EDM.com’s Better of 2021: Songs – EDM.com
EDM.com proudly publishes 4 installments of annual year-end protection: Business Leaders, Performances, Music Producers, and Songs.
With a lot new music supplied by EDM’s artist group, it will be unfair to its various vary of creators to publish a nebulous blanket record of the 12 months’s high songs. So to spotlight the most effective songs of the 12 months, we have chosen 10 in style sub-genres of dance music and acknowledged 5 tracks, every chosen by members of EDM.com‘s workers.
Take a look at a playlist beneath, adopted by a breakdown of every particular person track from every style.
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Qrion – Your Love
Nostalgic and wistful, Qrion’s “Your Love” leaves listeners craving for nights within the large metropolis. Delicate however transferring, the observe’s soundscapes go away listeners with an optimistic heat. – Nick Yopko
ACRAZE – Do It To It
ACRAZE’s imminent rise to superstardom started right here. Arguably dance music’s document of the 12 months, “Do It To It,“ a tech home anthem sampling vocals from Cherish’s 2006 single of the identical title, has helped propel the producer to worldwide stardom whereas solidifying his transition from bass music to deal with. “It feels good to place out extra home music as a result of I really feel extra alive,” ACRAZE instructed EDM.com in an unique interview. “As a musician, it is all a sense.” – Carlie Belbin & Konstantinos Karakolis
Dom Dolla – Pump the Brakes
The ingenious Dom Dolla managed to craft a membership banger revolving across the adoration of his outdated Toyota Camry. The obvious successor to his runaway hit, “Take It,” “Pump the Brakes” is a whimsical concoction of catchy hooks, automobile alarms and engine revs that erupts on the dancefloor. The accompanying music video can be a sight to behold with the aforementioned Camry making an excellent cameo. – Ulises Vargas
Enamour & Hydrah – Hypertrophy of Coronary heart
The ebb and circulation of “Hypertrophy of Coronary heart” is magnetic. Floaty, mesmeric vocals, deep bass and melodic stabs come collectively to smash the dancefloor. – Saad Masood
LP Giobbi & hermixalot – Transfer Your Physique
LP Giobbi has had her greatest 12 months but and “Transfer Your Physique” is without doubt one of the most notable highlights from it. The “Piano Home Queen” tapped longtime collaborator hermixalot to assist cook dinner up a cool, four-on-the-floor beat, and a surefire dancefloor filler. – Niko Sani
Dubstep
Digital Riot – Redline
Digital Riot’s Simulation album is probably the most progressive dubstep album of the 12 months. “Redline” stands tall amongst the opposite tracks on the document with sinister manufacturing and virtuosic bass syncopation. – Lennon Cihak
Leotrix – Tins
2021 was a banner 12 months for Leotrix, who burst onto the radar within the bass music scene with a sound all his identified. “Tins” is an immaculate instance, and an creative dubstep anthem oozing with the ferocity of a younger gun with large plans within the digital music scene—a scary thought contemplating he is solely 22. – Jason Heffler
GRiZ & Subtronics – Griztronics II (One other Degree)
GRiZ and Subtronics minted one of many greatest standout singles of 2019 with the wonky and unearthly “Griztronics.” Taking one other stab at greatness, the 2 landed a momentous sequel in “Griztronics II (One other Degree),” which stands as much as the hype of its predecessor. The observe consists of three “acts” with every bass beatdown extra mind-blowing than the final. The collaboration feels as if the 2 top-notch producers are pushing one another to their limits, making for an entertaining and unpredictable hear all through. – Cameron Sunkel
Kayzo, Sullivan King & Papa Roach – Domination
Kayzo, Sullivan King and Papa Roach’s “DOMINATION” completely combines their respective kinds right into a ruthless dubstep-metal hybrid. Kayzo and King have every been bridging the worlds of rock and bass music for years, whereas Papa Roach have been actively incorporating digital music parts of their music all through their storied historical past. So it’s secure to say that “DOMINATION” is a real gem inside its style, and makes for one of many hardest-hitting dubstep cuts of the 12 months. – Konstantinos Karakolis
Vampa & ZÍA – New Ranges
