Sebastian's best of 2013

In February we turn five years old which is quite a respectable and mature age, we think. Because of that we thought we'd drop our lame nomes de guerre in case you hadn't noticed. Not only that, we're even showing our faces which means that we're putting ourselves on the line as we're risking getting beaten up on the street by chillwave fans angry that we didn't include their favourite song on our lists.

At this point I'd like to point out that that picture unintentionally turned out pretty ironic. So, just to deny any charges, I do have glasses, but they're totally not black Wayfarers, my bike have five (5) gears, that lumberjack shirt is actually grey and black and not red and black (I'm Scandinavian after all), and although I like a good cup of coffee, I hate PBR. So there. On the other hand, we obviously do listen to music that your less cool friends probably haven't heard of, and we probably did listen to that band before they were mainstream.

Anyway, best of 2013... Here's where I pretend that I listen to other genres than dance music after complaining about how hard it was to decide on which tracks were Objectively Best Of The Year. And usually these lists are cathartic all-night work. But who are we kidding really? These lists are basically just twenty songs that we have listened to a lot, played out a lot or in other ways have meant something more than other songs this year.

So how do we describe 2013 in music? Again, it's hard to be completely objective. How do we differentiate between trends in music from shifts in or change of focus in our personal and subjective tastes? Especially since this blog basically just is about what a couple of dudes are listening to at the moment?

Let's start at the other end then. Personally, I dove deeper into deep- and UK house this year, my focus changing away from the sunny melodies and synths of yesteryear to the rhythms of deep basslines and four-to-the-floor kick drums. But at the same time, some nice vocals never hurt anyone.

And if we were to try to decipher the trends in our corner of the music world, I don't seem to be the only one moving in this direction. But more about that in future posts.

Apart from dropping our aliases, we have decided to just write about the top ten to make the posts a little more manageable. We also reveal the list from top to bottom, but since this surely will turn your whole world upside-down, it won't change your reading in practicality.

So, let's get to it!


#1. Holt Blackheath - Don't Have To Call [unsigned/free download]

Holt Blackheath managed to make this epitome of the perfect UK house track in my opinion. Deep bass, warm synth stabs, sharp hand claps and soulful vocals (plus that lovely plopping sound) makes for a catchy and uplifting tune that even your mum will like. It's been one of my most-played tunes this year, both when DJ-ing and in the headphones at home. It's unbelievable that this track hasn't been picked up by a proper label.




#2. Disclosure feat. Eliza Doolittle - You & Me (Bicep Remix) [unreleased]

Disclosure who? Bicep what? Ok, so hardly two unknown names, especially on my lists. Disclosure had one of the most anticipated and hyped up album releases of the year, even if they were distanced by Daft Punk in that regard. We'll see what happens with Disclosure. Are they lost in the burning light of mainstream pop music for ever, or can they keep their relevance despite the success? Undoubtedly vastly talented guys we're hoping for the latter.

Constantly moving forward with giant steps are Bicep, who had a couple of great EPs out, including that awesome track "Sacrifice" with Simian Mobile Disco. But my pick is their You & Me remix that was supposed to be released on the remix EP. The stream was premiered on Mixmag, but has since been removed, and in the end it wasn't included on the EP (despite being on Universal's promo copies). What's happening with it is all a mystery, but it was easily this year's best breakdown and build-up.




#3. HAIM - Falling (Duke Dumont Remix) [Polydor/Universal]

HAIM where? Duke Dumont when? Yes, another pretty obvious name remixing and even more obvious one. HAIM sky rocketed to stardom this year, and deservedly so with that album of theirs. There were a couple of originals in contention for this list, but in the end I went with the Duke Dumont remix. Dumont, who was close to making the list on his own with his "Need You (100 %)" that made it to the top of the UK singles chart. If the Bicep remix above was the build-up of the year then this was the intro of the year.




#4. Germans - Cruel [self released]

The track that probably stands out the most on the upper half of the list is an acquaintance we made through Auxiliary Tha Masterfader's awesome remix that blew our minds. Obviously Aux knows how to make that sweet Moroder-esque disco, but you can't take away that the original, which makes me think of Will to Power's classic "Baby, I Love Your Way", is truly great too. Tough choice between the two, but I'll have to choose Germans' original slow dance, to balance the list a bit. Sorry Auke!



