#otira

For the past couple of years I’ve been doing a top 10 list for the year in music that I like. This includes an a category for my favorite LP and EP from the year as well as a top 10 songs. I’ve also decided this year that I will be talking about other honorable mentions that are wonderful but did not make the list and some artists that had incredible years.

Let’s start with this years music for me, which was incredible. As many know I actually released a song in November on all streaming platforms. Something I’ve dreamed of doing for a long time and is super surreal to see happen. Makes me so happy to have accomplished that, thanks to everyone who has listened. Here’s a link if you haven’t yet and would like to listen!

It’s no shocker to people that know me that I am dumb passionate about dance music so as expected most of the list is just that. It was also a great year for pop music too though so there’s some pop in here as well. You can find a playlist of the top songs, as well as Lightwave here. I’ve also gone ahead and linked all the songs and albums mentioned below.

LP of the Year

Hi This Is Flume - Flume

Wow this one was wild. Most people kinda expected there to be some new Flume coming, it had been a while since we got any and there had been a ton of rumors. But he really shocked everyone when he announced randomly that he was releasing an entire mixtape the next day. It’s 17 songs and an incredible experience from front to back, with each song flowing into the next one. Not only was there a ton of new music but he also released a large visualizer to go along with it. The visualizer and music together really made it what it is. The visualizer largely consists of Harley, aka Flume, walking through various environments or driving a custom car through the desert. There’s some trippy stuff happening with editing and some really weird visual effects. One of my favorite parts of the video is at the end where he walks up to the ocean and the water cuts vertically, looking like an amazing wall of water. Looks so surreal, which kind of describes the albums sound in a nutshell. The entire album is a journey through sound design and it really challenges the listener to question what is expected in music. Flume’s signature style lends itself very well to such ideas with the choppiness that he so often employs. He mixes a wide variety of styles into the mixtape, from more traditional future bass like Wormhole and Spring and hip hop such as High Beams. A majority of the album is instrumental, letting the production and accompanying visuals do most of the storytelling. However, there are still some vocal features such as JPEGMAFIA and of course Kucka. The album also includes features from two incredible producers, Sophie and Eprom, both of which were very big surprises to me. Every song on the album has a specific place and together the full picture is created, listening to this album front to back is truly inspiring. When I did my first listen through I was blown away and taken to what felt like another world, which is why I’m choosing Hi This Is Flume over any of the other great albums that came out this year. 

Some other incredible albums from this year deserve recognition as well:

Good Faith - Madeon

This one was absolutely in 2nd place and the only reason it isn’t in first place is because there’s a song or two I wasn’t particularly fond of. While I don’t think Good Faith is as good as Madeon’s debut album Adventure it certainly has an amazing cohesiveness and style to it that sets it apart. Good Faith has a much more organic sound, utilizing a lot of choir vocals and instruments. Starting with Dream Dream Dream the album cues you into the experience you are about to embark on, instantly setting the mood with almost ethereal vocal sounds that are followed by some truly inspiring lyrics. Hugo (Madeon’s real name) has a true knack for creating heartwarming and bittersweet lyrics, evoking incredible amounts of emotion from the listener. But not all the songs are somber of course, many are celebratory as well, like No Fear No More for instance. My favorite song on this album is Mania but you’ll read more about that one later. If you only want to listen to one of the albums of this list, I’d say go with Good Faith. Even though it didn’t take my top spot I feel that it’s the type of music that absolutely anyone can get into. Hi This Is Flume has many tracks that are more experimental in nature and isn’t for everyone, but Good Faith sets itself apart in a way that anyone can vibe with.

Ascend - Illenium

I wasn’t sure how much I was going to like this one tbh. Some Illenium songs just don’t do anything for me in all honesty, and his last album I didn’t think was very good other than a few singles. This one was way different though. It really took me by surprise, and while there are a few songs I don’t think are good, the vast majority if the album was fantastic. My favorites being That’s Why, Gorgeous, and Lonely. But the songs on this album that aren’t good are very much songs I don’t care to listen to again, which is why I decided against it for LP of the Year. Compared to the cohesive narrative in Hi This Is Flume this album just lacks some substance. There’s a lot of fantastic music throughout Ascend but, with exception of a few songs, it doesn’t feel like each of these songs is necessarily integral to the experience, they just happened to all be put in the same album. It also doesn’t help that there were like 5 singles.

