10) Alesso – Forever
The protege of former Swedish House Mafia member Sebastian Ingrosso, Alesso burst onto the scene in 2012 with “Calling” (Lose My Mind). After inexplicably reaching #70 on the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs less than a year after learning how to DJ, he toured rigorously for the next few years and slowly whittled away at his long-awaited debut album.
What he finally delivered turned out to be worth the wait. After listening to songs like “Profondo” and “Tear The Roof Up,” it occurred to us that Alesso kind of makes rock music, except that he uses Ableton to produce it and then plays it live using CDJs and a mixer.
While we would have liked to hear more of this unique style on his debut album, we still applaud the Swedish producer for taking such a risk as a musician.
9) Dillon Francis – This Mixtape Is Fire
While not a full-length album in the strictest sense, This Mixtape Is Fire saw Dillon Francis make a celebrated return to his moombahton roots. A Calvin Harris collaboration added some crossover appeal to the already infectious collection while still managing to sound similar enough to the moombahton sound Francis was going for. And “Bruk Bruk (I Need Your Lovin’) stood out as the strongest track on the album for its tribal feel and danceable melody.
In addition to being one of contemporary EDM’s more well-loved personalities, Francis also succeeds in consistently putting out some of the movement’s most memorable music.