#5. Waze & Odyssey - Be Right There (Citizen Remix) [MadTech]

A productive year each from Waze & Odyssey and Citizen with, among other things, strong releases on Kerri Chandler's MadTech label ("Be Right There" and "So Submissive" respectively). Not only that, but they had the good taste to remix each other's tracks too. All four of them were favourites this year, so why not let the three of them share the spot with these atmospheric synths and perfect garage beats?




#6. Tâches - Vegas (Joey McCrilley Remix) [unsigned/free download]

Another moody UK house track that I've enjoyed this year is Joey McCrilley's remix of  Tâches' "Vegas". One of the reasons is that it so clearly shows the drum and bass DNA of the UK garage movement, with that driving sub-bass and toned down kick-drum that doesn't emerge until halfway into the track. On top of that it's just a great song. I generally never listen to the actual lyrics in music, but the phrase "I see your stupid eyes" always sticks out when I listen to this track. I hope for more songs about stupid eyes in 2014.



#7. John Newman - Cheating (Wayward Remix) [Island]

Starting to see a pattern here? John Newman has a great soul voice, and Wayward is another very talented British production duo. This track resembles the one above in many ways, but it has a much straighter house rhythm. Still, great vocals and great beat.



#8. Bat For Lashes - Rest Your Head (MANIK Ghost Pines Rework) [unsigned/free download]

"Epic" is an adjective that we probably throw around a little too easily, but M A N I K's rework of this Bat for Lashes song is just that: a musical journey through different temperaments and styles. One second it's introverted, psychedelic IDM, and the next second it's an uplifting party banger. Ok, party banger is perhaps an exaggeration, but an utterly danceable house tune isn't a misrepresentation.



#9. Dusky - Careless [AUS Music]

Speaking of utterly danceable, Dusky's "Careless" was a track that we competed in putting on first when playing together. It's the sort of track that is perfect to mark a change in gears. Those who recognize that signature bassline immediately know what's up (and since "Careless" sat on top of most download charts, they are many), while those who don't know the track always warm to that vocal hook.

#10. Hackman - Change My Life [Futureboogie]

One of the newest tracks on this list is Hackman's "Change My Life", released a couple of weeks ago on vinyl. It's always risky to add such an obvious current favourite to a best of list, but this track just can't be overlooked. Chances are I'm being too hard on it, because it sure has a giant bullet next to the chart position. That growling sub-bass and that double-bass on top of it makes it extremely funky. Add lovely organs and vocals and it makes for one sweet track.



#11. Spirit Animal - The Black Jack White (Caleb L'Etoile Remix) [unsigned/free download]

#12. Empire of the Sun - We Are the People (Ted Lyons & His Cubs 5 Years Late Remix) [unsigned/free download]


#13. Sophie - Bipp [Numbers]


#14. Deetron feat. Hercules and Love Affair - Crave [Music Man]


#15. Classixx - Borderline [Innovative Leisure]


#16. Laszlo Dancehall - Gave Up [ManMakeMusic]


#17. Mercury - Let's Celebrate ft. Byron Stingily (Kings of the Universe Remix) [Nurvous]


#18. Stuffa - Levitate [Trunkfunk]


#19. Kixnare - Gucci Dough [U Know Me Records]


#20. Celsius - Thought As Much [Moda Black]

Bicep - Satisfy

These are exciting times since everyone's favourites Bicep are rolling out their full Soundcloud previews of their upcoming Satisfy EP on their own Feel My Bicep label. This is only their second release on FMB, but since the first one was "Vision of Love", which was one of last years best tracks, they clearly go for quality over quantity.

We have already been giggling at the "Satisfy" part of the promo video which consists of clips from the classic Swedish 80's movie "Stockholmsnatt" (Stockholm night) featuring young, fair-haired martial arts aficionado/street punk Paolo Roberto effectively playing himself. Somewhat of a renaissance man, he went on to become a TV personality, Italian food importer and even politician at one point.


