Top 100 Tracks Of 2017: 25-1

Continuation of the list started Tuesday: from 100-76, which also includes my disclaimer/preamble. The middle sections can be found here: from 75-51 & 50-26. Soundcloud playlist here and at the bottom.

#25: M-City J.R. - Addicted To My Ex (Taylor Thomas x KGTO Remix)
Of all the remixes in this list, there is no original that I'd be less likely to listen to (save for "All Star," although I certainly did when it came out in 1999). That being said this is one of the top 10 remixes of the year. It combines the loco lyrics that made the original so strange yet alluring, with a brand new ballsy delivery. Whether you have an ex like this or not, you'll certainly be flexing those trap arms when the dope drops screech in. It is absolute madness, especially in the fantastic "aahh" samples.

#24: Caveman - Life Or Just Living (Lil Hank Remix)
(As featured on EFYE) No track in this list invokes as warm a feeling and sure smile as this one. It was my introduction to Lil Hank and while I love "Pupperino" and "A Young Puppo Is Born," it remains my favourite of the bunch. It features Hank's delightful drum delivery and playful warmth that can only come from such a good boy. You can always count on him pick you up at your worst moments, and that's exactly what this track does. It is so supremely buoying that it feels as though you're bounding weightlessly across the Sea of Tranquility. Yet it's not alien at all, it feels just like home.

#23: Sinjin Hawke - Monolith (Overture)
Album openings are tricky. I'm not a fan of innocuous intros that do or say nothing. And dropping the best track right from the get go isn't really appropriate either. Sinjin is able to avoid that issue, while seemingly confronting both flaws, head on. The orchestral warm-up sets up the explosive fire of the album, while giving way to the "Wolves" vocal sample. And while there's still another track from First Opus to come, this was certainly in the conversation for best track on the album. It features all the elements that make First Opus my album of the year. It is big and bold, yet sprightly and spirited. The way the drums and vocals work and play together is utterly intoxicating.

#22: Oliver - Go With It (ft. Chromeo)
Chromeo always stir up something deep inside, but maybe I just better leave the lyrics to them. I too "feel some type of way" when they play next to me, "and I'm not tryna hide it/.../and I'm not gonna fight it." Yes, I absolutely love this, but I suppose we're here for why. It is of course uber funky and fun, combining the electro grooves of Oliver and vivacious vocal play of Chromeo. Each iteration of the synths are strong and self-assured. No matter what kind of day you're having, you'll be strutting when this comes on, any annoyances or aggravations will roll right off your shoulder.

#21: Everything Everything - Night Of The Long Knives
Last summer I had the pleasure of taking in Everything Everything live and was immediately blown away. Jonathan Higgs' potent voice spun circles around my head both in spite of and because of the mystifying lyrics (see "No Reptiles"). This led to their album Get To Heaven becoming one of my all-time favs, I just couldn't get enough. When the follow-up, A Fever Dream, was released I spent the whole day listening to it on repeat, particularly this lead track. It has everything I'd come to love about Everything Everything, and more. Higgs' voice is even more powerful, the drums/guitar/bass even more magnificent, and the lyrics even more mystifying. Just try to play this a couple times without being swept up, joining in the with the singing. This Thanksgiving I was still riding so high on this track that I literally walked around the house all night singing "shame about your neighborhood."

Top 100 Tracks Of 2017: 50-26

Continuation of the list started Tuesday: from 100-76, which also includes my disclaimer/preamble. The second quarter of the list can be found here: from 75-51. Soundcloud playlist here and at the bottom.

#50: Biscits - M Night (Boy 8-Bit Remix)
(As featured on EFYE) The already exceptional original gets a great update from the brilliant Boy 8-Bit. As always, he's able to inject a great raw groove that combines jungle atmosphere with a techno twist. It is playful as it is powerful, crunching and crackling alongside its sublime synths. It feels like Boy 8-Bit at his best, working with a lighthearted sample and ingenious progression.

#49: Joe Goddard - Lose Your Love (Full Length Version)
While the radio edit (which you'll find in the Soundcloud playlist) was released last year, the full length version only came to light with the album. And this expanded edit is exactly what I love about Joe Goddard. It's expansive disco house vibes are beyond beautiful, with wells of warm organic instrumentation. The additional guitar becomes a love guru, gently caressing this uber cool creation. There is no act I want to see more than Joe, and I expect his live set up to be one of the best around.

