STS Top 100 Tracks of 2011: 71-80
Welcome back to the our third installment of Silverlake To Soho’s Top Tracks of 2011. This time we’ll be running through tracks 71 through 80. In case you missed my last post on tracks 81-90, you can check it out here! If you’re new to us then here’s the criteria you missed from last post.
Silverlake to Soho is proud to present to you our top 100 tracks of 2011. Featuring a top 50 of 2011 is an already daunting task for an EDM blog to do, but a top 100, really? I bet you’re thinking that the quality slowly diminishes after 50, but as you will soon see, we probably could’ve gone up to 150. With the help of a few knowledgable ravers, legends, and friends of mine, I think I’ve conjured up a rather respectable list of tracks that represent 2011, thee MEGA in terms of releases. By top 100 “tracks”, I will more specifically be referring to mainly the EDM subgenre of progressive house. Why mainly progressive house? Based upon the endless quality releases of progressive this year, and for EDM all across the board, it would be virtually impossible to include other subgenres.
Other reasons why I want to stick to progressive are:
1) Although I appreciate Trance considerably, I have not followed trance extensively enough nor do I believe that I’d have a credible offering of opinions or selection.
2) It was also a great year for electro house, but I feel that there wouldn’t be enough to room to throw that into the mix (with exception to a few producers).
3) Although you know I love an occasional fucking tech bomb by Richard Dinsdale or Pleasurekraft, tech house just isn’t in popular demand at the moment!
4) Minimal/Techno – Sorry but I haven’t dug that deep yet…
5) Dubstep…no thanks, I don’t like having seizures on the dancefloor.
What were some other factors taken into consideration?
Popularity was obviously a huge factor. There are some tracks that undeniably reached the entire EDM spectrum and beyond. Call it commercial or radio friendly, there are those sing-along anthems that moved the masses to create one giant auditory synapse. Whether it be for good or for worse, anthems are what induce the EDM community to expand.
Festival Fuego. Some tracks were straight up festival staples this year and were the base ingredients that every big name needed to have in their sets. Regardless if we already heard that track 5 times that day (Camera’s ready, prepare to flash!), we would still give out the same reaction. Household names in the industry and their support for certain tracks also play a role since they are the trend setters of EDM. If the track has been circulating into a lot of big name sets, then chances are it’s probably a good track!
Diversity of sound (despite the list falling mainly under progressive) and range of artists. Sorry Avicii (and his fanboys), but we definitely wanted to showcase a bit of everything, ranging from feel-good, bigroom, trouse, clubby progressive, melodic/airy smooth, tropical fuego, and emotionally driving tracks. A track doesn’t have to be an in-your-face, synth-happy, bass-heavy banger to be a top 100 track.
Crushability. This is self-explanatory.
Is this bias? Abso-fucking-lutely. A lot of these tracks represent my personal taste and are from some of my favorite producers. I’ve invested a lot of time in posting features like Fuego Fridays, so I believe my input is well-deserved.
So take these with a grain of salt, as music (especially EDM) is very opinionated. This is intended to create a forum of discussion about this past year’s releases! So if you have anything on your mind, please comment below.
#80 LMFAO – Party Rock Anthem (Alesso Remix) and Champagne Showers (R3hab Remix)
LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem” might possibly be the most popular song of the year. However, my aim is to cover legitimate progressive house within EDM and not so much the radio party-pop that emulates the structure of a house track (sorry if that seemed harsh). But say you have a mainstream name like Adele, Katy Perry, or Jennifer Lopez and add in a remixer like Alesso, R3hab, or Thomas Gold into the mix then you definitely have my attention. Yes, I’m comfortable enough with my sexuality in saying that I’d listen to a Gaga track by itself, the diva has some pipes on her. This Alesso remix dropped during mid June and was a huge hit this summer! Everyday I’m shuffling!
