So the Queen's still alive, we did ruddy well at the Olympics, and the world didn't end. That's a good year all in all right?
And 2012 for me is one of the best year's in a long time musically, particularly for good ol' dance music. After spending far too much time mulling it over, here are my top 10 favourite songs of 2012.
Honourable Mentions:
Fun – we are young
Calvin and Example – we’ll be coming back
Porter Robinson –
language
Labrinth and Emile Sande - Beneath your beautiful
Rihanna – where have you been
James Arthur – Impossible (I voted for him alright!)
Will.i.am ft Britney Spears – Scream & Shout
DJ Fresh - Hot right
now
Monsta - Holdin' On (Skrillex & Nero remix)
Monsta - Holdin' On (Skrillex & Nero remix)
TOP 10
10) One Direction – Live While We’re Young
I love One Direction. There, I said it.
What I love about One Direction, and this song in particular,
is that when it comes on in a club, NO other song fills me with such an instant
sensation of childish joy. Maybe it’s because I like to pretend they’re singing
the song to me; maybe it’s because I want to assassinate Niall (the ugly one)
and join the band as the wiser, been-around-the-block member. But who gives a –
this song makes me smile uncontrollably.
Furthermore, I bet “Who’s your favourite member of 1D?” is
up there in the most popular questions of 2012 list – just below “is it wrong
to fancy Tom Daley?”. The answer is no to the latter, and Harry to the former,
with Zayn in a close second.
9) David Guetta – Titanium
Awh David Guetta. How we love to hate / hate to love you.
Here we have a perfect example of the ‘DJ who used to be
cool till he got famous’. But the thing is, he’s never REALLY been cool has he…
Have you SEEN him in his music videos? With his disturbing biceps and greasy
French hair, even when DJing he looks like someone’s pissed Uncle at a wedding
has invaded the decks for a laugh.
But even if his productions all sound very similar these days
(emotional female vocal building to a fist-pumping instrumental ‘chorus’), you
can’t deny the guy has an ear for a good tune.
Titanium has been massively over-played, but that aside it’s
a brilliant song that deserved to reach the top spot. Sia is in full
heart-wrenching, what-the-fuck-is-that-lyric mode, and personally I related to
the lyrics and fist-pumped vigorously. On the dancefloor too!
8) Sebastian Ingrosso
and Alesso - Lose my mind (Calling)
It’s not often a cherished instrumental dance track has a
vocal added that actually improves the original. Bodyrox – Yeah Yeah was a rare
case, but who remembers Perfect Exceeder? Me neither.
HOWEVER, that said, the original ‘The Calling’ was one of my
favourite tracks of 2011 – a soaring, epic, big-room song that was almost
perfect. So imagine my delight when Ryan Tedder (who occasionally bums Leona
Lewis) added a vocal that fit so well, it’s hard to hear the original now
without singing along.
TIP: when this song kicks in, the correct way to dance is
just punch the air emphatically with your fist. And gurn.
7) Calvin Harris & Florence
– Sweet Nothing
So Calvin Harris has had an okay year right? His album ‘18
months’ is more of a greatest hits, and he managed to elevate Florence to her
first, and second, number 1 singles in the UK.
Everyone loves ‘Spectrum’, as do I, but there was something
about ‘Sweet Nothing’ that resonated better with me. Lyrically & vocally, I
think its brilliant, and the production sounds that bit different to Calvin’s
standard releases that it makes it a tad more special to my ears.
6) Knife Party – Bonfire
And so, # 6 in the chart is Knife Party’s big song of the
summer – Bonfire. To be honest, I could exchange it for any track from their
Rage Valley EP which is amazing from start to finish, but this is the stand out
moment and the one that enjoyed the most commercial success.
Mixing super-angry filthy dubstep production with almost
Caribbean raga vibes, this track ebbs and flows perfectly.
And who doesn’t love screaming “B-B-B-B-B-BONFIRE!”.
5) Skrillex – Bangarang
So at some point in 2012, not only did Skrillex embrace his
emo-goth-lesbian appearance, but so did Ellie Goulding! Lesbionest (see what
I did there), it was only a matter of time before Ellie freed herself from his
dubstep powers, but it was a fun relationship to take the piss out of for a
while.
And whilst this track is getting on a bit now, for me – it’s
the perfectly balanced dubstep song.
Skrillex himself is sometimes guilty of veering too far into
the crazy unstructured world of hardcore dubstep, with some songs sounding like
your blind nan is just bashing some pots and pans around the kitchen - we've all witnessed it. I prefer vaguely melodic, structured, angry dubstep and Bangarang is a bloody brilliant
showcase of just that.