There’s a brand new class of bass music producers on the rise, and for the primary time, a wave of ladies is main the pack. GRVDNCR labelmates Vampa & ZÍA launched their face-melting collaboration, “New Ranges,” earlier this 12 months. The observe is a killer mixture of ominous chord progressions and breakneck dubstep synths, whereas bone-rattling lure manufacturing and a sinister vocal pattern spherical out its darkly cinematic listening expertise. Sure, the spooky aural aesthetic of “New Ranges” is certainly stylish. However with their track’s rigorously crafted drops and wobbly sound design, Vampa & ZÍA have managed to carry the fashion to—excuse the pun—a brand new stage. – Rachel Kupfer
Lure
RL Grime & ISOxo – Stinger
RL Grime’s releases had been few and much between in 2021, however that doesn’t imply he didn’t handle to shake up the scene in true lure don vogue. Produced alongside his Sable Valley protégée ISOxo, “Stinger” is as blistering as its title would recommend. With a harrowing chord development and darkish brass, the observe units a distinctly ominous tone. Helped alongside by the rallying, war-like cry of the observe’s vocals, “Stinger” builds as much as a cathartic apex earlier than taking the firepower up a notch with a descending flurry of bass-heavy synths. It represents a groundbreaking launch for ISOxo, and thus far he’s parlayed the momentum right into a sequence of equally refreshing lure bangers in its wake. – Cameron Sunkel
Moore Kismet & WYN – Rumor
“Rumor” completely summarizes the signature sound we’ve come to affiliate with Moore Kismet, one of many digital music scene’s brightest artists. WYN’s immaculate vocals completely synchronize with Kismet’s haunting manufacturing, cultivating a fantastically eerie association and certainly one of their most spectacular tracks up to now. – Niko Sani
TroyBoi – Bellz
Sampling Anita Ward and Frederick Knight’s 1979 disco traditional “Ring My Bell,” TroyBoi reworked the timeless observe right into a hard-hitting and danceable lure anthem. Not that followers wanted one, however “Bellz” was an applicable reminder that TroyBoi is without doubt one of the style’s greats. – Nick Yopko
MEMBA & vōx – Trenches
MEMBA and vōx’s “Trenches” is a fantastic amalgamation of lure and future bass, showcasing the previous’s refined music manufacturing chops and the latter’s empowering voice. The observe’s impeccable tonality highlights each artists as forces to be reckoned with in digital music. – Lennon Cihak
CloZee & Jead – Please Come Residence
CloZee’s hypnotic bass music took one other leap ahead in 2021 and her melodic lure jam, “Please Come Residence,” is nothing in need of a stroke of genius. Right here she flexes a spine-chilling association, which bursts at its seams with the natural percussion and nuanced sound design that solely the “world bass” pioneer can produce. – Jason Heffler
Drum & Bass
Fox Stevenson – Ether
Fox Stevenson has all the time been a go-to title within the drum & bass style. His aching 2021 single “Ether” highlights his versatility within the studio and simply takes the cake as one of many style’s better of the 12 months. – Lennon Cihak
Rusko – Mac 19
Should you’ve ever seen Rusko carry out, you already know there’s by no means an absence of vitality when he’s onstage. In “Mac 19,” traditional Rusko wobbles customary right into a high-speed drum & bass association made for probably the most thrilling tracks of the 12 months from the long-lasting producer. – Nick Yopko
Etherwood & Zara Kershaw – Lighthouse
Etherwood and Zara Kershaw’s lit up the hearts of the drum & bass group with their liquid ballad, “Lighthouse.” The de facto follow-up to their powerhouse 2015 collab “Souvenirs,” the observe oozes with euphoria and soul. Easy breaks and Kershaw’s enchanting vocals come collectively to create an uplifting drum & bass masterwork. – Carlie Belbin
Delta Heavy & Koven – Really feel
For followers of melodic drum & bass, “Really feel” has been a dream collaboration years within the making. With two of the style’s most impactful artists of the second becoming a member of forces—for a launch on the legendary UKF label, no much less—one may instantly inform this was going to be one thing particular. With a commanding vocal presence from Koven mixed with frenetic drums and stentorian leads courtesy of Delta Heavy, “Really feel” sees each artists main with their strengths. – Cameron Sunkel
Keys N Krates feat. Ambré Perkins – Glitter (Netsky Remix)
Taking up Keys N Krates and Ambré’s R&B-influenced single “Glitter,” which was launched again in 2017 and featured on the trio’s debut album Cura, Netsky managed to craft a elegant drum & bass remix. Infusing the unique with brisk drums and ethereal sound design, the Belgian producer as soon as once more proved why he’s regarded probably the most influential drum & bass artists of the previous decade. – Konstantinos Karakolis
Future Bass
ILLENIUM, Nurko & Valerie Broussard – Sideways
