Best Tracks of 2012: 101-76

Year End Coverage

* Best Albums of 2012

* Best EPs of 2012

* Best Labels of 2012

* Best Breakthrough Artists of 2012

* Best Tracks of 2012 - 101-76
* Best Tracks of 2012 - 75-51
* Best Tracks of 2012 - 50-26
* Best Tracks of 2012 - 25-1

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It's been a big year! We'll end the festivities with a countdown of our favourite tracks of the year. All of these are great tunes, and the order is somewhere between deliberate and arbitrary, so bear that in mind. So many that got cruelly cut out of the list, but I reckon this is a solid roundup of what has been a great year for dance music. Enjoy!

 101 – MikeQ – Let It All Out 2012 feat. Jay Karan

Vogue is back.

100 – Pablo Nouvelle – Be True To Me

One of the few non-Dance tracks on here, irresistibly simple. EP Review.

99 – Four Tet – Lion (Four Tet Remix)

Huge vibes and slick atmospherics from The xx’s mastermind.

98 – Pangaea – Majestic 12

Breakneck darkness from a real master.

97 – Jimmy Edgar – Sex Drive

Just one of many brilliant moments of Edgar’s sleaze-fest.

96 – George Fitzgerald – Child

One of the year’s bounciest, most satisfying House tunes.

95 – Ejeca – Horizon

Massive House tune. It really does sound like ‘dinnertime’.

94 – Goodfoot feat Didz & The Organ Grinder

Utterly intoxicating piano House throwback from one part of CRST.

93 – Fantastic Mr Fox – Yesterday’s Fall feat. Alby Daniels

Strange, bassy, neo-pop from the inimitable Mr Fox. EP Review.

92 – Mista Men – Forget U

Muscular Garage workout from one of the UTTU crew’s very best.

91 – Body Double – Be Strong

(This is the audio for the A-side, What You Need)

Some weird House-pop from the 100% Silk camp.

90 – Jeremih - Fuck U All The Time feat. Natasha Mosley

This track was everywhere this year. Sensual, addictive, and filthy.

89 – Trikk – Jointly

One of the finest examples of the intersection between Techno and Bass. Absolutely kills on the dancefloor. Definitely big things to come from this Portuguese native. EP Review.

88 – The xx – Chained

Although Coexist was nowhere near as good as the band’s debut, this song perfectly encapsulated the powerful vibes of The xx at their best. Album Review.

87 – Maddslinky – Compuphonic

Super-stripped club track from Zed Bias, was doing the business in clubs up and down the country since its September release. EP Review.

86 – Alden Tyrell – Touch the Sky feat. Mike Dunn

Powerful Acid from a real legend coming out of the Clone camp. Top vocals.

85 – October – String Theory

Super-chilled House track from one of the scene’s unsung heroes. Totally unique, works great in the mix too. EP Review.

84 – Fracture feat. Dawn Day Night – Get Busy

Terrifyingly strong DnB / Footwork fusion that sets the floor on fire. Check out Dawn Day Night’s debut EP.

83 – TNGHT – Higher Ground

A bit too much? Definitely. Unbelievably large? Without a doubt.

82 – Shadow Child – 23

A late-December entry, this is not your average House tune. Excellent vocal build-up leads to one of the dirtiest drops this side of the New Year. Essential.

81 – 5kinandbone5 – Reset

Don’t you wish there was a button we could reset? Bassline brilliance from the UTTU camp.

80 – Funkineven & Fatima – Phoneline

Unbelievable genre-defying hybrid feat. Fatima’s gorgeous voice and Funkineven’s slick production, all from one of White Noise’s favourite labels, Eglo.

79 – Bwana – Baby Let Me Finish

Sounds like your average sugar-sweet Bass track until the percussive madness following the drop. Blissful addiction.

78 – Koreless – Lost In Tokyo

One of the Bass scene’s brightest stars only issued one release this year. It was 3 minutes long, and it wasn’t really dance music. Still, undeniably gorgeous so who really cares. EP Review.

77 – Bo Saris – She’s On Fire (Maya Jane Coles Remix)

Unexpected brilliance from one of the scene’s most consistent female producers (not nice that we have to say that, eh?) Twinkling midnight Garage, lush piano and moody vocals.

76 – Elsewhere – Trippin’

 

The darkest of the dark creeping out of your speakers from the Mindset camp. Huge, nasty, a real dancefloor killer. EP Review.

Guest Mixes

We've got not two but three guest mixes for you today here at White Noise, so get your listening hats on.

First up is a mix courtesy of our ever-reliable resident, G More. His excellent guest mix spans 20 years of house and garage.

Bump, Flex & Shwang

 

Tracklist:

Meli'sa Morgan - Still In Love With You (Meli'sa's In The House)

NY Stomp - Can You Feel It?

Storm Queen - Look Right Through (MK Don't Talk To Me Vocal Mix)

R.B.M. - The Boy (Ralph's Hard House Mix)

Moné - We Can Make It (The Groove Mix) 

NY Stomp - The NY House Trak

R.B.M. - The Boy (Boy "More" Beats) 

Joy Orbison - Ellipsis

Somore - I Refuse (What You Want) (Industry Standard Mix) 

Terrence Dixon - Return Of The Speaker People (Kausto's Sudden Aphasia Mix) 

Brawther - Spaceman Funk (Deep Club Mix)

If you're done with that and desperate for more, we have a couple of mixes courtesy of _moth on Mixcloud. Both tracklists are excellent, there's a mix of dusty, sunny house and another darker mix for the night hours.