LMFAO – Party Rock Anthem (Alesso Remix) (Purchase on Amazon)
I wanted to spare a precious ranking (and wanted to cram more tracks in) so I just grouped R3hab’s remix to LMFAO’s “Champagne Showers” along with the Alesso remix. Dropped during July, R3hab’s summer smasher adds in a killer Dutch drop that actually reminds of Afrojack’s “Take Over Control” drop, or at least it’s the closest thing I’ve seen to “Take Over Control”. Something that I really enjoyed but have yet to see again in R3hab’s more recent works is his groovy break 3 minutes in. As for 2011, R3hab was in some vital collaborations (with Swanky Tunes and Afrojack) and was fuegomatic remixing machine.
LMFAO feat. Natalia Kills – Champagne Showers (R3hab Remix)
#79 David Tort – One Look feat. Gosha (Axwell vs. Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike Remix)
This Axtone-released track is all about the details my friends. From the get-go, the remix keeps the original progression that is crafted to build and build energy. Opposed to a bass-heavy drop, Axwell and Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike — the Belgian brothers and stars of Tomorrowland who had a breakout year — deliver on a dreamy fairy tale melody. Soon after, we reach the pinnacle of the track with a gallant offering of filtered synth riffs.
David Tort ft. Gosha – One Look (Axwell vs. Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike Remix) (Purchase on Beatport)
#78 Arty – Kate (Original Mix)
If we were to compare pokemon with EDM, Arty’s track “Kate” may be the mythical mew out of the bunch (don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about). Have we ever anything like this? This is truly a listener’s jam. As I said last post, Arty’s unique blend of progressive and trance has lead to his ascension in clubland and will continue to drive him to the top among the ranks. Also, let’s not forget his heartwarming facemelter called “Trio“, which feature Russian brothers Matisse & Sadko and is set to release on Axwell’s imprint in early 2012.
Arty – Kate (Original Mix) (Purchase on Beatport)
#77 Pnau – Solid Ground (Tim Mason Remix)
I’ve been on the Tim Mason train ever since his breakout bomb “The Moment” dropped. I was amazed at how someone could drop a debut as boisterous as Swedish House Mafia’s tracks like “One” and “Miami 2 Ibiza”. Tim Mason has also dropped amazing remixes to Lucid’s “I Can’t Help Myself”, Moby’s “After”, Alex Metric & Steve Angello’s “Open Your Eyes”, David Guetta’s “Where Them Girls At”, and an amazing take on the infamous “Pressure”. With all these remixes, the London-based progressive house phenom was able to develop his signature sound of cascading chords, warm melodies, and a steady bassline – all characteristics of his upcoming 2011 anthem and second original production “Anima” (my soon-to-be favorite track of the year), which is going to be released on Size December 30th.
Official Size Preview for Anima
Pnau – Solid Ground (Tim Mason Remix)Purchase on Beatport
“Anima” is hands down my favorite live track of 2011. Here’s a video of Dirty South dropping it during peak time at the Mid in Chicago.
#76 Richard Dinsdale, Hook N Sling & Sam Obernik – Edge Of The Earth (Original Mix)
“Edge Of The Earth” is definitely the most enjoyable and easygoing tracks out of the bunch and is an interesting collaboration between Aussie progressive house producer Hook N Sling and the UK tech sensation Richard Dinsdale. The Spanish guitars, the always entertaining voice of Sam Obernik and tech house rhythm reached the club dance floors by the masses and definitely one of my favorite summer jams.
Richard Dinsdale, Sam Obernik & Hook N Sling – Edge Of The Earth (Original Mix) (Purchase on Beatport)
#75 Pryda – Mirage EP
Let’s get real now, Sweden’s Eric Prydz might one of the best and most underrated producers in the world. Under the aliases of Pryda, Cirez D, and his actual name, Eric Prydz has delivered some of the most remarkable deep progressive (and almost even electronica) music in EDM. Once again, Prydz has had an incredible year with his original production “2Night” and his remixes to Digitalism’s “Circles” and Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus” and “Never Let Me Down Again”. However, Pryda’s three-track Mirage EP was arguably his best and features deep grooves, metaphysical melodies (Mirage), and robust synths (mainly Juletider). I’d say “With Me” reminds me more of his Cirez D moniker.
