Hamad "7MND" Ebrahim

5- Friend (Lover) - Yore

What a chill track. This track is the chill track of all chill tracks. Listening to it is like living in a cloud. It’s made it’s way to all my chill playlists and driving playlists and god knows what else. Really love this song.

4- Aspirations (SK Remix) - Good Tiger

Despite this being teased in 2016 and then released around the end of 2016, it has made it here. I love the original, but this remix just brings it into a new dimension, the sounds in this track to me are unheard of, the way the artist plays with the bass that it almost sounds like it’s blowing the speakers just sends chills to my spine! And the way the vocals go with the awesome beat is just crazy! 

3- Gazer (ft. Devin Townsend) - Thomas Giles

I’ve woken up everyday for a month or two with nothing but this on my mind. Thomas Giles is the vocalist and keyboardist of my all time favourite band “Between the Buried and Me” and this his solo project where he experiments with electronic music, synths, and all kinds of weird shit. The song initially feels like something weird I wouldn’t pay attention to, but it always made me curious to what would happen next. That’s where the ethereal vocals come in and sweep you into a trance. 

2- What’s a Girl to do - Fatima Yamaha

It was so hard for me not to put this at first place. This track is my anthem of the year! My friends have either loved or hated me for introducing them to this track because it just stays with you for days! It’s melancholy and sweet sound is addictive and that melody is pure genius. It really plays with my emotions in a way most songs dont.

1- Kerberbos - Stephan Bodzin & Marc Romboy

10- Jaguar God - Mastodon

These of you who know me would know that I’m a huge Mastodon fan, their music has been a huge influence in my taste and my own writing, but like with each band, some albums are better than others, and this wasn’t an album that got me hooked as much as the previous albums did. Jaguar God however was a song I was addicted/couldn’t stop listening to at the time. It’s proggy, weird, emotional, and absolutely beautiful. Each section gave out such a different energy, at times it was painful and heart-wrenching, others angry, and at the end an absolutely beautiful send off.

9- Soul Button - Wraith feat. Terry Grant (Animal Picnic Remix)

This track is a recent affair that I just can’t get enough of. If the beat isn’t enough to hook you in, when the vocals kick in everything becomes so euphoric, it’s just so good and I can’t help but feel like dancing when this comes on!

8- Aurora (Underbelly Remix) - Cashmere Cat

Underbelly is another producer I found on Youtube, he does these videos called “You Suck at Producing” and they’re actually educational and inspiring and it gives you a window into his workflow and production. His main stick is Hip-Hop but he has this soulful organic almost messy touch to it with the keys he plays and beats he makes. This remix (which is the first track of this 3 song set) really resonated with my old self, and brought out my old flame for amazing Hip-Hop beats with beautiful accompanying instruments.

7- Detroit Part II - Shigeto

Long time Shigeto fan! More of a fan of his live performances because he incorporates a drumkit with his tracks so it gives them a totally different vibe from the studio versions. This track can be something chill you nod your head to or something funky you want to get down to. The sounds are so organic and the hook is super catchy. This has been on constant replay through out the year. 

8- Voix Grave - Johannes Brecht

I don’t know what I can say about this song, been listening to bootleg versions of it from a Solomun set until it saw release! Definitely one of those tracks you pump yourself up with and then get lost inside when you’re driving, someone played it at a party once and I absolutely lost my shit. An amazing beat with huge bittersweet sounding strings. 

Back (hopefully for a bit longer) with another one! In this post I’m gonna focus on songs that I’ve heard as singles or specific songs from albums I liked that I’ve felt strong about in comparison to the rest of the album. The songs won’t necessarily be from releases that came out this year, just music I’ve discovered this year! The genres will be varied, so prepare for a roller coaster ride! Hope you guys enjoy the selections:

15- Get Away - Andrew Huang

Andrew Huang is a producer I’ve been following on Youtube for a while now, I’m not the biggest fan of his music (or this type of music to be honest) as much as I am a fan of his creativity, ingenuity, and workflow. The guy and the way he makes music is super inspiring. 

This song is one of his tracks that caught my ear. I love the way the bass sounds fat and creamy, the beat is pretty cool, and the chorus just gets to me in ways a lot of the music I usually listen to don’t. Check out his awesome channel here!

14- Ain’t Got Time - Tyler, the Creator

I’ve been a fan of Tyler for a while, to me he is undoubtedly one of the greatest Rappers/Hip-Hop producers of our era, although I haven’t been following his releases, his new album hit recently and this song is by far my favourite in the album! The production on it reminds me so much of old school Timbaland beats, but it’s still got that Tyler wierdness! The lyrics are absolutely great, I love his wordplay and delivery.

13- Iambic Poetry 5 - Shobaleader One & Squarepusher

I love the fusion of anything jazzy with electronic music, and this album is a product of that. This track has been a “Drive back home with a smile on your face” kind of song for me, I would love nothing but to blast this late at night on my way back. I love the ambiance of the guitar and keys while the drums and bass do these cool little complex fills and neat fiddles here and there.

12-  Tekken Tag Tournament OST: Yoshimitsu

It’s mental how this has ended up on this list, but the track is an absolute banger. The first Tekken Tag game was probably the least I played from the series, but this track was always something I remembered. I heard it once again this year and went absolutely crazy about it! I mean the beat is just super hard, and the weird ambient stuff in the back sounds like something that’s half musical, half mechanical. The old school Tekken sound is so unique because it just feels like it belonged to no specific era, there’s a blend of a lot of kind of sounds that you can’t really pinpoint to a time in electronic music history (to me at least). I love this track. 

(might even maybe do a remix someday)

11 - I Am Not Here - VOLA