It’s already hard to remember how much the deck felt stacked against Claire Boucher before
. ‘Go’ split fans, entire album sessions were scrapped and delays stacked up over the years that saw
shadow grow longer. But
sees Grimes evolve, Pokemon-style, from the insular bedroom-pop of her breakthrough into a one-woman wrecking crew. Even the ideas that caused initial concern among fans left us floored – that song she talked about
Throughout the year, For Club Use Only has rounded up each month’s most essential underground club sounds.
As 2015 comes to a close, it’s time to examine what stuck and what disappeared without a trace from the CDJs, laptops and Serato setups of the world’s constantly-changing club spaces.
With noise and trance tropes coming back in vogue, instrumental grime continuing to extrapolate on its core concepts and labels like N.A.A.F.I. and Príncipe Discos pushing exciting polyrhythmic forms, questions about the make-up, purpose and meaning of dance music have been brought up repeatedly this year.
Outside of the house and techno hegemony, the options for engaging a crowd of dancers are endless. The following 25 tracks fulfil a range of possibilities, from shock-and-awe to pure, ruthless functionality. The way we consume dance music has completely changed over the past few years, but quality club music is eternal.
Read more:
The 50 best albums of 2015
The 20 best Bandcamp releases of 2015
The 20 best music videos of 2015
The 30 best album covers of 2015
The 25 best reissues of 2015
The 10 best record labels of 2015
The 20 best free mixes of 2015
Akito
‘Dalston Dips’
(Trax Couture)
An absolute stomper from Akito and one of many tracks from the Trax Couture World Series that deserve a place here. Out to Rushmore for curating one of the most invigorating release series in years.
Bleaker
‘Hype (Funk)’
(Unknown To The Unknown)
Only the saddest of sad saps didn’t jump on the ‘Hype (Funk)’ and if you haven’t had a late night “sing along” to this late summer anthem over the past few months, you’re missing out.
Bloom
‘Quartz VIP’
(Gobstopper)
Maybe even better than the original? Bloom’s ‘Quartz VIP’ comes through as one of the best songs in a stacked 2015 for Mr. Mitch’s Gobstopper outpost, a total assault on the senses that will surely be championed as being ahead of its time for years to come.
DJ Nigga Fox
‘Um Ano’
(Príncipe Discos)
Releases from Nidia Minaj, DJ Firmeza, Niagara, Blacksea Não Maya and more all stuck out for Príncipe Discos this year, but it’s label star DJ Nigga Fox’s
Noite E Dia EP that’s still in regular rotation. ‘Um Ano’ appears to tumble and trip over itself constantly, but the wooden percussion always seems to catch up and Nigga Fox’s characteristic swells and crashes give the track a one-of-a-kind feel.
Dreams
‘Energy’
(Private Selection)
Dreams and the Private Selection crew have put on some of the best parties Los Angeles has to offer over the past few years, and it’s fitting that his
Twisted Karma EP marks the label’s first solo release. As menacing as it is sneakily beautiful, ‘Energy’ is just one of those tracks that sounds classic from the first listen.
Hodge
‘Burned Into Memory’
(Berceuse Heroique)
It’s been a break-out year for Hodge and any number of his tracks could have filled this position, but the raw intensity of ‘Burned Into Memory’ propels it into the top 25.
Imaabs
‘Voy’
(N.A.A.F.I.)
Imaabs joining the N.A.A.F.I. roster felt preordained and the
Distancia EP does not disappoint, condensing the Chilean producer’s forceful style into four brilliant peak-time numbers. Releases on Trax Couture and Purple Tape Pedigree and excellent remixes for Dinamarca, Arkitect and Kali Muts filled out a banner year for Imaabs.
Jlin
‘Guantanamo’
(Planet Mu)
While Jlin’s cataclysmic
Dark Energy LP is better taken in as a whole, the politically-charged core and clattering drums of ‘Guantanamo’ are as good a representation of club music in 2015 as you’ll find on this list.
Kablam
‘Spirito Sarrando’ (ft. MC Marcelly & G. Dufay / J. Savall)
(Self-Released)
Technically a blend of Rio De Janeiro’s MC Marcelly and 15th century choral music, ‘Spirito Sarrando’ is as outlandish a piece of dance music as you’ll find all year, a neck-snapping combo that lulls, snaps, drags and smacks in equal measures.
Kid Smpl
‘Respond/Ascend’
(Symbols)
Kid Smpl’s
Respond/Ascend EP blends bits of jarring noise with bright, enticing melodies with remarkable ease, and the title track hits helium-high crescendos in a trance workout for people who don’t leave the house.
Letta
‘The Recluse’
(Coyote)
Letta’s deeply introspective
Testimony LP is going down as one of the year’s best grime-related releases and ‘The Recluse’ is one of many melodically genius standouts from the Los Angeles-based producer’s debut album.
LiL JaBBA
‘BraSS TaX’
(Local Action)
Whether he’s taking on footwork, jungle or grime, LiL JaBBA’s tracks usually involve a delicate touch. But ‘BraSS TaX’ is not one of those songs, instead operating as an unwieldy, brass-heavy monstrosity that’s the most fun instrumental you’ll find this side of Butterz.
M.E.S.H.
‘Epithet’
(PAN)
Really the only track from M.E.S.H.’s shapeshifting
Piteous Gate LP that could have made it on a list of the top 25 club tracks, ‘Epithet’ hits on all the right levels, an all-enveloping effort that builds and then tears down.
Margaret Antwood
‘Coincidence Pt. 2’
(B.YRSLF DIVISION)
Seven minutes of hydraulic sounds, clacking noises, new age synths and rubbery pings make up Margaret Antwood’s ‘Coincidence Pt. 2’ and the results are breathtaking – an exercise in patience, anticipation and, finally, release.
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