Whereas Fallen Embers showcases the evolution of ILLENIUM’s sound, “Sideways” is his signature sound in its purest type. Nurko and Valerie Broussard’s contributions to the one solely bolster its flawless high quality, as the previous’s hovering synths match the vitality of the latter’s charming vocals. – Niko Sani
Dabin & Mokita – Drown
Everyone knows that when feelings come to play in an digital music producer’s studio, there are certain to be a bevy of festival-ready tearjerkers within the launch pipeline. Dabin’s third studio album, Between Damaged, is our most notable use case this 12 months, significantly its future bass standout, “Drown” (with Mokita). This observe goes straight into its feels with tender, stripped again vocals and a vivid and exquisite guitar riff. “When the waves begin crashing down and the world simply will get too loud; Whenever you’re reaching out, I am going to by no means allow you to drown,” Mokita belts over a drop of energy chords and rallying rave claps. Discover your competition household, as a result of this one can have you giving out all of the hugs. – Rachel Kupfer
Tisoki & Charity Vance – SENSITIVE
The expansion of Tisoki has been a deal with to observe unfurl. The British digital music virtuoso, lengthy revered as probably the most gifted producers within the dubstep world, launched his debut album 01953 again in July. Largely eschewing the screeching sound design of yesteryear in favor of a extra nuanced method, Tisoki dropped a magnum opus comprising tracks that slither with haunting, melodic sound design. One of many album’s most spectacular songs is “SENSITIVE,” an eerie future bass lower that brilliantly goes towards the grain of the style’s typical euphoric fashion. – Jason Heffler
William Black & Annie Schindel – Treatment
Future bass celebrity and EDM.com Class of 2021 artist William Black unveiled his sophomore album, Items, in November. The document is a tour de power, replete with aching manufacturing and the storytelling prowess of one of many style’s most promising artists. “Treatment” is an unquestioned spotlight, that includes a killer topline from Annie Schindel that moonlights as a charming cry for assist. – Jason Heffler
MiTiS & RØRY – Strive
Recognized for creating nostalgic, high-energy music that may transfer a complete crowd, MiTiS dropped probably the most emotive and provoking albums of 2021, Misplaced. Launched on Seven Lions’ Ophelia Information, one of many album’s surefire standouts, “Strive,” options singer-songwriter RØRY. Conveying an uplifting message inside a latticework of hovering manufacturing, it represents a few of the most impressed work of MiTiS’ profession . – Brian Rapoport
Synthwave
Dynatron – Shut Encounter
Dynatron, certainly one of synthwave’s most interesting manufacturing minds, took followers to deep house in one of many style’s most exhilarating releases of the 12 months. Retro synths and heavy metallic guitar riffs make listening to “Shut Encounter” really feel such as you’re making ready to tackle a horde of aliens in an 80s sci-fi film. – Nick Yopko
Slvmber – Liminal Areas
It is easy to get misplaced within the music of Slvmber, whose spellbinding sound is designed to plummet listeners into rabbit holes of nostalgia. Such is the case with “Liminal Areas,” a observe from his newest album, Mmxx, that employs drum machines and fluttering arpeggios to hypnotic impact. – Jason Heffler
Waveshaper – Associates Once more
From Waveshaper’s implausible album, Mainframe, got here “Associates Once more,” one more on the spot traditional from certainly one of synthwave’s most notable artists. A flurry of robotic vocals blitz a frenetic beat, guiding listeners on an exhilarating journey into an enormous digital world. The ultimate product feels prefer it belongs on a misplaced soundtrack to Tron. – Nick Yopko
Droid Bishop – By The Hearth (Magic Sword Remix)
The paranormal appeal of Magic Sword is as forceful as ever within the mysterious trio’s remix of Droid Bishop’s “By The Hearth.” In a dream collision of two pathfinders of the synthwave style, the remix is as transfixing as it’s full-blooded. – Jason Heffler
Energy Glove – Mind Jack
Probably the most thrilling duos in synthwave music, Energy Glove have captivated followers with their inventive, excessive idea work. Darkish and ominous, “Mind Jack” makes you are feeling such as you’re operating from robotic company entities in a dystopian world whereas working to dismantle the system with a staff of cybernetic outlaws. Expertly produced with fang-dripping ferocity, the observe is a stroke of genius. – Nick Yopko
Techno
Avoure – Aura (Grigoré Remix)
