Livity stable with Serra, a masterclass on the tone, timbre and propulsion of rhythm.

29. Mosey – Tuff Times [Future Times]

Some dance tracks tug at your heartstrings in a way that you can’t even explain. This is certainly the case with Tuff Times, a relaxed house outing from newcomer Mosey. The rhythm is simple, as is the new-age melody, leaving just an eccentric bassline that hops through the frequencies to guide us each through our own tuff times.

28. Damiano von Erckert – We Flow ft. Amalia [ava.]

The centrepiece of Damiano’s sophomore album was this breezy cut of joy, with jazzy keys perfectly accompanying Amalia’s effortless vocal performance.

27. Aurora Halal – Shapeshifter [Mutual Dreaming]

Aurora Halal went through quite a stylistic shift from her first to her second EP, yet the new sound fits her like a glove. This is slinky Detroit techno par excellence, all twinkling keys, pacing percussion and an all-important sense of mystery.

26. Sparky – Signals [Numbers]

After delivering a lost anthem in 2013, Sparky’s new material this year was just as powerful. Translating pop-grade melodies to an electro format, Signals is unashamedly huge, with an unstoppable bassline and a cornea-searing melody.

25. Luca Lozano & Mr. Ho – Dripbox [Crème Organization]

Luca Lozano has been responsible for a number of heavyweight tunes this year, and our favourite was this pitch-black collaboration with Mr. Ho. A storming kick underpins two duelling grime-inflected melodies that’ll detonate the dancefloor.

24. DJ Richard – Vampire Dub [Dial]

So much of DJ Richard’s superb debut LP could’ve made this list, but final cut Vampire Dub just edged out the competition. A grand slice of deep house in a classic vein, its starry keys and martial stomp soundtracked us gazing mistily at many a sunset.

23. Domenique Dumont – L’Esprit de l’Escalier [Antinote]

Dumont’s lovely debut came out of nowhere, and this breathless appeal is sustained on its catchiest highlight. A mighty range of influences are handled with a light touch, resulting in a buoyant stoner-pop cut with a bridge that won’t quit and a chorus that’ll have you singing along even if you can’t make out the words.

22. Basic House – Cones [Opal Tapes]

The head of Opal Tapes issued a limited cassette at the end of 2014 with the mighty Cones hiding within. A venomous rhythm track with a melody like afterimage from a strobe, it didn’t leave our playlists in 2015 and it’s unlikely to in the year to come.

21. Floating Points – Peroration Six [Pluto]

The restless conclusion to Floating Points’ wonderful Elaenia album, Peroration Six has a whole jazz group building intensity to terminal velocity. You keep expecting it to boil over, something has to give, it’s too heavy – and then the track cuts out, leaving only a deafening silence. A brave and challenging finale to an uncompromising LP.

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Come back in a few days for the twenty best tunes of the year.

Best Albums of 2015
Best Tracks of 2015 Part 1

Best Tracks of 2015 - Part 1

It's been another scorcher of a year for electronic music, and our year-end list is looking more diverse than ever. Here's the first helping of 2015's best cuts, as we run down from #65-40. 

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65. House of Doors – Starcave [Mood Hut]

Pacing burner from the Mood Hut camp, capped off with a catchy reedy synthline.

64. Lipelis – Weirdshit Xu Paelk  [L.I.E.S]

The best of Lipelis’ strong edits collection on LIES, a dangerous bassline and Thai vocals make for a scorching piece of wonky funk that lit up many a dancefloor.

63. Ekman – GMMDI (Breaker 1 2 Remix) [Berceuse Heroique]

One of the year’s darkest scorchers came from Breaker 1 2, who many will know better as Greg Beato. His flip of Ekman’s GMMDI is black as pitch, with a raw rhythm and lethal synthwork.

62. Palmbomen II – Leo Danziger [Beats In Space]

The affecting coda to Palmbomen’s LP on Beats In Space was short but heart-rending, a bittersweet dirge for a fantasy funeral.

61. Entro Senestre – Rosegold [W.T. Records]

ES’ neon-soaked outing on W.T Records came with this propulsive opener, a moody house roller to rival Detroit’s finest night-drive anthems.

60. Imaabs – Voy [Naafi]

Few tunes this year got dancefloors popping as surely as this one from Chile’s Imaabs. It may be short but its punchy drum section and pinch of dramatic synthwork would get your gran throwing shapes from her chair.

