There is one thing you can always be sure of: the music never stops. Whether by calendar year, festival cycle, or lunar passing, dance music continues to pour from every label, SoundCloud, and email chain possible. 2013 gave us an impossible amount of originals and remixes to give just credit to, but here are a few of our favorite electro house grinds, climbs and bass lines. While not all of these tracks topped Beatport charts or became standard set throw downs, they are the anthems of our playlists and the songs that we EARMILK writers put on repeat. Let us know what your top tracks were in the comments or if you shared some of our top picks!
25. Wuki – “Techno Gun”
24. Trinidad James – “All Gold Everything” (MAKJ Remix)
23. UtKu.S – “The Hero”
22. Chrizz Luvly – “Demon” (Original Mix)
21. Steve Aoki, Chris Lake, & Tujamo – "Boneless"
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20. Reset! – "Stealin' Your Soul" (Vocal Mix)
The 5-man collective out of Milan, Italy, Reset! commands attention through their innovative parties and productions. Earlier in January they released this single, "Stealin Your Soul", which included a vocal mix that caught our ear. Funky, jazzy, and entirely too danceable, the track brings an inventive twist to the electro house genre. Last month saw them put out the Skills 2 Pay Da Bills EP, a 4-track work that you can check out at Beatport after you grab this track.
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19. Nari & Milani – "Patriots"
18. MVTH – “I Hate Rock N Roll”
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17. Fatboy Slim & Riva Starr – “Eat Sleep Rave Repeat” (Calvin Harris Remix)
16. Deorro – "Stronger"
15. Uberjak’d – "Gash King" (Joel Fletcher Remix)
Melbourne house has taken a hold of dance music, made increasingly popular in the states by the likes of Deorro and TJR. However, Uberjak'd and Joel Fletcher remain some premiere artists from the Land Down Under. Fletcher's remix of "Gash King" gives us a prime example of the hard-hitting, bouncy electro house sub-genre, complete with an infectious mid and rounded bass. If you're a fan of this, then you need to check out more from these artists and their peers, Orkestrated, J-Trick, and Will Sparks.
14. Madeon – "Technicolor"
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13. TJR – "What's Up Suckaz"
12. Jordy Dazz – "Torpedo"
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11. Mr. Oizo – "Douche Beat" (Paul Chambers Remix)
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10. DallasK – "Alienz" (Botnek Remix)
Botnek really caught our attention with their mind-blowing TomorrowWorld live recording, a set that makes you stop what you are doing and break into a ragey dancefest. The Dim Mak Records duo also took 2013 by storm with their originals, "Through The Night" and "I Know", on top of a handful of topnotch remixes for the likes of Autoerotique and Crookers. However, the pair's rework of "Alienz" has to be the most noteworthy contribution to the year; fidgety with syncopated, percussive drops, the two took DallasK's track to a whole new level.
9. Gtronic – “Morpheus”
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8. Oh Snap! & Enferno – "Cavaricci"
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7. Bassjackers – "Duckface"
6. Kill The Noise – Saturn (GTA Remix)
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5. Mord Fustang – "Taito"
Hard to believe that over two and a half years have passed since "Lick The Rainbow" dropped, giving electronic an entirely new sound. Now Mord Fustang and the Plasmapool crew have perfected this subgenre with "Taito" from last January as solid proof. Distorted vocals act as the main mid, along with swooping ticks and strong bass beats, making the release an unforgettable addition to electro house. Though Mord released a few other songs last year, this one, his first of 2013, left the strongest imprint.
4. Clockwork – "Tremor"
Known by two different names in the industry, Clockwork and RL Grime, Henry Steinway has become a name synonymous with high-quality production and crowd-wowing sets. Though many may give the best of honor to "Surge" with Wynter Gordon, "Tremor" from the same EP felt more appropriate as the no holds barred, let's get loose track. If you were only to listen to the break, the song could pass for a slightly melodic progressive house release. But make no mistake, the drop brings a gritty grind that soon gets company from an ear-bending hi. Clockwork ranks as one of the best live shows I've been to, so don't miss out if he's in your area.
3. Dog Blood – "Middle Finger Pt. 2" (The M Machine Remix)
Boys Noize plus Skrillex plus The M Machine… Can it get any better? Hailing from San Francisco, the three part group that makes up the Machine released their followup Metropolis II EP this year, featuring a diverse assortment of tracks that reasserted their position in the electronic industry. "Luma" would have been the favorite from 2013 had it not been for their remix of "Middle Finger Pt. 2" by the indomitable duo known as Dog Blood. An incessant barrage of ear-shattering synth that could set any crowd on fire, the track became a staple for electro house sets that had no fear of noise.
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2. Knife Party – "Power Glove"
There used to be a time when "Internet Friends" was just some jocular track floated by a here before unheard of group. But once word got around that Knife Party actually consisted of Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen from Pendulum and fans got around to "Tourniquet" and "Fire Hive", people realized they were dealing with a mega-talented monster. This year's EP, Haunted House, furthered this point, a 4-track release that makes your blood boil and head nod within seconds of pressing play. Though I wonder where Knife Party will go from here, they always manage to find a way up.
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1. Nom De Strip – “Tyhita”
2013 turned out to be quite a year for the Scottish electronic artist Chris Elliott. Better known by his stage name, Nom De Strip, the electro to electro house producer dropped the Clouds EPs on mau5trap, contributed a handful of high profile remixes (think Tommy Trash and Chris Lake), on top of releasing a number of well-received originals, like "I Can't Believe" and "Minerals" with Congorock. Though an interesting pick for our number one spot, many of Elliot's tracks made it onto various lists, demonstrating that the young artist has formidable production skills and an ability to innovate. While "Nippleodeon" and "Seesaw" almost grabbed this spot, "Tyhita" from Clouds Vol. 2 won out for the most played track. Actually an acronym for the lyrics "throw your hands in the air", the wavering, stuttered synth lines and rolling bass beat allow the track to occupy a middle ground, making it appropriate for a variety of genres and sets. Let's see what Nom De Strip has in store for 2014!
Thanks for reading our Best of 2013 Electro House. Feel free to let us know your best of in the comments, look for our upcoming trance and progressive house posts, and Happy New Year!