Pryda – Mirage (Original Mix) (Purchase on Beatport)
Pryda – Juletider (Original Mix)
Pryda – With Me (Original Mix)
#74 Disfunktion – Galette (Original Mix)
Due this track’s amazing filtered piano synths, it was originally mistaken as the imaginary “Avicii – Hello Miami (Official WMC Anthem)” throughout the EDM blogosphere. Hell, even one our own members posted it as the mislabeled Avicii track. I tuned into it and thought I had heard it before, but couldn’t make the connection as I hadn’t thoroughly listened to the tracks that I picked up from my Beatport binge. Once I browsed through those tracks that I got from the couple weeks before, I finally made the connection. I actually liked the track so much that I got into contact with the Dutch duo and they were nice enough to do an interview. If you dig this incredible track, then you’ll definitely like two of their similar progressive productions like “Lost All The Ways feat. Nicky Prince (Original Mix)” and their more recent “Chasing Clouds Away feat. Stephen Pickup (Original Mix)”.
Disfunktion – Galette (Original Mix) (Purchase on Beatport)
#73 Dada Life - White Noise / Red Meat (Original Mix)
The absurd Swedish electro house duo Dada Life has had an incredible year that all started with “White Noise / Red Meat”. This track really did pave the way for Dada Life with its catchy hooks and extra gritty drop. After this track, Dada made 2011 their bitch, winning over the fans with their outgoing personalities and quality electro bombs such as “Fight Club Is Closed”, “Happy Violence”, and “Kick Out The Epic Motherf**ker”. Along with the original mix, the Bassjackers did an incredible remix worth noting and is a favorite of electro producer Zedd.
Dada Life – White Noise / Red Meat (Original Mix)
#72 TV Rock & Hook N Sling – Diamonds In The Sky (Original Mix)
Supported by the likes of Kaskade and Fedde Le Grand, Hook N Sling and TV Rock’s bigroom smash is designated only for peak time. This track definitely has one of best builds all year and with the aid of Rudy’s vocals, making any type of atmosphere epic!
TV Rock & Hook N Sling feat. Rudy – Diamonds In The Sky (Original Mix) (Purchase on Beatport)
#71 (Tie) Markus Schulz & Jochen Miller – Rotunda and Cosmic Gate – The Theme (Original Mix)
Okay I know I said that trance wouldn’t be covered but I felt that these two were too great not to be mentioned within the reaches of progressive house.
Even if trance isn’t your jam, there’s no doubt that the lead synth riff will hit spots you never knew existed; it might be a Coldharbour thing. Coldharbour Recordings is a branch of Armada and is the imprint of American trance heavyweight Markus Schultz. Much like Coldharbour, “Rotunda” has that lovely dark, deep and moody sound! I was pretty impressed with Schultz when I saw him at EZoo, this track was one of my favorites.
Markus Schulz & Jochen Miller – Rotunda (Original Mix) (Purchase on Beatport)
Cosmic Gate’s celestial melodies will honestly melt your face off and warm your innermost core. This is one goosebump-inducing and enraptured out-of-body experience that you need to check out! One of the most unexpected things that I witnessed at a show all year was when Thomas Gold did a live edit of this track right after peak-time, perfectly preparing us for the night’s end.
Cosmic Gate – The Theme (Original Mix) Purchase on Beatport
Honorable Mention:
Ferry Corsten – Check It Out (Bassjackers Remix)
Calvin Harris – Feel So Close (Extended Mix)
Craig Connelly – Absolute Electric (Tritonal Club Mix)
Angger Dimas & Tommy Trash – Big Fucking House (Original Mix)
Fadi – Ticket To The Sky (Original Mix)
Top Tracks 81-90
Top Tracks 91-100
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