Maybe more interesting than the exploits of Roberto are the snippets of the actual tracks. Bicep continues with the 90's revival, but now from more of a UK perspective than the Chicago or New York-oozing garage from "Vision of Love". The title track have the sort of breakbeats from the early 90's British rave music that eventually lead to jungle and drum'n'bass. "The Final Trip" sounds a lot like Kevin 'Reese' Saunderson who, although being one of the three grandfathers of Detroit techno was the one with the deepest links to the UK rave scene, with his moniker Tronikhouse in 1991 and 1992 for example. However, the track I instinctively like the best is "Snackbar", which happens to be the most classic American garage track of the three. It's just too damn funky!



Pick up Satisfy EP on a round plate of black plastic on Juno on November 25. Follow Bicep on Facebook.

Arnie Becker's best of 2012

So, another year to add to the annals. How does one sum up 2012 in a few sentences? Well, it was like everyone had rented a copy of "Inception" from Blockbusters, since the credo seemed to be "we need to go deeper". There were still was a lot of rummaging around in the early history of  modern dance music, but the biggest shoulder pads all but disappeared when the nu disco wave shifted focus from continental European early 80's italo to the later 80's and early 90's American (or at least Anglo-Saxon) house. The neon colours disappeared into the sweaty darkness of deep house, except maybe the neon yellow of the acid smiley.

Under the strains of what the commercial EDM wave call 'house music', it's great to see that so many people are actually going through the troubles of examining every part of the emergence of 'real' house music. Not least because it's the music I used to listen to, and always has been close to my heart. So it's great to see what a new breed of globalized producers make of it.

Not everyone wanted to descend into dark nightclubs, but preferred to sip on a cocktail on a Caribbean beach somewhere since the tropical disco stayed strong.

As usual, and boringly predictably, I have to complain about how hard it was to choose my favourite 25 tunes. It's like with my All Time Top 10 list that probably contains hundreds and hundreds of songs. So, while I can't see a track that doesn't deserve to be on here, I can see more than a few that probably would too, but isn't. But I guess that's a first world problem.

So, here we go.

#25. Florence + The Machine - Take Care (ColeCo Remix)

The intro track on this list was also our intro track when we did the Tracasseur Disco in Paris last spring. Great original from Florence + The Machine, and a wonderful remix by ColeCo.




#24. Finnebassen - If You Only Knew

Good deep house, like good music in general, don't have to be very complicated. Finnebassen made a melancholic deep house track out of a great bassline that shows that less is more, an inspired Aaliya sample and a lot of percussions. Emo house anyone?




#23. Kolombo - What Would Make Me Think

Kolombo, like Finnebassen, makes bass-heavy deep house, basically with the same ingredients as the Norwegian. Straight four-to-the-floor beats driven by a funky bassline, but without the Scandinavian melancholy and, probably via the Belgian disco angle, closer to classic funk also in its temperament. This is the sort of house that George Clinton and Parliament would get down to.




#22. Toyboy & Robin - No More Sunshine

This is the first of several British house tunes that made it to my list. Toyboy & Robin had a great year and were deservedly picked up by cool label Sccucci Manucci.




#21. Broke One - The Empire

 Yes, yet another percussive and retro sounding house tune. I'm guessing you're starting to see a pattern here. Broke One's "Empire"'s USPs are those lush synth cords in the intro and the break that make you think of another Italian house classics like F.P.I. Projects' "Rich in Paradise".




#20. The Presets - Promises (Plastic Plates Remix)

Plastic Plates had a great release on Kitsuné in "Things I Didn't Know I Loved" which wasn't very far off my list, but I preferred his nu disco take on The Presets a tad bit more.




#19. Simian Mobile Disco - Your Love Ain't Fair

I really liked the combination of the lazy beat, the bending chords and the lamenting vocals on Simian Mobile Disco's "Your Love Ain't Fair".




#18. A.N.D.Y. feat. Nyemiah Supreme - Pump It Up

A.N.D.Y., and you too, might have thought that we didn't like his first proper single, since we didn't blog it back in November, but nothing could be more wrong. It's just that the only thing that matches my great taste in music is my lazyness (as I use to say in job interviews). "Pump It Up" is a great hip house party banger with both ghetto house and classic techno flavours. And doesn't it remind you of another Belgian classic with a female rapper and the word "Pump" in the title?