Wild Youth - Dabin

Speaking of albums with too many singles. This album is on the list not because I thought it was good, but actually because this was the most disappointing album of the year. It’s 10 songs total, but there were 4 singles released and 2 of the songs were previously released in an EP in 2018. I’m just gonna come out and say this, if you release a majority of your album before the album comes out, then it isn’t an album it’s a collection of singles. There were some great songs on the album including my favorite Dabin song Lights as well as some other wonderful songs like Another Day and Youth. But again, the issue with this album is not the music itself, it’s the way the songs involve interact with each other. And simply put, they don’t. You can’t release 6 of 10 songs on your album and make something cohesive. I really enjoy listening to several of these songs by themselves but they’re just singles to me.

High Highs to Low Lows - Lolo Zouai

Best pop album of the year for sure, although Kim Petras gives it a very good run for its money. The lyricism by Lolo is amazing in this album. It’s so punny and has fantastic flow. Even the album’s title is a pun, how can you not like it. There’s so many good songs like Caffeine, Moi, and Out the Bottle. Anyone that enjoys pop music and RnB should love this album.

Clarity - Kim Petras

The other pop album this year that blew me away. This is quintessential pop music for 2019, with a lot of clear dance music inspiration from songs like Icy and Got My Number. Also, while you don’t necessarily have to like her music because of this, Kim Petras is trans and I have an incredible amount of respect for her to make it in the industry. I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for her to get to where she is now with the way many higher ups in the music industry are.

Good At Falling - The Japanese House

This album is just really cute. The vocalist has a wonderful voice and the lyrics flow very well. There’s a lot of great songs, including my personal favorite Worms. If you like indie music give this one a listen for sure.

Fubar - Tsuruda

These tracks are insane, best bass music album of the year hands down. Please listen.

III - Banks

When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? - Billie Eilish

Renegades of Light - LSDREAM

We Are Dust - Xilent

EP of the Year

Dawn - SG Lewis

There were also some great EPs this year, with this one at the top in my opinion. Every single song on this EP is absolutely incredible. SG Lewis shows his attention to detail with every piece of production, starting with Blue, which captures the listeners attention from the second the bass comes in. Emotions flow like water throughout the album, morphing from song to song seamlessly. SG has a very unique sound to him, it’s vibey and both uptempo but somber at the same time. But more than just his production make this EP incredible, the vocals are all impeccable. With vocal performances from SG Lewis himself as well as Clairo and Honne, 5 of the 6 songs on this EP have a vocal, and each one stands out just as much as the last. The type of energy within this EP is so unique, the only way I can describe it is infectious.

Dawn had a lot of competition this year including the following stand out EPs:

Tangential Zones - G Jones

It’s not even remotely a secret that I am an enormous G Jones fan. But part of the reason for that is that all of his music is so damn good. This EP consists of a bunch of tracks he’s been playing in his live show for the last year, I’ve had to privilege of hearing some of these live previously and I thought they were good then but the studio versions of those tracks are even more incredible. Gregg is so good at making simple ideas fill an entire song, and he does it with such mastery. He’s truly one of the best producers of our time and he compliments it with incredible vision for everything he does.

Turn Off The Lights - Dog Blood

Skrillex and Boys Noize are back with some more techno inspired bangers. All 4 songs on this EP are insane, and so are the features, from Otira to X&G. To me, the songs Break Law and Kokoe stand out the most, but there isn’t a song on here that I dislike.

Acid 444 - i_o

This year I got into techno really hard. There were some stand out projects of course, Acid 444 being the most recent one to hit the spot. Replicate didn’t make my top 10 list but only by a very small amount. And System Error evokes some great vibes. These songs really inspired me and I actually started working on a Bladerunner styled techno song as a result. 

Dead Sea EP - Eliminate

I always think I’m not going to like the stuff Eliminate releases very much and I don’t know why. But every single time I do that he releases something that just destroys me. Not going to be making that mistake again. There’s some interesting musical elements in these songs, such as the dissonance in Stupid. There’s another particular track on this EP that I really like but you’ll read more about that one later.

