Gallery: 12 Tracks That Defined EDM In 2014

Another anthemic monster, ‘Gold Skies” catapulted to popularity during Ultra Miami and hasn’t looked back ever since. A track that sees all three artists try something a bit different, the song is an infectious sing-along that festivalgoers could just not get enough of this year, and just by taking one listen to it it’s easy to see why.

Guetta’s massive crossover track, “Lovers on the Sun,” is one of the DJ’s most impressive songs in some time. With the help of Avicii, the French producer steps outside his comfort zone to give us an impressive dance track that once again proves how well the Spaghetti-Western genre can be integrated into EDM.

As the title track on Sonny Moore’s latest album, “Recess” is a heart-stopping big room beat that sports top notch production and like the rest of the disc, refuses to stay put in just one genre.

Tropical house exploded this year and its leader was Norwegian producer Kygo. While some of his remixes were much bigger than his first original, with “Firestone,” the 23-year-old showed us that his skills, and the tropical house sound in general, reached far beyond just remixes. “Firestone” was an excellent track that left us feeling more than confident about the future of EDM’s newest subgenre as we head into 2015.

“Pompeii” is a huge track in its own right, but when Audien put his own spin on it back in January, the song absolutely exploded. Hands-down the best remix of 2014, Audien’s take on “Pompeii” spread like wildfire during festival season, finding its way into hundreds of sets and becoming the most-played song at both Coachella and EDC.

Klingande’s extremely versatile ‘Jubel” is, to many, one of the best summer songs, period. With its soothing saxophones, tropical house vibes and angelic vocals, no track screamed sunny skies and white sand beaches more than “Jubel” did this year.

When a remix is more recognizable than the original, you know you have something special on your hands That’s the case with Robin Schulz’s cut of “Waves,” which takes Mr. Probz’s track, speeds it up a bit, throws in a few club beats and guitar plucks and turns it into one of the most moody and chill songs of 2014.

What more can really be said about “Summer,” arguably one of the biggest EDM songs of all-time? Its infectious and uplifting sound turned it into an instant summer anthem, one that’s sold well over a million copies in the US alone.

Who exactly is Zhu, you might be asking yourself. It’s a valid question, too, as the artist has remained mostly out of the spotlight up to this point. His hit single, “Faded”, however, was one of the biggest EDM tracks of 2014. Spawning some phenomenal remixes and garnering tons of praise on the blogosphere, the soothing and foreboding track left us wanting so much more from the mysterious producer.

Porter Robinson’s debut album, Worlds, took the EDM world by storm this past Spring, for multiple reasons. It was “Lionhearted,” the disc’s third single, however, that really brought the young DJ mainstream attention. Remixed by Arty and worked into multiple festival sets, the song became an instant anthem that truly demonstrated Robinson’s musical prowess.

As two of the hottest producers in the world right now, anything Diplo and Skrillex touch turns to gold. With their first single under their recently formed duo Jack Ü, they set the EDM scene on fire, promising a fresh new sound that we’ll surely see more of in 2015.

As the trap anthem of the year, “Tell Me’ pushed RL Grime straight to the forefront of EDM’s fastest growing subgenre, and rightfully so. With close to 7 million plays on SoundCloud, the innovative track fused trap and future bass together perfectly, giving us one of the most important songs of 2014.