#17. Patrick L & DJ Nibc feat. Andreas Cavaco - Call Me (DJ Nibc Mix)

Sweden and deep house from Berlin is usually a bad combination. One of the reasons we started this blog in the first place was that we were fed up with club Stockholm's obsession with the type of soulless and generic tech- and deep house that washed over us from the German capital a couple of years ago. Since then both the Scandi-German scene and deep house in general have had some vital infusions of disco, garage and funk and, to a large extent, cleaned up its act. Patrik L & DJ Nibc's "Call Me" is a great example. The Tiger Stripes remix is deep as the Challenger Depth, but still super funky. It's just as good as DJ Nibc's own mix, but in the end I went with Nibc and those lovely 80's Chicago house strings.




#16. Waze & Odyssey - Love That (Burns Hot Enough)

Waze & Odyssey's remix of "Call Me" from the previous entry was one of the first tracks I heard from them. And even if I think they were outshone on that occasion, the duo have quickly sailed up as one of the most important acts of the British garage house scene with a string of awesome remixes and a couple of just as awesome originals. "Love That (Burns Hot Enough)" is an intense peak-time garage track, and it was my favourite W&O track of many. The only problem with the Brits is their love for vinyl only releases, so if you can't find it on your favourite mp3 shop, "I Want You You You" is almost just as hot.




#15. St. Lucia - We Got It Wrong

Even if it might not seem like it, I haven't totally switched to only listening to deep house, retro 90's house and garage house. I think there were a few nu disco tunes up there, right? Anyway, I'm still a sucker for electropop/indie dance/indie disco crossovers. St. Lucia had several of those this year, and even if "Closer Than This" and "September" are favourites too, "Closer Than This" is the one that get the final nod.




#14. Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs - Tapes & Money

Synthpop-techno is another grateful crossover when done right. Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs not only have a catchy name, but his genre-defying music is wonderfully melodic and captivating in its quirkiness. "Trouble" was one of the albums of the year, with "Tapes & Money" the best on the album and a logical single release.




#13. Jonas Rathsman - Since I Don't Have You

One of the things I regret with last years' list is that I didn't pace Jonas Rathsman's "Tobago" at the very top. Placing "Since I Don't Have You" might be hard on our Swedish compatriot yet again, but on the other hand us vikings didn't conquer large parts of Europe and Russia by constant positive reinforcement. Jonas seems to be doing his conquering of the house scene very well on his own.




#12. Goldroom feat. Saint Lou Lou - Sweetness Alive

Goldroom was another friend who had a good year. "Fifteen" was a beautiful synthpop song back in May. "Sweetness Alive" was pure light therapy for us poor Scandinavian's when he released in the worst autumn darkness. Featuring Swedish twins Saint Lou Lou on vocals didn't make it worse. We were also happy to bring him to Stockholm, even if it was during a freak spring snow storm that only comes like once a decade.




#11. Flight Facilities feat. Grovesnor - With You

Flight Facilities' "With You"is another great tropical disco tune, but what makes it stand out is its bitter-sweetness. Sunny, but with an overcast rolling in, you might say.




#10. Fabo - Where I Stand (Karmon Remix)

While a lot of producers moved from nu disco towards deep house, Dutch deep house producer Karmon went in the other direction with his remix of Fabo. The combination combined the best of two worlds.




#9. Van She - Jamaica

Van She's holiday postcard "Jamaica" was one of the great singles of the year; both a pinnacle of tropical disco pop and a link back to old Aussie synthpop favourites of previous years' Best of lists. I liked the Plastic Plates remix, that Jonny included on his list too, but the original is the best version in my book.




#8. Jessie Ware - No To Love (George Fitzgerald Remix)

George FitzGerald was one of many British acts with a meteoric rise during 2012. "Child" was a huge house tune on heavy rotation the last year (if mp3s rotate), but in the end I opted for his techier, yet more melodic, Jessie Ware remix. This choice were to have effect further up the list.




#7. Chris Malinchak - If U Got It

Previous years there has been a lot of weelings and deelings between me and Jonny about who will have their favourite tracks on their list since they have a tendency to overlap. This year we had quite a few close calls, but not the exact same song on both lists. One of those close calls was Chris Malinchak. As Jonny said on his list, it was pretty obvious that he would get a spot, but since he coupled quality output with quantity we just had different favourites. I could easily have included half a dozen Malinchak tunes on my list, but in the end I decided between "Fuego" "There I Was (Again)" and "If You Got It". The piano chords and the vocals made up of liquid honey and gold were the deciders.