Night is Short - Otira

It was a huge year for Otira / Raito. Between his 2 projects he released like 6 EPs and had features on tracks by i_o, Dog Blood, and more. But this EP of his stood out to me the most with some great rave and techno tracks. But to me the thing about this EP that stands out to me the most is the album art. It’s very easily my favorite album art for the entire year. It just draws me in so much, I can’t fully describe why but I’m in love with it.

Save Yourself EP - Virtual Riot

The best producer in dubstep is back with 8 more bangers. I never tire of listening to Virtual Riot, he just kills it every time.

Experiments in Acid Research - Glacci

Change & Decay - Blanke

Divide - Shadient

Songs of the Year

And now for my favorite songs of the year

1. Mania - Madeon

This was the song off of Good Faith that grabbed me the most. It mixes his Adventure era electrohouse sound with the Good Faith style in an absolutely incredible way. However this song was initially a little further down the list. Once I saw Good Faith Live I had to move it up, seeing this song live was such an insane experience. Madeon played an extended version of this song with some modified instrumentation and it was easily my favorite part of the show. The experience of seeing Mania live pushed it up my list to the top spot. Hugo did a wonderful job on this track and I’m so happy to be able to listen to it.

2. Dark Artifact - G Jones

Ethereal arpeggiated synth melodies and high energy trap drums with a lot of bass. What’s there not to like?

3. Caffeine - Lolo Zouai

My favorite pop song of the year. The use of foley in this song is insane. All the drums are laced with recorded sounds of soda bottles and cans being opened and I just love it. So unique, and the lyrics are so well crafted. I almost lost it the first time I realized “French Vanilla dripping in your cup” was a pun I almost lost it because there’s so much depth involved in that line it’s wild. In addition to all of these really unique elements the song is also a bop.

4. Everything - Eliminate

My favorite song off of this EP. This song is so catchy, but more than anything its drum and bass!!!!! It makes me so happy that dnb is catching on in the US. The genre is so explosive and there’s a ton of good stuff out there. I really like Eliminates take on the genre with this song, giving it an almost pop-like vibe while still making it a banger.

5. Lazer Vision - Zeke Beats, The Glitch Mob

From a technical standpoint this song is crazy. The mixing in the track stands out a lot to me, especially with the percussion. It’s also just a cool song. I’m really glad that The Glitch Mob is doing collabs with newer up and coming artists and I hope we get more songs of this quality from the project.

6. Icy - Kim Petras

This song is so catchy, it gets stuck in my head all the time. I love how the production is like bass house turned pop music, super cool style I wouldn’t have expected but I really love. And those hi hat trills, damn. She snapped.

7. Dream Fatigue - G Jones

Another G Jones track on this list but this song is just so cool. Sampling the pacman dying sound and making a trap song is such an amazing idea. And who else but Gregg to pull it off so perfectly.

8. Abberate - Shadient

What the fuck is synth design? This song makes me question my entire life because I never imagined that something could just... sound like that. I don’t know how to describe it but listening to this song for the first time had me so lost. The second drop is full of so many unique synths. I still can’t get over it. Shadient is one of the best bass music producers for sure, can’t wait for that album he’s been talking about next year. And he needs to release that song with the silent hills vibe.

9. Night Is Short - Otira

I already talked about this one a little but hard rave music never felt so good. My friend always says “this song is what people who don’t listen to dance music thinks it sounds like” and he couldn’t be more correct. Song is crazy, when the lead synth goes up an octave and the hi-hat comes in, I go crazy every time.

10. Radial - ISOxo, Knock2

RL Grime’s label Sable Valley is on a roll. With songs like Ambush , House of God, and Arcus and more stuff to come it’s just wild. This song in particular is so much fun. I especially live the dnb breakdown in the second drop. Can’t wait for more from both of these producers and from Sable Valley.

Some other great singles from this year in no particular order:

All the Time - Zara Larsson

Ambush - Cozway, Jon Casey

Overdose - SG Lewis

Drowning - Kucka

Midnight Hour - Skrillex, Boys Noize

Mumbai Power - Skrillex

Moi - Lolo Zouai

Rushing Back - Flume, Vera Blue

Me ++ You - Myrne

Let Me Take You - Whethan, Jeremih

Love Me - Felix Cartal, Lights

Ultramarine - Quiet Bison

Get Through - Rameses B

Soundboy Burnin’ - Otira