Top 100 Tracks of 2016: 33 - 1

Continuation of the list started Wednesday: From 100 - 67, which also includes my disclaimer/preamble. The middle third of the list can be found here: From 66 - 34.
Soundcloud playlist can be found at the bottom.

#33: Maduk - Got Me Thinking ft. Veela
(As featured on EFYE) From those first strides of warm synths, and the accompanying bass grooves, the track picks up and continually gets steamier. It almost feels like a real band could play this, although they'd have to be operating at an incredibly high rate of speed. And boy would I love to see it played live. From Veela's strong yet ethereal vocals, through the endless groove, fabulous drum fills and playful progression, this track has everything. It gets me going and makes me hella happy.

#32: LDRU ft. Paige IV - Keeping Score (Cut Snake Remix)
(As featured on EFYE) When I wrote about the remixes of "Keeping Score," I called Oski's my favourite, since then I've changed my mind. Cut Snake have absolutely crushed and perfected the original (which too is brilliant). The foundation laid out by LDRU and Paige IV is beautiful, but the additional piano and fluid movement Cut Snake have injected is simply sublime. It's become the kind of all night party track that takes listeners through the gamut of emotions. It's smart, groovy and enchanting.

#31: A.G. Cook - Superstar
This track is built for lists like this, it literally has everything: beautiful vocals and lyrics, brilliant production, all wrapped together in an epic 5 minute journey of emotions. It's no secret how I feel about PC Music and their aesthetic, so clearly I'm a fan of the sounds their leader A.G. has used in this track, despite not being your typical PC Music track. Leaning more heavily on piano, live instrumentation, and Cook's voice, this track is an ode to true musicianship, that often seems absent in electronic music. Its beauty will have you reaching for the sky, hoping to grab a ride into the cosmos.

#30: Courts - Feel My Love
Right from the groovy pickup, Courts have crafted an absolutely captivating track. While it's a true electronic dance track, it (like many of the others on this list) features a ton of live instrumentation. That live element is so incredibly powerful, it's infectious from the fingers to the toes, and the head to the heart. It's one of the most fun tracks in this list, it has me grabbing for my air guitar and hairbrush microphone just to be a part of the band. It's impossible not to feel the love Courts are sharing.

#29: Stormzy - Scary (Slumberjack Edit)
(As featured on EFYE) This Slumberjack production is light years away from their other track on this list. Where "Open Fire" is kind and insightful, "Scary" is merciless and blunt. It absolutely hammers away at your senses, in the best way possible. It takes Stormzy's grime original and turns it into one of the most fire bangers of the year. It's diabolic is its delivery, leaving you stunned, stupefied and floored.

#28: Vera - Eeva (Sketch)
The beautiful tranquility of the flowing water in the opening, lays the foundation of this fresh and fully alive future bass track. It's at once like nothing I've ever heard before yet also so familiar. What would seem to be a cacophony of sounds couldn't be further from the fact. Vera is able to incorporate so much into one track, crafting unbelievable harmonies. Imagine Lido, Cashmere Cat, Ryan Hemsworth and Tennyson all worked together on a track, even then it might not match "Eeva."

Top 100 Tracks of 2016: 66 - 34

Continuation of the list started yesterday: From 100 - 67, which also includes my disclaimer/preamble. Soundcloud playlist can be found at the bottom.

#66: Meroshi - Summer Friends
It's hard to believe we made it this far into the list without some drum and bass, but here we are. Meroshi's genius is on full display here. His sound design impeccable, crafting instruments that feel so real, imbuing them with life and passion. The subtle effects and progression he works throughout, give the track an incredible energy. It's horny, groovy and those vocal samples get me every time.

#65: Stephen Walking - It Came From Planet Earth
2015 was the year I discovered and fell in love with Stephen Walking. This year marked a change in his productions, leaving behind the bass of "One Man Moon Band" and "The Difference Between Us And The Aliens," in which he explored different BPMs and styles. However, sticking to his interstellar, future disco/funk disposition, "It Came From Planet Earth" exudes awesomeness.

#64: Cashmere Cat - Trust Nobody (ft. Selena Gomez & Tory Lanez)
The rise of Cashmere Cat over the past two years is a testament to his nearly unrivaled ability, not only to produce around vocalists, but to craft truly divine sounds. While his recent work skews further from the kind of beautiful bangers of Mirror Maru or Wedding Bells, "Trust Nobody" shows off his smooth touch and delightful decorum. This further establishes Cashmere Cat as an paralleled producer.

#63: Jadu Heart - Late Night
Fittingly, I first heard this on a late night coming home from the club. That first flourish hit me like a magic spell, utterly alluring and beautifully breathtaking. And while it worked so magically in that hazy atmosphere, I now use it whenever I need a pick-me-up. It holds a special power in its easy flowing sound, so organic and raw as though it were recorded in one take. Heart rending harmonies through truly insightful and emotionally evocative lyrics, it's always on my mind.

#62: Jameston Thieves - Hypnotic
This certainly doesn't sound like a banger for the first 45 seconds, that is until it dives into a deep house beat. Torquing up the tension Jameston Thieves quickly turn "Hypnotic" in to an all out thrasher, banging the bass with massive strobing throbs, that contrasts so brilliantly with the brighter leads. The sound design of the bass in the drop may be the key to the track's quality, but it truly excels and finds itself in this list because of the drums fills leading into the drop as well as the supporting production.

