2014 was another exciting year for Dance Music. Lots of new sounds emerged such as Tropical House, Future Bass, and Future House, while the Deep House realm was brought back into the limelight and saw a huge rise in popularity. As you might expect, most of our selections for break out artists of the year and our personal favorite tracks from the year came from those categories. We predicted Oliver Heldens to be the breakout artist of 2014 and he certainly showed us, all year, why he was deserving of that title. The other artists who made the list were ones who we not only enjoyed listening to, but ones who made a huge splash in the dance world for 2014.
Thanks for a fantastic 2014 and here’s to an even better 2015. Without further adieu here are our breakout artists of 2014 and our favorite songs of 2014.
BREAKOUT ARTISTS:
1. Oliver Heldens: There is no doubt that this dude had one hell of a year with hits ranging from Gecko to Can’t Stop Playing, Helden’s truly has evolved into a driving force in todays electronic music scene. Along side a long list of originals and remixes we also had a blast enjoying Oliver’s Heldeep Podcasts, be sure to tune in for the best in house music if you aren’t already on board. Cannot wait to see what 2015 brings for Heldens, lord knows the guy has got some serious momentum to start the year!
2. KYGO: With 2014 bringing the island vibes of tropical house into the mainstream we could not leave the man responsible for this genres progression off of our list. KYGO’s remix have been played on stages around the world by the biggest names in the industry over and over again at this point. In less then a year this young gun has become a house hold name on the house scene and his fun and uplifting remixes are nothing short of sunny beaches and palm trees. Viceroy may have just lost his title of king of the beach!
3. Chromeo: Although these guys are definitely by no means new to the scene, 2014 was truly a massive year as the funk duo released one hell of an album combined with one of the best live shows out there. Chromeo’s newest album White Women can also be found on our Albums Of The Year list because it is such a funk filled blast from start to finish. The real keeper from Chromeo for us this year though had to be the humorous but amazingly produced sensation Frequent Flyer, a truly fun track that contains a multitude of detailed and enthralling production elements. Be sure to have a listen to the full White Women album and trust us if you get the chance to see these guys live take full opportunity!
4. Zhu: Steven Zhu, the man behind your girlfriends favorite track, Faded. The original track definitely knocked it out of the park but regardless we have to say it was the plethora of just mind blowing remixes that followed that really grabbed our attention. We don’t know to much about Zhu, according to wikipedia we don’t even know Zhu’s gender. Zhu has asked only to be judged by the music he/she makes and that is all, we can definitely appreciate that as long as the hits keep coming in 2015!
5. Gorgon City: Last but most definitely not least we have the english boys of Gorgon City with their epic album for 2014 entitled Sirens. We are absolutely obsessed with the collaboration of Foamo and Rack’n’Ruin that has brought us the bouncy deep house vibes we have come to expect from Gorgon. Be sure to check out Sirens if you haven’t had a chance to yet, also if somehow you missed out on the gorgeous single Hear From You ft. Laura Welsh be sure to give that a listen as it is definitely a keeper. Really excited to watch as this duo continues to grow in the new year, this is also another live show not to miss so grab tickets quick if you have the opportunity!
Now for our 2014 Editors favorites, just ten tracks from each of MMIBTY’s chief editors that really made 2014 yet another special and exciting year to be a part of the music industry, we hope you enjoy!