With lyrics that no-one really knows (or cares), it’s got an
awesome build, and a crazy-awesome production that has yet to bore me 12 months
later. I saw him at Creamfields 2012, and squeaky annoying American
voice aside, the atmosphere in that dangerously over-capacity tent was something I’ll never
forget.
4) Knife Party –
Internet Friends
When Pendulum announced they were going on a hiatus, I was
pretty devastated. My inner Drum n Bass chav has always adored Pendulum. So it
was with equal parts excitement and trepidation that I listened to Knife Party
for the first time – the ‘side project’ of Rob Swire and the other one…
Move aside trepidation. Knife Party have more than matched
the quality of Pendulum and have taken their sound in a whole new direction. Whisper it quietly, but I think Knife Party have been a
hugely influential force in music in 2012. Listen carefully and you can hear
some of their signature sounds creeping into other producers’ work all over the place.
And still, 12 months later, the absolute pinnacle of their
short career so far is undoubtedly the cult favourite ‘Internet Friends’. An incomparable,
almost indescribable assault on the ear drums that taps into something we’ve
all done – Facebook stalking. I'm practically qualified in the art.
At Shakedown 2012, I was on top of my mate’s shoulders
facing back at 6,000 people in the Supercharged Arena as the immortal line was
uttered: “You blocked me on facebook, and now you’re going to die”. That is a
memory and a moment I will never forget.
Knife Party have created a brutal, devastating genre so
violent that everything that’s come before sound a bit tame by comparison. If they
can continue to produce songs even half as good as Internet Friends, maybe just maybe we’ll
allow them to delay the inevitable reunion of Pendulum that little bit longer…
3) Swedish House Mafia -
Don’t you worry child
Quite honestly, at some point over the past month, every one
of my top 3 tracks has been # 1 on my list only to be shifted around.
If 2012 is really the SHM’s last ever year as a collective,
they’ve gone out on the highest of highs. And finally, after consistently releasing brilliant house tracks, they were
finally rewarded with a UK # 1 single for their final ever song. And WHAT a song
it is.
On the surface, it’s a hugely over-dramatic vocal with a
generic progressive riff. But after a few listens, you start to appreciate the
genius of the Swedes. It’s a lyric that in some way, everyone can relate to.
Everyone’s been down in the dumps and felt like shit at some point in their
life. And if you are at that point, and this song comes on, and some almost-godly
vocal screams at you “Don’t you worry, don’t you word child”, suddenly –
through the power of dance – everything suddenly seems okay.
Out of any other song on this list, this is the one that I’ve
related to the most, that has actually moved me and meant more to me. Whether I’m listening to it at home on my own, or at 4am as
the lights are about to come up and I’m raving hard, there’s always a big part of me
struggling not to well up.
Beautiful
2) Rudimental – feel the
love
Rudimental were responsible for what is undoubtedly the song of the summer 2012.
A ridiculously feel-good Drum n Bass track with a beautiful brass section, one
of my favourite vocals ever from the brilliant John Newman, and a song that is
universally adored by pretty much everyone.
It’s extra special for me as we used it as the theme for our
Shakedown Festival 2012 highlights video. And it’s a video that always manages
to bring a tear to my eye, brilliantly capturing the atmosphere on the day and making years of
hard work completely worthwhile.
It was also the chosen midnight tune at my New Year’s Ever house party,
and everyone joined the ‘circle of rave’ for the happiest start to a new year I
can ever remember.
Rest assured, you’ll be hearing Feel the Love at NYE parties
for years and years to come, and rightfully so. For my money, it’s one of the
greatest dance songs EVER, and certainly in my top 10 dance tracks of all time.
And so, drum roll please, for my # 1 track...
1) Swedish House Mafia –
Greyhound
An instrumental dance track as my number 1, who’d have thunk
it?
In my opinion, Greyhound is a absolute master class of
electronic dance music production.
The intro, how it builds and swells and then holds its
breath before THAT hook kicks in. So simple, so tough, but so so fucking cool. Layers
keep building and building, always edged with that Knife Party guttural warble
that I’ve come to love.
THEN, oh then, the most epic euphoric breakdown imaginable.
A hook from heaven that makes you want to just hold everyone, EVERYONE you can
see. But before you have a chance to declare your love for your nearest and
dearest, it builds again. For me, the second build is one of the best builds in a
dance track EVER. When it finally hits, it knocks you like a fucking
sledgehammer and doesn’t hold up.
No song this year has made me dance this hard. No song has
made me love music more than this in 2012.
On 14th July 2012 at the Milton Keynes Bowl,
Swedish House Mafia played their last ever UK gig to 70,000 people. I was there
with my best mates in the world, and Greyhound was their first song. I have
never, in my life, seen so many people erupt in unison to a single track as I
did that day. Their almost 3 hour set is already the stuff of legend, and one
that gave me probably the single best day of my life.
We came. We Raved. We loved.
x x x