#61: Justin Jay & Friends - Karma (JJ's Late Nite Dub)
Hearing Justin Jay play this at The Hoxton was one of the highlights of the year; I feel too many DJs are scared to play something out of the ordinary, something that doesn't bang, something not designed for the club. This is the kind of uplifting, yet downtempo, track that I could listen to any time of the day. It's built upon a beautiful premise ("You get what you give") and simple yet sublime instrumentation.

#60: Machinedrum - Angel Speak (ft. MeLo-X)
While I've called Machinedrum's Human Energy my album of the year (in my Grammys post), I decided to include only one track from it in this is (though many are deserving). The problem is the album stands as a cohesive collection, so separating tracks seemed wrong. The exception, and stand out track from it is this, "Angel Speak." For me it encompasses all that makes the album so magical. It it full of life, bringing humanity to the the synthesized sounds, begging listeners to move their feet. Like the album itself it also bounces around from different rhythms, instruments and grooves, truly coming alive.

#59: Torro Torro & Aylen - Designed 4 U
(As featured on EFYE) 2016 blessed us with one of the best collabs the bass community has ever seen. Torro Torro and Aylen are perfect for each other, as clearly evidenced in this track. Everything screams sheer brilliance as the synths never stop moving or progressing, and those vocal riffs, while leading the track they also support and play perfectly into the utterly insane and diverse drops. There really is nothing better than drop by drop progression, and these three take that to the next level, making the first, already awesome drop, pale in comparison to the callous second coming.

Top 100 Tracks of 2016: 100 - 67

Starting today through Friday, I'll be revealing my list of the top 100 tracks of 2016. The following is my disclaimer, as I feel it's important to preface this list with my methodology. I thought long and hard about this list, what and who I should include, where each track should fall, and how to go about doing that. Should I include multiple tracks from one artist? Am I trying to make a point/statement with my placement of each track? How do I deal with the recency bias, and the counter-effect of that on older tracks? The reality is, this blog is mine and mine alone. It is one man's opinions and despite my claims, that these are the "top" or "best" tracks, they are more truthfully my favourite, and what I believe to be tracks/artists that deserve further praise. I did not conduct any surveys, base the ranking on plays or popularity, but rather I went with my heart.

As you'll see I did include multiple tracks from my favourite artists, as they are, at least in my mind, deserving. You'll also notice a hell of a lot of future bass tracks, as is only appropriate for 2016. I also tried to include a variety of other genres, but it will be clear what my tastes, and therefore favourite genres are. However, I certainly feel like this list ended up hosting very little "club" music, despite spending countless hour of 2016 in the clubs. That being said there are dozens of worthy tracks that I either forgot or excluded. Finally, I'll be posting a soundcloud playlist at the bottom of each post, as best I can, assuming each track is still online. So here we go with the first 34 tracks.

#100: Photay - Trophy
(As featured on EFYE) I had to choose one track from Photay's Sadie EP and as I wrote previously, "Trophy" is bold and beautiful. It's the kind of experimental track that I cannot place into a single genre, save for the catch all category of 2016, future bass. The synth work is brilliant and full of feels. And as you'll see, the progression and movement it boasts is the key to many of the tracks on this list.

#99: Cowboy Rhythmbox - Mécanique Sauvage
This techno joint takes be back to the days when the likes of Gesaffelstein, Justice and the classic Boys Noize and Erol Alkan's collabs dominated my playlists, so it's fitting that it was released on Phantasy Sound. The genius of "Mécanique Sauvage" is its raw hammering style, contrasted beautifully by subtle tweaks and progression. This would absolutely destroy a club.

#98: Terror Danjah - All I Need (ft. Dot Rotten)
I got scared for a second when I saw that this song was on soundcloud 3 years ago! However, it still qualifies for this list as it was only released in August of this year. This is one of the deeper more beautiful tracks on this list. Terror lays down a brilliant beat and Dot displays his vocal prowess in more ways that one. His flow is fire and his words will have you wiping away tears.

#97: Bob Moses - Like It Or Not (Joris Voorn Remix)
(As featured on EFYE) Of the Bob Moses remixes that could have fallen on this list, I decided to go with the Voorn version because of its truly epic nature. The journey Joris takes us on is absolutely breathtaking, it gives the feeling of flying with its soaring synths. At the same time it dives to an unknown abyss, with its dark, almost alarming, bass throbs. Buckle up for the brilliance of Joris Voorn.

#96: Solid Groove & Sinden - Din Da Da (Yolanda Be Cool Re-Jiggle)
This is another one of those tracks that take me back to the "good old days," specifically 2006/7 when the original was first released. I first heard this when RYME played it this summer, ushering in one of my most stanky, screw faces. On a proper system you'll be making the same oo's and ah's as the vocalist, thanks to the nonstop bouncy bass. This is a confirmed club killer.

#95: FrankJavCee - Pop Song (ft. Marionismagical)
(As featured on EFYE) I couldn't do this list without including this brilliant indictment of pop music, as you'll see there aren't many, if any, pop songs on this list. Not that there's anything wrong with them. And that's exactly what this song is about, how can you hate on pop music when you make an awesome pop song. Music is about enjoyment, and I thoroughly enjoy this and all tracks on this list.