#6. Terranova feat. Tomas Hoffding - Paris Is For Lovers (My Love)

Terranova's "Paris Is For Lovers" is a clear flirt with stuff like Byron Stingily's crooning in Ten City, and even more so Mr. Fingers' "Can You Feel It". And that's obviously a recipe for a great tune. "Paris" is techier than the Chicago house classics though, and I'm predicting we'll hear more retrospective house-techno fusions ahead, Then again, the boundaries between these two genres have always been blurry, especially back in its infancy, so it makes sense to start looking at what happened in Detroit back then too.




#5. Isaac Tichauer - Still I Love You

Isaac Tichauer must wonder what we have against him. We like to cover all the exploits of French Express, and here Isaac releases a whole album, for free no less, and doesn't get a peep about it. Again, I'll put that down to lazyness and summer blogging fatigue. "Devotion" is a great album, and it even borrows its name from my favourite Ten City song. "Still I Love You" was the jewel in the crown with its warm, fuzzy bassline ant that vocal sample hook.




#4. Emeli Sandé - Daddy (Disclosure Remix)

More meteoric rises from Britain. The young duo Disclosure was one of the most hyped up acts of the year, and for good reasons. Their great remixes and originals was also a summary of the UK electronic scene of today and the recent past with music ranging from subsoul to post-dubstep to nu garage. "Tenderly", "Flow", "Latch" and "What's in Your Head" are all great tracks, but my favourites were their remixes of soul-singers Jessie Ware and Emeli Sandé. Since I chose George FitzGerald's Jessie remix above, I guess I'll go with Emeli here.




#3. Hot Chip - How Do You Do? (Todd Terje Remix)

It was pretty obvious that Todd Terje would be very high placed on this list. "Inspector Norse" was probably one of the most hyped-up tracks this year, and for a moment, even the old lady next door asked if we had a promo of it. It's obviously a huge tune with its bouncy synth-disco-jazz, and it will be one of the obvious omissions from my list. However, I wanted to have just one entry per artist, so I had to pit the inspector against Terje's second huge tune of the year; his remix of Hot Chip's "How Do You Do?". In the end I went with the latter, with it's classic Detroit techno sound that made you think of Kevin "Reese" Saunderson and "Night of the Jaguar". But it sure was a close call.




#2. Bicep - Vision Of Love

If there were a house tune in Plato's divine ideal world, this is how it would sound. Feel My Bicep has been the go-to place to find 90's house and techno classics for years, so when the duo make their own garage tracks it's like they tap into The Concept of the Perfect Garage Tune. They all sound exactly like the classics of the early 90's, only when you try to find that tune that they remind you of, you can't really put your finger on which tune that is exactly. "Visions of Love" is a perfect example with its relentless, yet super funky, beat and that epic build-up.




#1. Perseus - Seychelles

Perseus' "Seychelles" is my favourite tune of the year, and it was a case of love at first listen. From the kick drum to the congas, from the bassline to those warm keys to that crisp handclap. Woven together with Toni Braxton's crooning it all sent instant butterflies in my stomach. And listening to it now for the umpteenth time it's like any good love story - everlasting.

Sir Lancelot's "So stuck in the 80's" vol. 1

First of all we'd like to thank all nice guys and girls coming to our premiere night of "Tracasseur 309" last week. Kudos to you all! Secondly and last, I'd like to share with you some of my favourite songs from the 80's, or simply songs inspired by the 80's... Actually one song is from '79 (hope you don't mind). I've chosen more or less obscure and rare songs that you hopefully don't already have. Enjoy!

Laid Back - Bakerman

Villa - Agneta (Villa edit)

Billy Ocean - European Queen (Rayko Remix)

Chris & Cosey - October (Love song) '86 version

When In Rome - The Promise

Talk Talk - Life's What You Make It

Bicep - Gold

Midnight Star - Mida's Touch (CFCF remix)

Margueritas - Margherita (Hot edit)

Västkustska Ryggdunkarsällskapet - Town Out Of Order