#48: CID - Believer (ft. CeeLo Green)
(As featured on EFYE) When I first heard this I was so sure that it'd blow up and become one of the biggest songs of the summer, if not the year. I'm not sure that's happened (35k plays on Soundcloud, 1.3 million on Spotify), but in my eyes and ears it is still one of the best to come out this year. CeeLo's voice is just as alluring six months later, and the production still shines with a wild glory. The piano, and additional island feels that arise in the second half are just so beautiful. Part of the reason some of these tracks make this list is that I've never had the opportunity to hear them on a big system, and I hope that it may help that happen; I can still only imagine the impact this one would have.

#47: Bryan West x R.O - Nightfall
Another technically 2016 release, but because it came after I released last year's countdown here we are. I can still vividly remember my first real encounter with this track. I was riding the subway and had to pick my jaw off the floor, when its superb story stunned me. I had to listen again and again, cranking the volume up with each repetition. There's just so much to like about this track: literally every sound, each subsequent section and the fantastic flow into each. It's big, beautiful and just oh so intoxicating.

#46: Krafty Kuts x Dynamite MC - Rev It Up (ft. Riya)
There has never been a time this track has come on and I've not been instantly lifted. It rivals any track on this list, or perhaps ever, in terms of fun energy. Krafty Kuts has built a brilliant bed for Dynamite and Riya to work their magic on. So many lines from Dynamite hit me hard, even if they're a bit silly. My personal favourite "After the party, I'll eat your pizza." And there's no ignoring the "pick it up, pick it up, pick it up, like engine number 9 we're revved up," call back. It may be the only cut from All 4 Corners on this list, but if you like this I can highly recommend checking out the rest of the album.

Bump In The Hump: December 27 (Best Of 2017)

Tracklist

• Demuir - After The Rain
• Stream
• Pat Lok ft. Claire Ridgely - Crystal Ball (VIP)
• Stream
• OAKS - Vibrations
• Free Download
• Maddmon - Miami
• Free Download
• Cosella & Vanilla Ace - Funk To The Brain
• Stream
• MSTRKRFT - Runaway (RYME Remix)
• Stream
• Jessie Ware - Alone (Toddla T Remix)
• Stream
• Jacques Greene - To Say
• Stream
• CRi - Keep It Real (ft. Jesse Mac Cormack)
• Stream
• Daphni - Tin
• Stream
• Attlas - Frost
• Stream
• ASHE - Everything Was Beautiful
• Free Download
• London Grammar - Oh Woman Oh Man (Tiga Remix)
• Stream
• Scissors & CastNowski - Free Your Mind
• Free Download
• CastNowski - Down Under (CYMN Remix)
• Free Download
• Sam Lamar x CYMN - Easy (ft. Mikey Ceaser)
• Free Download
• Tiga - Woke
• Stream
• Lunice - Drop Down (ft. SOPHIE & Le1f)
• Stream
• Lambo - Arleen
• Free Download
• A-Trak - Believe (ft. Quavo & Lil Yachty)
• Stream
• So Loki - My Girl
• Stream
• Lazy Rich & Jaxx Da Fishworks - Guilty Pleasure
• Stream
• Exclusion - Daily Routine
• Free Download
• Smash Mouth - All Star (AGNO3 Remix)
• Free Download
• Grandtheft & Delaney Jane - Easy Go (Pham Remix)
• Stream
• Flume - Wall Fuck (Gramatik & Ramzoid Remix)
• Stream
• Robert Robert - Coolest Place In The Universe
• Stream
• Oliver - Go With It (ft. Chromeo)
• Stream
• Carly Rae Jepsen - Cut To The Feeling (Kid Froopy Remix)
• Stream
• Phantogram - You Don't Get Me High Anymore (A-Trak Remix ft. Joey Purp)
• Stream
• Robotaki ft. Claire Ridgely & C. Young - Ghostboy (Deluxe)
• Free Download
• Muneshine - Full Throttle (ft. Darcys)
• Stream
• Lorde - Green Light (Chromeo Remix)
• Stream

Top 100 Tracks of 2017: 75-51

Continuation of the list started yesterday: from 100-76, which also includes my disclaimer/preamble. Soundcloud playlist here and at the bottom.