Grigoré took Avoure’s tranquil single “Aura” and flipped it right into a melodic techno monster. As all nice remixes do, it saved simply sufficient of the unique with the overarching melody and rhythm. However it introduced one thing utterly sudden and recent into the fold with an ominous lead and emphatic drum programming. – Saad Masood
Eli Brown – Escape
In February, Eli Brown launched a three-track EP referred to as Escape, which established the launch of Insomniac’s Manufacturing unit 93 document label enterprise. Devoted to showcasing underground music—particularly home and techno—Brown represented the quintessential producer to launch the brand new imprint. The titular “Escape” is a bona fide dancefloor weapon borne of unbridled inventive freedom. “…It was good not being confined by any boundaries, so I actually loved having the liberty to experiment and push myself,” he instructed EDM.com of the one again in April. – Carlie Belbin
HI-LO & Reinier Zonneveld – Balearic Mornings
Oliver Heldens’ techno alias HI-LO matured this 12 months with the discharge of the good HYPNOS EP. Though tracks like “Hera” and “Athena” deserve reward, it’s HI-LO’s collaboration with Reinier Zonneveld, “Balearic Mornings,” that takes the cake. Though not as deep and techno-focused because the others within the EP, “Balearic Mornings” is sultry and passionate whereas nonetheless managing to hold a pulsing techno beat. – Ulises Vargas
Charlotte de Witte – Formulation
This 12 months, humankind reconnected with its want for pace with the return of Formulation 1 racing occasions internationally. A longtime fan of the game herself, Charlotte de Witte successfully despatched followers into overdrive with a very invigorating EP referred to as Formulation, impressed partly by sounds from the racetrack. The EP’s titular observe blends de Witte’s trunk-thumping model of techno with the high-octane sounds of drivers revving their engines and primal, psychedelic basslines, making for an adrenaline-fueled track from begin to end. – Cameron Sunkel
lupa – For The Journey
lupa’s mau5trap debut was nothing in need of spectacular. “For The Journey” is a hypnotic techno journey led by intoxicating melodies, pulsing percussion, and a haunting vocal pattern. Though that is the primary style of lupa’s promise, she’s actually set herself up for a vivid profession in digital music. – Niko Sani
Midtempo
HD-4884 & HVDES – Portals
In one thing that sounds prefer it was plucked out of a “Blade” movie, HD-4884 and HVDES’ “Portals” is midtempo mayhem. Overflowing with grit, the relentless single rumbles alongside in a forward-thinking association, which fluidly transitions from half- to double-time in its ferocious drops. It is a downright nasty midtempo banger that sounds prefer it was created in some form of dystopian dungeon. – Jason Heffler
AWAY & Koda – Assist Me
As an EDM.com Class of 2021 inductee, AWAY continued to show why he’s a lower above on the bass music entrance. The virtuosic producer launched a choose few tracks in 2021, although every felt uniquely immersive given his penchant for hair-raising sound design. AWAY’s “Assist Me” (with Koda) is a main instance. Lyrically, the track evokes powerfully haunting feelings, and even a definite feeling of claustrophobia. AWAY amplifies these vivid feelings with heavy-handed distortion and vocaloid synth patches, leaving listeners with goosebumps lengthy after the track’s eerie coda. – Cameron Sunkel
Blanke & Deathpact – Mitosis
Blanke and Deathpact’s sounds are immediately recognizable in midtempo, a style that they’ve dominated lately. “Mitosis” served to strengthen that notion in a blistering mix of their distinctive kinds, successfully blurring the traces of dubstep and midtempo. – Lennon Cihak
1788-L – Automaton
Climbing by means of the ranks over the previous few years, 1788-L has established himself due to a dynamic arsenal of distinctive sounds, distinguishing himself in a crowded bass music scene. Together with his futuristic and cruel sound design on show, the enigmatic producer dropped a surprising two-track EP again in April referred to as Parallel: S, which featured the riveting “Automaton.” – Brian Rapoport
REZZ & deadmau5 – Hypnocurrency
REZZ has been a mau5trap mainstay for the reason that very begin of her profession, and followers had been eagerly ready for a collab between her and label head deadmau5 for a number of years. This anticipated conflict of titans was lastly revealed in 2021 with “Hypnocurrency,” a midtempo gem that completely combines each of their respective kinds. “I really feel like my Collab with deadmau5 is an actual cut up of his sounds and mine, which is a excessive commonplace I set earlier than ever sending him an concept,” REZZ tweeted in April. – Konstantinos Karakolis
