As the name suggests, I think it would be pretty cool if people listed their favourite songs of 2009 with a little bit on why the songs float their boat. I found this list bloody hard to make and almost gave up on it a couple of times.
The order is defined by how I would play the songs in a playlist (click the track title for a link to songs I haven’t embedded):
It was great to see
Moby back this year after the slight disappointment of Last Night. Wait For Me saw him return to his best with a wonderful mix of tracks that convey a sense of a bleak, yet beautiful scenario at the same time. I think
A Shot In The Back Of The Head is absolutely sublime and showcases my point, beautiful yet set in an environment where you sense there has been great tragedy.
Damn Arms – Destination pt1. This song caught my attention way back in February and I knew that I had to get it. Reminiscent of a certain Daft Punk (maybe I’m pining for them) because of its funky sound with synthesised vocals. It’s a little more fun sounding than Daft Punk and it usually puts a smile on my face. A bit of a lifesaver during those cold winter days.
When I first heard that this track had been remixed, I automatically thought FAIL. I was wrong, very wrong,
Tom Middleton’s remix of Orbital – Halcyon is amazing. The way he keeps the tone of the original but builds on it with the synths etc just adds up to an essential track and one that wouldn’t be out of its depth in any music collection.
PROFF – Deep Orange. Discovered on one of those awesome Anjuna albums! Its progressive house melody is underpinned by a distinctly funky bass line which is fairly unusual. Perfect for pre-club, it makes me want to get a groove on and puts me in a good mood!
You won’t get very far into electronic music without coming across something by the man of the moment,
Deadmau5. I could have inserted any one of many (of his) tunes into here and it wouldn’t have looked out of place. After much deliberation I went for
I Remember because it works well on different levels. It has the silky vocals of Kaskade, whose voice a hypnotic effect on me, the progressive melody to some extent, which is what I like most about the original mix, and then goes grimy with an epic slice (for me as I don't really venture into the genre too much) of dubstep from
Caspa. I think I’ll spin that again please!
Calvin Harris – I’m Not Alone (Pendulum Remix). I like the original mix anyway (didn't listen to the radio enough for them to destroy it for me) and then Pendulum did this to it! This song brings back amazing memories from the best live performance I saw in 2009 - the energy and excitement surrounding their set was absolutely amazing. They (Pendulum) put their stamp on it and it really works in my opinion. I love the harder, higher tempo that doesn’t take too much away from the original, just a good remix.
Whoop!
The Prodigy returned in ’09 with a bang, mashing it up as they went along.
Invaders Must Die is my favourite song from the album because it’s pretty insane, a great opener and sets the tone for the rest of the record. IMD makes me want to turn my speakers up to max, get up and go f*cking nuts ☺. This song just doesn’t give a crap about others and really appeals to a guilty hedonistic side of me.
Marcus Schössow – Kaboom. Great trance! The tension builds and builds with little teaser and a rather disgusting (in a good way) bit of electro that feeds into some progressive breakdown. Then all of a sudden….BOOM! The song just erupts out of nowhere; it’s certainly an attention grabber. It’s a great tune from a really creative talent that has come onto my radar this year.
I think I first heard this early on in the summer when it went by the name of id in my collection. I’ve always had a soft spot for pianos and this fairly common type of female vocal in my House and Trance (I think it reminds me of my rave days) and this builds on them to produce a feel-good progressive tune that has become a firm favourite in my library. When I close my eyes I visualise being above the clouds and feeling like nothing can touch me, for those 6 or so minutes I’m the greatest and this is why I had to include this song in the list. It still also goes by the name of id despite it being
RAM (Jorn van Deynhoven Remix) by RAMSterdam.
Oliver Smith – Cadence. This track can be described in one word…Beautiful! Wonderfully melodic trance, it makes me believe that perfection exists somewhere in this small World of ours. If there were ever a song to get through a long night, writing an essay that you should have done weeks ago, I would recommend this.