#75: WRLD - Everything (ft. Ashdown)
One of only two DnB tracks on this list. It is delightful and spectacular sci-fi fun. The groove and its subsequent glitches are genius. It reminds me of Fred V & Grafix, which is saying something, and boy oh boy could I get into a set of this kind of liquid lusciousness.

#74: Falcons - Want Your Body
I can't count how many times I've heard this track, yet I still feel like it eludes my ability to properly characterize its quality. It's kind of sneaky, yet once it kicks in there's no avoiding its allure. The drum work is absolutely ingenious, propelling the production into a stratosphere unrivaled by any other tracks released this year. It is original and excellent, truly in a class of its own, but that's standard for Falcons.

#73: Ayo - Name Game
(As featured on EFYE) When a track doesn't need quality speakers to sound massive you know you've got something special. The bass Ayo's dropped here is quite simply the biggest thing in this whole list. In fact I'm fairly certain that if you play this on a big system, a hole in the time-space continuum is ripped open. Heed his advice and "play that shit again" and again and again.

#72: OAKS - Vibrations
Another almost old-school style track that takes me back to my early days exploring electronic music. It's got a great club churning groove that plays so perfectly with the synths and overall atmosphere. It's both wild yet some how still tempered in its tech house delivery. I swear I hadn't realized it until I played it live on Bump In The Hump, but I stand by my comparison to Boy 8-Bit, my favourite electronic artist.

#71: Jaxx Da Fishworks - Round Em Up
The typically house heavy BADLQQK crew had a huge year, and while there were several standouts, (particularly their RQQKIES) it was actually this breaks track that most caught my attention. Of course drums are the most important aspect of breaks, and boy do they ever do damage here. It's wobbly, warped and wicked good fun. And it's not just BADLQQK who had a big year, expect to see another track from Jaxx work its way into this list.

#70: Bicep - Aura
(As featured on EFYE) The unreleased Bicep track finally got its release after more than a year of magical teasing, and while it'll be remembered by most as a delirium-inducing demo, there's little better than having a full official release to play when and where we want. While I'll always be a sucker for their remix of "Tears I Can Afford," this may be Bicep at their best, navigating the line between a knock you off your feet, wall of sound and a feather-like tickling of your senses. Simply sublime.

Top 100 Tracks of 2017: 100-76

Starting today, through Friday, I'll be revealing my list of the "Top 100 Tracks of 2017." The following is my disclaimer, as I feel it important to preface this kind of list with some insight into its creation and the reasoning behind it. While I spent a lot of time seriously pouring through this year of music, this is not really a serious endeavour. It is merely my fun way of further sharing the tracks and artists that made my year better. The rankings may not be scientific or even fair, rather they are simply a reflection on how strongly I felt these tracks and how much praise I felt they deserved.

As with last years list (starting here), you'll see that I included multiple tracks from my favourite artists. You'll also notice that the thread of disco/funk runs strongly throughout, as it is without question where I found myself going most this year. I did however try to touch on a variety of genres, while of course sticking to what I really like and felt warranted inclusion in such a list. Again mirroring last year, you'll find a relatively low amount of 'club' music, certainly in comparison to the amount of time I spent within them. But that's just me, I tend to listen to and enjoy so called 'headphone' music as much as big, banging, sub-woofer throbbing, beats. That being said plenty of this list would pulverize a club and I'd love to hear any of these tracks on a big system.

Finally, I will once again say that this is by no means an exhaustive list; there are without a doubt exceptional tunes that somehow failed to make the cut. However, onward and, in this case, downward, from tracks 100 to 76 we go. See the soundcloud playlist here and at the bottom of the page.

Top 3 Albums Of 2017

Two weeks ago I released the 'shortlist' of my favourite 17 albums of 2017 (here), promising to return with a cut down list, complete with review and reasoning. That time has come, and while the original list included non-electronic albums, I did not include them in this final threesome. This can be chalked up to two points: 1) this is an electronic music blog, and 2) despite still enjoying a fair amount of non-electronic music, the vast, and I mean vast majority of what I listen to is electronic music.

That being said, London Grammar's Truth Is A Beautiful Thing is beyond incredible. Not enough can be said about Hannah Reid's voice, nor even her lyrics, and the poise and craftsmanship of Dan and Dot's guitar/drum/etc is truly awesome. If you haven't given it a listen, absolutely do so. Now on to list.