Dancing Astronaut’s top 10 tracks of April 2014
Dancing Astronaut's Top 10 Tracks of April 2014
Want an easy way to make sure you’re up to date on all the latest, best music? Dancing Astronaut takes a look at the top 10 tracks officially released in April and ranks them based on a combination of reader feedback, track quality, editorial preference & critical reception.
Dancing Astronaut wraps up April for you with another edition of our top 10 tracks of the month. April’s list features massive tracks from reader favorites Audien, Eric Prydz, Tiësto and Steve Angello. Not to be missed are also fantastic efforts from ZHU, Flume and Mark Knight.
10. Alex Metric & Oliver - Galaxy (Original Mix)
Alex Metric teamed up with Oliver this month to produce two-thirds of his OWSLA-released EP, delivering both the “Hope” title track and a closing effort even greater. A colorful homage to disco, “Galaxy” is a celebratory collaboration that has both artists making awaited returns to production, and outdoing previous work as well as the rest of its extended play.
9. Mark Knight - The Return of Wolfy (Original Mix)
Mark Knight‘s incredible résumé spans over a decade. Back on his home label following “That Sound” alongside Stefano Noferini, “The Return Of Wolfy” had Toolroom Records releasing its latest drum-laden original as the first single of the year from the Grammy-nominated producer.
8. Chris Lake - Helium (Umek & Mike Vale Remix)
Off the heels of a triumphant Miami run for Slovenia’s premium tech house advocates, longtime label mates Umek and Mike Vale take the reigns of Chris Lake’s Ultra crossover anthem “Helium” for a serious underground reorientation of the pop-tinted vocal outing. The last time this stronghold united, their mutual aptitude was morphed into something of a deeper crossbreed of those intense tech house fundamentals, and their collaborative remix of “Helium” is sound reassurance that the tides of change aren’t about to bust one of the genre’s most well oiled machines.
7. EEKKOO - Towers (Original Mix)
Initially posted to mau5trap’s Soundcloud as brief ID track, EEKKOO’s “Towers” is another shining example of the young producer’s music first approach towards his art. Indicative of the label he calls home, the mau5trap understudy’s latest brings to life a nightmarish haze of sandblasted synthwork and mechanical hisses. A death march of macabre progressions and razor sharp sound design, “Towers” marks another un-marred output from the Montreal-based prodigy – and the start of a healthy career led by innovation rather than assimilation.
6. Hard Rock Sofa & Skidka - Arms Around Me (Original Mix)
Hard Rock Sofa and Skidka met once again, this time on “Arms Around Me.” For Axtone the trio brings forward a marriage of sound we wouldn’t necessarily attribute to either artistic force. Breaching the unsuspecting yet infectious bridge between disco and big room, the track shouldn’t work on paper, but is executed with impressive gusto by this cluster of versatile talents. It shows an infectious and creatively poised take on a genre often accused of lacking imagination in the current market.
5. Audien - Hindsight (Original Mix)
Early into festival season it’s been Audien‘s remix of Bastille’s “Pompeii” to reigns supreme as its go-to hit. While that event-driven effort continues to circulate, the producer returned to his roots at Anjunabeats for an evolved original record in “Hindsight.” Audien presents his flag-carrying handling of melodies in his most polished of taste and delivers that insignia in such a way that tip-toes around being limited by definition while still remaining true to his sound.
4. Tiësto - Wasted (feat. Matthew Koma)
Tiësto is on the brink of releasing his fifth studio album, A Town Called Paradise, and strikes commercially with its sophomore single en route to charts. “Wasted” is a pop record destined for summer, to snowball into the heaviest of radio rotation in due time. This is part in thanks to Matthew Koma, the midas-touch vocalist who supplies the track’s high-spirited, season-tailored and strikingly contagious lyrics. “I like us better when we’re wasted,” the message comes more and more relatable following each listen.
3. ZHU - Paradise Awaits (Original Mix)
With a full six track listing, ZHU made the monster debut that “Moves Like Ms Jackson” quite recently initiated. “Paradise Awaits” surprised as possibly the most reverted track off his DayNight EP, even trumping singles “Faded” and “Superfriends.” With far more falsetto crooning and a killer dark production fit for inebriated nights, ZHU demonstrates time and time again that he has serious production and writing tricks up his sleeve.
2. Lorde - Tennis Court (Flume Remix)
Tropical bass master Flume released his newest remix at the tail end of April, sending the internet into a frenzy. Focusing on quality remixes for top-tier artists, the talented producer has switched gears from Disclosure, to now Lorde. Flume spins “Tennis Court” into a mirage of deep set bass, low-lying glitch hop and that signature grit we love him for. Flume continues to bend genre-lines and create a unique sound that is so pure yet so downright dirty — a sound finally seeing the critical reception deserved following the viral Lorde remix .
1. Dimitri Vangelis & Wyman x Steve Angello - Payback (Original Mix)
No track from the Size Record’s hefty backlog of unreleased music could bring its uniquely aggressive persona to culmination like “Payback,” where Steve Angello joined Dimitri Vangelis & Wyman to do just that. Angello takes the lead with the emerging stars from his wing for a collaboration that embodies the mean, gritty, and emotionally provocative styles of its camp. Sitting on “Payback” since last summer, and welcoming wide-spread acclaim with each and any of its live testings, Steve, Dimitri Vangelis & Wyman reach the pinnacle of the label’s brewing take-no-prisoners approach to electronic music and open the floodgates for the remaining records in the Size queue that’s had the imprint’s fans near and far biting nails upon debuts.