59. Kornél Kovács – Pantalón [Numbers]

Kovács’ discoid anthem with its tunnelling bassline and nonsensical Spanish vocal line is catchy, fun and huge.

58. Kirk The Flirt & Peter Pressure – Never Ever Give Up [1080p]

In another strong year for 1080p an LP from Berlin’s Physical Therapy stood out with a selection of prime club cuts. The strange whistling hook and deep pads made this cut the highlight.

57. Call Super – Migrant [Houndstooth]

JR Seaton’s ace two-tracker was another refinement of his elegant sound. Here the melodies and effects come to life as a dense rainforest, a sound that makes you want to crawl inside and nest.

56. Mark Barrott – Saviours Or Savages [International Feel]

The I-Feel label head put out one of his best balearic cuts to date with these swooning melodies and crystalline synthscapes.

55. Foreign – B1 [BAROC]

The edgy BAROC imprint came out with some real thunder on Foreign’s raw machine-driven outing. The A1 is dancefloor killer but it was with the ghostly ambience and lost animal cries of the B-side that he struck platinum.

54. Chaos In The CBD – Midnight In Peckham [Rhythm Section]

Bradley Zero continued to tease out the jazzier side of house on Rhythm Section this year, with a starring role played by this Kiwi duo. Trumpet and piano serenade each other over a dusty drumtrack in this timeless cut.

53. Andrea – Outlines [Ilian Tape]

It’s not easy to make a techno track that’s both epic and raw, but Andrea managed it with the soaring synths and canny rhythms of Outlines.

52. Adesse Versions – Pride [Numbers]

Deadly in its simplicity, here Adesse Versions paired a diva vocal with the most vicious piano line this side of Prosumer.

51. Local Artist – Feelings [Rhythm Section]

One of the wonkiest cuts to come out of Canada’s house scene in 2015, Feelings was an unlikely anthem whose curious effects and hazy ambience shone through a scene crowded with similar artists.

50. Kasra V – Last Order [Make Love In Public Spaces]

Heavyweight house that lopes along with a searing bassline and a cinematic sense of drama.

49. Obas Nenor – Change Got To Come [Mahogani Music]

Either side of Nenor’s ace 12” on Moodymann’s imprint could have made this list, but we favour the darker B-side, which shifts from a dirty dancehall riddim to catchy twilight disco in the blink of an eye.

48. Bleaker – Hype (Funk) [Unknown To The Unknown]

Another example of deadly simplicity was Bleaker’s flip of a classic on Hype (Funk). A propulsive rhythm track, a brief late melody and that loopy vocal make for raw dancefloor killer.

47. Sabre – Ghetto Prophet [Royal Oak]

Portugese duo Sabre knocked it out of the park with this maximalist house epic, masterfully building tension with operatic drums and polished synthwork to an enormous climax.

46. Suzanne Kraft – Flatiron [Melody As Truth]

The enormously talented Suzanne Kraft dropped some gorgeous ambience and guitar work on his Talk From Home LP, the centrepiece being this blissed-out cut, all smoky riffs and featherweight percussion.

45. PCK – Amen Garage [The Final Experiment]

Everything that Shed touches is gold, and this year we were particularly wowed by a high-octane slice of jungle under a new moniker, PCK. Lightning-fast breakbeat juggling and an urgent vocal meant that this one’s power more than made up for its brief length.

44. The Horn – Villager [Workshop]

The first reissue to enter our list is this ’96 synth piece that featured on Workshop’s ace mixed artist release early in the year. Why does it deserve to come back after twenty years? The reverb-drenched melody conjures a lingering nostalgia, the snappy electro beat the bittersweet need to move on. More emotions than your average album, all in seven minutes.

43. DJ Koze – XTC [Pampa]

Koze’s annual entry into the year-end list is unusually straight. On first listen it’s a normal (though subdued) deep house cut. Then you hear those jagged synths, the constant bass pressure, the misty ambience, and that ambiguous vocal that creeps under your skin. He’s got you.

42. Sound Stream – Bass Affairs [Sound Stream]

With his release rate of seven singles since 1999, any year that Sound Stream drops a release is a blessing. His is disco-house polished to perfection, oozing funk and charm, dynamite on the dancefloor.

41. Paxton Fettel – Dots On The Skyline [Greta Cottage Workshop]

One of the highlights of Paxton Fettel’s superb debut album was this elegant construction which fuses a hefty hip hop rhythm with delicate harp and a jazzy acid line.

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Come back for part two in a few days.

Best Albums of 2015