Summertime Mix

Tracklist:

Fatima feat. Floating Points – Cinnamon

Motor City Drum Ensemble – L.O.V.E

Andrés – Drama Around The Corner

Session Victim – Good Intentions

Pépé Bradock – Path Of Most Resistance

Omar S feat. L’Renée – SEX (CGP Remix)

October – String Theory

Claptone – Cream

Anthony Naples – Mad Disrespect

Nitetime – Teddy’s Jam

Huxley – Box Clever

West Norwood Cassette Library – Coming On Strong

Moodymann – Why Do U Feel

Night Time Mix

Tracklist

DJ Shadow – Transmission 2

John Talabot – So Will Be Now

Burial – NYC

Bo Saris – She’s On Fire (Maya Jane Coles Remix)

Dusky – Lost Highway

Maya Jane Coles – What They Say

Kahn – Like We Used To

Akkord – Back & Forth

Burial – Loner

Artifact – Deserted

Dusky – No More

Deadboy – Heartbreaker

DjRum – Turiya

Ramadanman – Don’t Change For Me

The xx – Crystallised (Dark Sky Remix)

The Drop – Looking To The Sky (DjRum Remix)

Total Redraw: Dance Edition

Remixes that really shake things up

To continue from Monday’s part 1, White Noise now presents some of the best dance remixes from recent times that have been lurking in our music vaults. Again, special attention is paid to remixes that really change the original, and a lot of these are tracks from the non-dance world that have been given a special rework by a top producer.

Tracklist:

Storm Queen – Look Right Through (MK Don’t Talk To Me Dub)

Classixx – Into The Valley feat. Karl Dixon (Julio Bashmore Remix)

Groove Theory – Tell Me (George Fitzgerald Refix)

Florence & The Machine – You’ve Got The Love (Jamie xx Remix)

The Weeknd – What You Need (Prison Garde 808 Edit)

Radiohead – Lotus Flower (Jacques Greene Remix)

The xx – Crystalised (Dark Sky Remix)

Hard Drive – Deep Inside (Pearson Sound Refix)

Amerie – One Thing (French Fries Remix)

Zed Bias – Neighbourhood (El-B Remix)

The Drop – Looking To The Sky (DjRum Remix)

Fat Freddy’s Drop – Cay’s Crays (Digital Mystikz Remix)

Bo Saris – She’s On Fire (Maya Jane Coles Remix)

TRG – Broken Heart (Martyn’s DMC Remix)

Modular Pursuits – No Boundaries (Daphni Remix)

Mosca – Tilt Shift (Julio Bashmore Remix)

Late Nite Tuff Guy – A Deal With God

Boards of Canada – Olson (Midland Re-edit)

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Special thanks to my friend Tom for helping me compile this playlist. Check out his superb mixes on Soundcloud.

Hope you enjoyed the remix roundup, I’ll leave you with a taster of one last track; a forthcoming release from Lorca mixing up FaithEvans and Nuyorican Soul – Enjoy!

Maya Jane Coles – Don’t Put Me In Your Box

Label: Hypercolour

Parallel Worlds

Something In The Air

Cutting It Fine

Since bursting onto the scene in 2010, Maya Jane Coles quickly dismissed the novelty of a genuinely talented female producer with a slew of great EPs on a range of labels, showcasing a real range within her distinct style; from stellar anthems like What They Say to the slow-mo sensuality of Senseless. She’s carved out a highly individual sound, frequently using clipped synth melodies and moody vocal samples to deadly effect. If I have any criticism of Coles’ sound, it’s that it can occasionally feel weightless in its smoothness and precision, with not an ounce of grit or darkness in her sleek productions. This EP won’t change my mind, because despite the defensive title it is business as usual for Coles, but yet again the sheer quality of these tunes wins you over, sucking you into their sultry grooves over repeated spins until they defiantly won’t leave your head.

The EP divides fairly easily into straight-cut dance numbers and slightly more deviant experiments, but all four of these tracks are pulled off with her trademark polished finesse. Standout opener Parallel Worlds is an explosive start to the set, with a three-chord bassline and tight percussion creating a strong groove from the off. Murky dancefloor vibes abound as it builds to an irresistable heads-down stomper with all the confidence and nuance that made Coles’ name. The EP is bookended with the other straight dance cut in the form of Cutting It Fine, which is an exquisite piece of moody Tech-House marrying sophisticated percussive patterns with a melodic vocal wail that shifts notes to brilliant effect. This is all before those hard, untreated synths dominate a lucid breakdown before being incorporated seamlessly into the main track.

Having used both ends of the EP to yet again prove her dance chops, Coles uses the central two cuts to experiment a little, and the first example, Something In The Air, is a rousing success. The subdued and sexy cut uses soft twinkling synths and low-key percussion to simmer up a dangerous sensuality, topped off by the clear vocal line and moans half-drowned in the mix. Third cut Dub Child is a stab at the difficult world of Dub Techno,  with percussive and melodic lines layered slowly to create a nice tune that still feels a little insubstantial compared to its more overtly impressive preceding tracks.

Coles’ sounds creep under your skin until the grooves feel like they’re running through your veins, and her subtle use of complex melodic combinations is incredibly impressive, but I still can’t help but feel a little weight or an unpolished edge would really help ground her tunes. Disregarding my personal take on her sound, this is another example of Maya Jane Coles at her very best, creating note-perfect tunes purpose built for moody dancefloors. She continues to prove herself an exciting and varied producer, and the outlook looks very promising for her debut LP out later this year.

7.5/10