10) Alesso – I Wanna Know ft. Nico and Vinz
Alesso made a bold statement when he revealed “I Wanna Know” featuring Nico And Vinz as his first major single of 2016. Even though the Swedish DJ/producer’s music had begun to exhibit more of an instrumental leaning as far back as a year ago, the track left behind what grit his previous productions had in favor of an arrangement that basically sounded like a Jack Johnson song.
“I Wanna Know” would come across as a betrayal of Alesso’s roots if not for its skillful execution. Even though it’s different from anything else he’s put out, it just plain works – and it’ll probably be remembered as one of the stronger tracks of the season.
9) What So Not And Ganz – Lone
The long-awaited upcoming release of Flume’s Skin LP has kept the Australian DJ/producer’s name in the mouths of electronic music fans over the past several months. What a lot of his more recent following may take for granted, however, is that he got started as one half of the duo What So Not – and what his former counterpart is releasing under that name is competitive to say the least.
In his collaboration with Dutch hip-hop/bass music producer GANZ, What So Not blends the former artist’s signature melodies into his downtempo/future bass style in such a way that you almost can’t imagine the two styles ever having been mutually exclusive.
8) 3LAU – Is It Love
Remember that shapeless sound we talked about? 3LAU’s “Is It Love” is the epitome of that style, and you’ll probably see a lot more like it this festival season.
It’s not progressive house, but it’s not future house or straight-up pop music, either. This is a grey area that electronic music fans are getting a lot more used to nowadays, and it’s no stretch to suggest that whatever new style becomes the status quo will likely sound something like this.
For what it’s worth, that’s not entirely a bad thing, either. For our money, “Is It Love” is a lot more tolerable than big room house ever was.