Dance Pop
Vindata, Maurice Moore & JoiStaRR – Already Residence
Vindata lately introduced their cut up, however the duo launched a masterstroke of an album in June referred to as With Opened Eyes. “Already Residence” is without doubt one of the album’s most inspiring digital cuts, alluring listeners with intoxicating verses from Maurice Moore and Joistarr together with an expertly crafted beat that includes hip-hop and R&B influences. – Niko Sani
Pauline Herr – Dodgeball
A triple menace who sings, writes, and produces spellbinding dance music, Pauline Herr dropped her Contradictions EP again in August. “Dodgeball” is a masterclass in vulnerability, whereby Herr delivers a panoramic topline exploring the difficulties of letting go, which glides by means of a dreamy dance pop association. – Jason Heffler
Porter Robinson – Have a look at the Sky
Probably the most anticipated releases of the 12 months marked a brand new fashion for Porter Robinson. The optimistic and effervescent “Have a look at the Sky” supplied followers a vivid, natural track from an digital music luminary whose creativity appears boundless. – Nick Yopko
SG Lewis – Time
Written for the membership and launched in the course of the pandemic, the irony of SG Lewis’ debut album, instances, could not have been extra pertinent. Nonetheless, with its swirling disco synths and colourful soundscapes of tracks like its opener, “Time,” the document proved to be blissfully transportive, in addition to a welcome excuse to show up our audio system and dance. “Don’t waste this time,” implores the track’s vocalist, Rhye, in its refrain. As we now enter our third calendar 12 months of COVID-19’s wrath, this humble reminder rings more true than ever. – Rachel Kupfer
ATB, Matter & A7S – Your Love (9PM)
Because it was launched by way of Kontor Information greater than 20 years in the past, ATB’s “9 PM (Until I Come)” has undoubtedly been cemented as probably the most iconic dance data of all-time. Again in January, ATB teamed up with Matter and A7S to remake the track. Their simple chemistry—supported by ATB’s timeless composition—breathed new life into the observe, dubbed “Your Love (9PM),” and it went on to develop into a world hit. – Konstantinos Karakolis
Trance
Aly & Fila, JES – Dawn
After the success of their collaboration, “I Gained’t Let You Fall,” powerhouse vocalist JES teamed up with Aly & Fila this previous summer time for “Dawn.” Each ingredient wanted to make a traditional trance observe could be discovered on this document, together with JES’s sultry cadence, blissful lyricism, and driving synths. The lower even made it into Armin van Buuren’s revered A State of Trance 2021 compilation album. – Ulises Vargas
Au5 & HALIENE – Was It You
Flexing their innate means to cross genres, Au5 and HALIENE handled followers to a surprising trance track after largely releasing music within the melodic dubstep and future bass alleys. By the previous’s spectacular manufacturing and the latter’s stentorian vocals, “Was It You” has the texture of a traditional and is certain to stay in competition units lengthy after 2021. – Nick Yopko
Ilan Bluestone & Ellen Smith – Stranger To Your Love
Digital music veteran Ilan Bluestone is not any stranger to producing game-changing trance songs. In 2021, the long-lasting London-born artist dropped “Stranger To Your Love” as a part of a large four-track EP on Anjunabeats, delivering a surprising progressive ballad and one of many most interesting trance releases of the 12 months. – Brian Rapoport
Armin van Buuren – Flip The World Into A Dancefloor
Armin van Buuren’s “A State of Trance” radio present surpassed its monumental a thousandth episode this 12 months, additional cementing its standing among the many most profitable radio applications in dance music historical past. Whereas in-person celebrations sadly needed to wait, van Buuren didn’t hesitate to commemorate the event with new music, together with “Flip The World Into A Dancefloor,” a observe he thought of worthy of being the official anthem of ASOT’s a thousandth episode. True to its title, the observe options energizing arpeggiated synths, pumping drums, and voluminous soundscapes, able to uniting trance music followers internationally. – Cameron Sunkel
ALPHA 9 – The Goal Is You
Whereas his work as Arty stays ever so in style, ALPHA 9 can’t appear to overlook. “The Goal Is You” is a fantastically constructed tune that captures the nice and cozy feeling that envelops you whenever you see a liked one. The observe’s intricate melody and arresting vocals—two cornerstones of the veteran artist’s method to bop music manufacturing—are executed completely. – Niko Sani